Well, E4 to be precise, but there’s no point being so pedantic! Not that the fact that it’s on E4 is a problem, when you remember plenty of great shows had their starts on the channel, from Skins to The Inbetweeners, Misfits and My Mad Fat Diary. Glue is also focused around the lives of a group of teenagers, but is far more grounded and serious than these other shows. Early ads for the show seemed to promote it as a kind of rural version of Skins, with clips of forest parties and good-looking teens making out, intercut with shots of rolling landscapes. One commenter on the Youtube video of the trailer called it “a mixture of Skins and Broadchurch“, and from first impressions that seemed fairly accurate.
Now I’m five episodes in, I can say it’s definitely much more than that. Glue was written by Jack Thorne, who won BAFTAs for his work on The Fades on BBC3 and This Is England ’88, as well as writing a few episodes of Skins, and the quality of this new show continues the success of his previous work. It follows the lives of a group of teens living in the country; their work, relationships, secrets and ambitions. The opening scene shows them taking drugs and jumping into a grain silo to experience the feeling of the fall, and texture of the grain as they sink. The bliss of that night is broken when one of them is found dead in a field the next day, murdered.
The murder mystery element is definitely what sets this teen drama apart from other shows, and the gradual plotting and reveals of the characters’ secrets and issues make this an excellent example of good mystery writing. All the features are here: the enclosed setting; the multiple characters, all with potentially harmful secrets all revealed over time and through investigation which could make anyone a suspect; multiple plotlines and dead ends to complicate the investigation; hints to clues which may prove key. Like all good mysteries, these are all rational and complicit allusions to the crime which can’t help making you feel like you can solve the crime yourself, making you want to desperately know who did it (because frankly I genuinely have no idea who the murderer is right now, and that’s a great thing!).
Unlike an episode of something like Miss Marple, this rural mystery also has proved itself to be an entirely realistic depiction of life for young people in the country. The characters are richly drawn and beautifully performed, and the time taken to reveal new layers and secrets makes your suspicions change regularly. There’s James (Billy Howle), the farmer’s son torn as to whether to stay home and continue working on the farm; Tina (Charlotte Spencer), the trainee jockey still dabbling with drugs; Rob (Jordan Stevens, one half of Rizzle Kicks!), a slacker feeling entitled to take no responsibility for anything; plus Ruth (Yasmin Paige), escaping from a troubled background with Romany travellers by joining the police. The murder proves a perfect catalyst for Glue to test their relationships – friendships, love affairs, conflicts – meaning the show never loses sight of its teen drama roots.
Glue is also a fascinating exploration of rural politics. From the plights of struggling farm communities and lack of funds and business, to controversial relations with Romany travellers, and the severe lack of opportunity for young people. It all provides rich background for the setting, as well as ample motivation for much of the story, and shows Glue to be an unusually detailed and well-researched drama. Beneath the beautiful English landscapes (which are beautifully and crisply shot; I really do wish I could watch this in HD), there’s revealed to be a black heart, from the isolation and tribulations of a small rural community in the 21st century.
Glue‘s also refreshingly frank in the way the best teen dramas are. Taboo subject matter is rightly confronted, from extreme forms of drug taking, to a mature attitude to nudity and sex (including a unusually high amount of male nudity), as well as considering daily life in the country in a unblinking manner, such as the slaughter of animals on the farm, to the politics of horse racing.
Much of the show’s success does come down to the performances, which are unifomally excellent from the young cast. Full of faces which make you think “I’ve seen him before! Isn’t he… what’s-his-face from… that show I saw”, these are a bunch of seriously talented young actors and definitely one of the main reasons why you should be watching this show. Plus the careful plotting and detailed characterisation make Glue seriously addictive viewing. The Mentos ads which play before and after the show declare this “fresh telly”, and I’ve got to agree. As Glue progresses, it keeps getting better, and the end of the episode five was gripping enough to make me wish I could binge on the rest of the eight episode series. All the episodes so far are on 4oD, and you should definitely check them out; Glue deserves to be seen by more viewers.
2014
Director: David Cronenberg
Writer: Bruce Wagner
My knowledge of David Cronenberg isn’t hugely extensive, although I know he’s famed for his body horror films, those that take a cold and clinical look at the faults and failures of characters’ bodies as a study of their damaged psyches, and how the dangerous flaws of the societies they live in drive their minds and bodies to destruction. Well at least that’s what I’ve read from the few films of his I’ve seen, from Videodrome as James Woods grows a brain tumour after watching a malevolent TV broadcast designed to purge world populations, to Dead Ringers where Jeremy Irons’ twin gynecologists suffer depression and addiction coupled to the screwed-up relationships they have with their female patients. These all come across as extremely complex themes and narratives when thinking back to them, and Maps to the Stars proves itself to be just as layered and difficult to read.
The film is part of this newer phase in Cronenberg’s later career, with a focus less on the bodies of his protagonists and more on the damaged psychologies and violent conditions in which they live. Beginning perhaps with A History of Violence with Viggo Mortensen’s internal struggle over his potentially violent past, to Eastern Promises and its tales of family drama in the brutal world of the Russian mafia in London, and finally to a study of psychology itself with A Dangerous Method, about the working relations of Freud and Jung. Based on appearances, Maps to the Starts seems to share the closest relationship with Cosmopolis in terms of content and visual style, although I haven’t seen that film so can’t comment.
Beginning with a shot of a disheveled Agatha (Mia Wasikowska), complete with grey cheap clothes, elbow-length gloves, trimmed bob-haircut and disfiguring burn scars, hunched asleep on a bus to Los Angeles, Maps to the Stars is a study of the damaged souls who live and work in Hollywood. Immediately after getting off the bus, blinking in the California sunlight, Agatha hires Jerome (Robert Pattinson) and his limo, happily paying $200 and showing from the start that nothing is at it seems. We are introduced to the Weiss family: dad Stafford (John Cusack), a money-driven TV psychologist who uses dubious methods on his numerous high profile clients; stressed wife Cristina (Olivia Williams), the ambitious manager to their son Benjie (Evan Bird), a 13 year old child star who’s just finished a stint in rehab.
The star at the heart of this constellation is Havana Segrand, (Julianne Moore), the unhinged minor star looking for her next big break by playing the role famously played by her mother in a remake of her most famous film. Unfortunately for Havana, she is better known for being physically and sexually abused by her mother, who died in a fire, than for her own acting abilities.
Hardly anything about this film is subtle; it’s a scathing and vitriolic satire on Hollywood politics. It carries on the tradition of previous insights on the fucked-up underbelly of showbusiness, from Sunset Boulevard to The Player and even Mommie Dearest. Maps takes things even further, creating an insidious hyper-reality which argues that the extent of Hollywood’s extreme self-love and narcissism results in incest of all kinds. All are left slightly deranged – many are subject to mysterious visions and hauntings which vividly and violently expose characters’ biggest flaws to themselves. Even the most outwardly sane character Jerome the driver finds himself unable to form relationships with others without viewing it as ultimately a form of research on which he can learn and propel himself to stardom.
It’s here that Maps proves itself to be more Cronenberg-ian than first appeared. It seemed he might have been going slightly off-topic, choosing to make a Hollywood satire, which seems like too easy a target for the director. But Maps ultimately turns into a truly dark and often unpleasant study of skewed minds. I’m not going to pretend to fully understand this film; the Freudian nightmare of why Havana is so desperate to play the abusive mother, as if trying to exorcise the internal demons. Or Agatha’s mysterious motivations for coming to LA, and getting a job as Havana’s assistant. Plenty of questions are left unanswered, and the twisting layers and no-holds-barred content turn this into a living nightmare.
The performances are uniformally excellent, from the more understated turns by Pattinson and Wasikowska, to a shocking performance by the young Evan Bird who makes the young and cruelly spoilt Benjie believable, even at his most heinous. This is Julianne Moore’s show though – going for childish brat to driven power-fiend within single scenes, and showing emotional breakdowns with such fearlessness as to make them both genuinely heart-wrenching and voyeurisitcally fascinating. She’s able to give Havana a tortured soul beneath the histrionics.
Sometimes the blends of tone can come across as a jumble, switching from almost slapstick-like comedy (Havana giving Agatha sex advise while sitting on the toilet), to gossipy expose (the Weiss family stories), to warped horrorish drama (the ghostly apparitions). The satire, despite being repeatedly purported as being based in reality, sometimes comes across as heavy-handed in attempts to be funny, such as the teen girl stars declaring another actress in her 20s is menopausal (although thinking about it, maybe I shouldn’t be so optimistic as to believe such people can’t exist). And the narrative is overburdened, trying to cram too much in for too many characters that sometimes some plotlines are left hanging or underdeveloped. Sometimes the attempts to combine satire with ghost story and shocking expose don’t always gel.
But in the end, I’m very glad I watched Maps to the Stars. I’d say I enjoyed it in a perverse sort of way; it’s far more devilishly entertaining than I was expecting and at times laugh out loud funny. Saying that, there are moments that are genuinely surreal and horrible, making this a strange watch. When the credits rolled, I found myself sitting speechless for a good while, unable to articulate what I’d just seen. It should be commended when a film does have that effect on you, although it’s unnerving to be unable to understand why.
For a film lover, I’ve spent a great deal more of my free time the last few months watching TV drama instead of films (not that I’ve gotten anywhere near to stopping with cinema!). The vast majority of TV I watch is American cable shows, lately consisting of Twin Peaks and Bojack Horseman, the latest original show from Netflix, a surreal and scathing animation about the emptiness of Hollywood culture, which after a few shaky episodes proved itself to be a surprisingly deep and mature character study, and well worth checking out.
But to go back on track, I’ve always wondered why so little British TV drama appealed to me as much. The big two I’ve watched the last few years have been Doctor Who and Downton Abbey. I’ve fallen behind with Doctor Who this series, but whilst Peter Capaldi is a pleasing screen presence, the latest episodes can’t help feeling disappointing, lacking charm and almost getting a bit too big for its boots. And Downton last year committed the crime of simply being quite boring. Plotlines about farmland usage are hardly compelling, coupled with yet more stories about characters struggling to keep up the ‘times’, it was generally quite dull. The first episode of the new series I found quite enjoyable in a playfully melodramatic way, but it’s still a long way off the former glories of series one.
Frankly, much of the drama on British TV seems quite similar. A lot of it seems to cover issues such as murder or betrayal, and be filmed in dulled hues and monochrome. I suppose it just seems to me that there’s a lack of variety for British drama, plus lower budgets compared to US equivalents mean that British shows often lack the funds to expand the reach and variety of their output. Also, these shows have less of a presence online, meaning they receive nowhere near the level of publicity American shows do.
This is where Utopia comes in. The second series of the graphic novel-themed conspiracy thriller started back in July (I remember it was the week I graduated! I’d been in London the weekend before and had seen ads for the new series on buses everywhere). But it’s only this week I got around to watching it. Starting with a daring first episode which ignores the main characters to go back in time to explore the backstories and motivations of the main antagonists of the series, the creators of the Network (including Rose Leslie, who I’m a big fan of after seeing her in Downton and Game of Thrones, playing the young Milner), Utopia proved to be just as bold, controversial and beautifully addictive as it was when it started in 2013.
When thinking about writing this ramble, I remembered a review I wrote of series one last year before it had ended; I sent it into the student newspaper The Boar to see if it could get published but I never got a response. I thought it was quite funny to see how my thoughts now compare:
I’m such a sucker for high concept TV- just stick anything with a big idea, some pretty visuals and a good cast and I’ll be there. For the last few years, the Americans have near enough had this corner of the market dominated with such varied shows as the barmy, tense and self-lovingly patriotic Homeland and the gleefully gory and gratuitous Game of Thrones. Frankly the best us Brits have been able to come up with lately have been Doctor Who and Downton Abbey. So thank god for Channel 4 for commissioning Utopia, a much needed burst of colour and action at a time when most shows are full of pitiful middle class woes in suburban streets stained with dulled and depressing palettes of grey and brown.
Taking much of its inspiration in look and content from graphic novels, Utopia is itself about a graphic novel called The Utopia Experiments, which is theorised to have predicted some of the disasters that have happened since the 1980s. We follow a group of geeks including Ian, an IT consultant who lives with his mum; Becky, a postgrad student and Wilson, a paranoid dropout and conspiracy theory-lover who, having met on an online forum, are drawn together with the promise of a second manuscript in the series. But they’re not the only ones seeking it- a mysterious organisation with possible links around the globe will do anything to get their hands on it, no matter who or what gets in their way. Soon the heroes are forced to go on the run from a deranged pair of killers in primary coloured clothing, endlessly searching for a woman known only as Jessica Hyde…
It all sounds insane and to be fair, it really is. With multiple plotlines, highly exaggerated setpieces and themes of complicated global intrigue, this threatens to challenge Lost for being the show that let its big ideas and extreme complex storytelling overwhelm it. Thankfully this gets away with it; Utopia is just so much fun that it doesn’t matter that there are gaping plot holes about how such events can even happen or how characters can even function and survive in such a world. This isn’t a highly strung-out political drama, it’s a deliciously dark and stylish conspiracy thriller that can shift from moments of sly humour to bursts of horrific violence within a single scene.
It’s this distinction that makes Utopia so bloody great, with wonderfully silly and unusual stories and an ominous tone which marks it out so much from the grainy low-budget gritty realism or period settings that TV drama is obsessed with right now. With only six episodes in the series, Utopia does try to pack a lot in to episodes, meaning that some subplots get a lot of screentime while others are left hanging. It is rushed, but this only adds to the fast pace that makes this show so watchable while the unanswered questions only adds to the mystery.
Plus it just looks great. Filmed in widescreen from often static cameras, the show looks like a graphic novel with artistically definite onscreen layouts and bold colours in landscapes, especially the repeated use of yellow- a running motif in the show.
Much has been said of the show’s violence online and in reviews. Utopia is pretty extreme and the gore and brutality may bit a bit much for some viewers. Notable examples include a controversial mass shooting in a school in episode three and a particularly gruesome torture scene in episode one. But like all good horror films, the majority of the most graphic content is offscreen, allowing us the viewers to fill in the rest with the worst we can imagine. Not that this doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty of blood and guts onscreen; a show this stylish wouldn’t miss the opportunity to show the resulting vivid red blood splatter from a bullet to the brain flowering across a pure white wall.
It’s dramas like this that Channel 4 was meant for, which has been lost slightly the last few years with endless repeats of Come Dine With Me and questionably exploitative ‘documentaries’. So I’m just thankful that they took a risk and created an original piece of drama like this. Personally I lap this sort of thing up but hopefully shows like this can be popular enough to allow channels to make more. Who knows, we may be part of a utopian new era of television.
It’s pretty hilarious to see I’m still watching the same shows (no matter how much I find fault with in Downton, I still can’t tear myself away from it!). It’s also fascinating to see how I was concerned with the overblown plotting and big concepts of series one, fears which I have never felt watching series two. I suppose it comes down to the story becoming more driven – now that we know who is behind the Network, and what their aims are, the show is less a meandering conspiracy mystery and more a paranoid thriller, with more direct questions and answers. Multiple plotlines and stories all cross, but the many characters are all given space to breathe and expand. Indeed, series two is more character driven, a human drama behind the conspiracy, with a greater focus on the disturbing fascination one feels for the Network agents, and the genuine reactions our protagonists feel under these extreme situations.
One of the things that makes this show so compelling is the almost sickening sense of ambiguity one feels about the aims of The Network, despite the complete moral vacuousness of their methods. It considers environmental and developmental issues and how human activity and growth is destroying the planet for future generations, and their solutions for these problems can’t help feeling genuinely convincing – their propaganda seems to really work. It explains why so many characters wrestle with these issues, including going so far as to frequently change sides and allegiances. The amount of double-crossing and erring by characters can be trying over the series, though it does go to display the complexity of the issues and the characters’ reactions.
As before, Utopia is incredibly beautiful to look at. The symmetrical framing, crisp lines and bold colours help make the show truly stand out and look fantastic, every frame is seriously worth pausing simply to admire in more detail, to spot the individual flairs of primary colour. Similarly, kudos must go to the set designers and location scouts; from the incredible abandoned mansions and vast primary coloured fields, to the demonic carvings of the secretary of health offices and the wooden sustainable house, it’s all chillingly unreal and a pleasure to explore.
Again, the pure nihilism and overbearing tone play host to some bloody violence, unlike what is seen on British TV. The comic book-style violence of beautiful blood spatter on walls blowing out of skulls is just as widespread, to the point where you become nearly desensitised to the prevalence to it. What keeps it so disturbing is that much of the violence, or threats of violence, involves children. Lingering shots and offscreen sound creates a sense of horror movie-style dread and anticipation. It’s quite blunt the extent to which the complete lack of compassion is shown, and it can be quite shocking at times. But that’s the intent behind this – it’s an extreme and adult show, one that doesn’t shy away from big issues and controversial themes, but done in a playful and entertaining way.
Frankly it’s simply refreshing to watch a show that is just so much fun, in a gleefully pulpy way. Whilst it covers serious topics like many other quality dramas, it avoids the outright downbeat and solemn tones of many of these shows. I really need an editor for this blog, this post ended up being an overindulgent and messy ramble. But I hope it does just a little bit to express how fantastic this show is, and how highly I recommend it. It’s surprised me how few people I know seemed to have watched it. News has emerged that David Fincher is planning to direct a remake of the show for HBO next year, and whilst the news is incredibly exciting, like all news of upcoming Fincher projects, I can’t help feeling it’s unnecessary. I wonder how much of the show’s distinct style and cinematography will carry across, as well as the distinctly wry British humour of Utopia. So I recommend making the most of Utopia as it exists now, and relish in some of the most unique and enjoyable drama on TV.
Well, E4 to be precise, but there’s no point being so pedantic! Not that the fact that it’s on E4 is a problem, when you remember plenty of great shows had their starts on the channel, from Skins to The Inbetweeners, Misfits and My Mad Fat Diary. Glue is also focused around the lives of a group of teenagers, but is far more grounded and serious than these other shows. Early ads for the show seemed to promote it as a kind of rural version of Skins, with clips of forest parties and good-looking teens making out, intercut with shots of rolling landscapes. One commenter on the Youtube video of the trailer called it “a mixture of Skins and Broadchurch“, and from first impressions that seemed fairly accurate.
The murder mystery element is definitely what sets this teen drama apart from other shows, and the gradual plotting and reveals of the characters’ secrets and issues make this an excellent example of good mystery writing. All the features are here: the enclosed setting; the multiple characters, all with potentially harmful secrets all revealed over time and through investigation which could make anyone a suspect; multiple plotlines and dead ends to complicate the investigation; hints to clues which may prove key. Like all good mysteries, these are all rational and complicit allusions to the crime which can’t help making you feel like you can solve the crime yourself, making you want to desperately know who did it (because frankly I genuinely have no idea who the murderer is right now, and that’s a great thing!).
Unlike an episode of something like Miss Marple, this rural mystery also has proved itself to be an entirely realistic depiction of life for young people in the country. The characters are richly drawn and beautifully performed, and the time taken to reveal new layers and secrets makes your suspicions change regularly. There’s James (Billy Howle), the farmer’s son torn as to whether to stay home and continue working on the farm; Tina (Charlotte Spencer), the trainee jockey still dabbling with drugs; Rob (Jordan Stevens, one half of Rizzle Kicks!), a slacker feeling entitled to take no responsibility for anything; plus Ruth (Yasmin Paige), escaping from a troubled background with Romany travellers by joining the police. The murder proves a perfect catalyst for Glue to test their relationships – friendships, love affairs, conflicts – meaning the show never loses sight of its teen drama roots.
Much of the show’s success does come down to the performances, which are unifomally excellent from the young cast. Full of faces which make you think “I’ve seen him before! Isn’t he… what’s-his-face from… that show I saw”, these are a bunch of seriously talented young actors and definitely one of the main reasons why you should be watching this show. Plus the careful plotting and detailed characterisation make Glue seriously addictive viewing. The Mentos ads which play before and after the show declare this “fresh telly”, and I’ve got to agree. As Glue progresses, it keeps getting better, and the end of the episode five was gripping enough to make me wish I could binge on the rest of the eight episode series. All the episodes so far are on 4oD, and you should definitely check them out; Glue deserves to be seen by more viewers.
Musings from a Darkened Room 