Friday Five: TV I've Been Watching

Here is the latest in the sporadic round-up of TV programs I've been watching. I've got a running list for the past 18 months or so, so here is a list of a few of them over in alphabetical order. 

Five TV Shows I've Been Watching:

1. Beckham (Netflix) - You simply couldn't avoid the hype for this Netflix documentary about the golden couple. As it was aimed at an American audience, I was concerned that it wouldn't cover the actual football, which was the part in which I was interested. David Beckham was a global star because he was attractive, married a Spice Girl, and had an uncanny ability to advertise in all the right places. I knew him as a phenomenal footballer, for whom the category of 'most assists' was invented, who went from a louche kid reviled by the English press for 'losing us the World Cup' to the much-beloved captain of the national team two years later, and who, with his absolutely magical Man Utd. 'class of '92' team of  dominated the local pitch when I lived in Manchester. It's all there. The words of wife Victoria, as she deals with his obsessive behaviour and passion (she claims that she still doesn't like football) are an added bonus, giving great depth to the analysis of an icon. 
2. Brassic (ABC iview) - Originally filmed in Bacap, a bunch of friends in a fictional Lancashire town, sort of led by Vincent 'Vinnie' O'Neill (Joe Gilgun - also co-creator), a disturbed young man with bipolar disorder who lives alone in a shack in the woods. His quick-witted confidence, eccentric intensity and great depth of compassion leads to a number of friendships with an odd collective including Dylan (Damian Molony) and Erin (Michelle Keegan). The group commit various petty crimes to get a bit of cash, but many of them begin to wonder if there may be more to life beyond the town. Dominic West has a great cameo role as Vinnie's GP with the worst professional manner you've ever seen. Lucy Mangan of the Guardian wrote, "It is a hilarious, warm, brutal mélange that works because it has heart without sentimentality and authenticity without strain."



3. La revolución (Netflix) - It's based around the time just before the French Revolution where the aristocracy have literally got blue blood and have to drink the blood of the peasants to stay alive, thus upsetting the social order. They range from glamorous and conflicted to cruel and twisted. Fortunately, Joseph Ignace Guillotine, discovers the virus and has a potential cure up his sleeve - he just needs to keep his head on his shoulders (other puns are available). Total preposterous nonsense with glorious period costumes and a gothic/ noir style cinematography. I really enjoyed, but Netflix apparently didn't as it was cancelled after one season.
4. Super Pumped (Stan) - The story of American rideshare start-up company Uber is not pretty. There is rampant capitalism, pursuit of growth at all costs, a vile frat-boy misogynistic culture, and a complete lack of empathy for anyone or anything that gets in the way of making millions. It is narrated by Quentin Tarantino and the part of CEO and slime on a stick, Travis Kalanick, is played to perfection by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Uma Thurman has a star-turn as the right-wing mentor, which makes a change from the men in polo necks and loafers trope. The whole thing is flashy and entertaining and so crammed full of macho-bullshit that it makes me happy to be a peasant.
5. The Virtues (Stan) - I really think it's time that Stephen Graham got to play a happy role - one where he isn't an alcoholic with a deeply troubled past who loses his kids because he's an unreliable parent. Meanwhile, he's in this miniseries drama from 2019 co-written and directed by Shane Meadows in which he plays Jospeh, an alcoholic with a deeply troubled past who loses his kids because he's an unreliable parent. It also features Niamh Algar, Helen Behan, Frank Laverty and Niamh Cusack. After a horrifically-well directed drinking binge, Joseph uses the last of his money to return to his estranged sister in Ireland, thereby unearthing traumatic incidents which he has repressed from his memory. The Virtues is a powerful and bruising story that examines the sacrosanctity of the parent/child relationship and the horrific effects that abuse can cause for many years to follow, like the ripples caused by a stone thrown into a stagnant pond.

Entry-Level Feminism by the Book: A Month of Sundays

Four people who have met as part of an on-line book group take a month to go to a cottage in the Blue Mountains to talk about books – what bliss! When the club set out ten years ago, there were more members, but over the years the numbers decreased, leaving these four women who still had their regular meeting via Skype. Although they have been part of the book club for ten years, they have never met in person before, so this is the perfect opportunity to get to know each other.

Adele, who has organised it (and everything else), suggests they each chose a book, “that will tell us all something significant about you. Be prepared to be honest about why you have chosen it and why it matters to you. This makes it more than just a suggested read, it is an invitation from each one of us to the others to get to know each other better.” They will then discuss the book, but of course, “it’s true that we all bring something of ourselves to what we read” so they learn more about each other as the book progresses.

They are all reaching retirement age so they have the luxury of time, and they can indulge in self-reflection and learn more about female friendship and feminism, which they might not have thought was right for them when they first encountered its concepts. In that regard, it is frustrating to read, like listening to a group of grandmothers explaining how it was not like that in their day.

Judy runs a knitting shop but feels overwhelmed with the business; Ros comes with a dog called Clooney and a dead husband, James, who died jumping off a bus and she has yet to come to terms with it. She also has Parkinson’s disease, about which she is in denial. Lastly Simone does yoga and seems to have it all together, until she discovers she has a long-lost sister who was the result of a hitherto unknown relationship of her father.

Other reviewers have been coy about mentioning the books discussed in case it ruins the suspense of the story. It doesn’t. They are Tirra Lirra by the River by Jessica Anderson, Sacred Country by Rose Tremain, Truth and Beauty by Ann Patchett, and Unless by Carol Shields. These are all celebrated and acclaimed novelists. They are also all white, Western and middle class. That’s definitely the territory in which we find ourselves. For all that the characters have their dramas and personal experiences, there is little variety or plot in this novel. They plod on and hopefully find friendship, learning better late than never that women can support each other and they don’t have to fit into society’s expectations. Their reference points are Helen Reddy’s I Am Woman and Julia Gillard’s misogyny speech.

Society has changed a lot more than they know, and if they take refuge in a cutesy Blue Mountain town to talk to like-minded people about their social epiphanies, they will probably never develop past the pages of a book. Maybe they don’t want to, and that’s fine, but it’s not a journey on which most women would choose to embark, having been past the point way before.

Friday Five: Top 10 Films of 2023

On the back of last week's Friday Five, which was actually a top ten, I am doing another for the first Friday of the year. These are my favourite films I have seen in 2023 that were released in 2023 in the country in which I am living. The films are listed in alphabetical order.

1. Asteroid City: Wes Anderson creates another post-modern take on post-modern films. Full of sharp lines (visual and verbal), heightened realism, Brechtian (and other) alienations devices, and a stellar cast. "I still don't understand the play." "Doesn't matter. Just keep on telling the story".
2. Bank of Dave: A beautiful feel-good film about the power of a caring and cohesive community in 'a northern shithole taking on the entitled wankers of the financial institutions. There's a lot of north v south cliches, more than a passing nod to Local Hero, a cute background romance, and the ever-brilliant Rory Kinnear. I don think Sean Dyche should stick to his day job, though.
3. EO: I watched this on a plane and I absolutely adored it. Life as seen through the eyes of a donkey is full of kindness and cruelty, and the donkey is a creature of plodding wisdom who makes their own decisions. Gentle and delightful with moments of heartbreak and profound empathy. 
4. The Great Escaper: "If you want to flog chocolate, don't start a bloody World War". Michael Caine explains why he doesn't rate Cadbury's Black Forest in a wonderful Sir Michael caper about the futility of war and the restorative power of tolerance, understanding and kindness. Glenda Jackson is radiant in her last role, with a timeless compassion. Clearly a British film on account of the self-deprecating humour, the quiet smugness and the dodgy teeth. 
5. Leave the World Behind: When good holidays go bad. Eerie, tense, unsettling, stylishly directed and well acted. Shot with intriguing angles and heightened with a deeply disturbing score, it's as if Don't Look Up met Us with a dash of Killing a Sacred Deer. Part thriller, part examination of the human psyche, part absurdist drama, the film questions what it would take for humanity to destroy itself. Spoiler: we're almost there.



6. Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning, Part One: Kitsch action fun - when you've got a formula that works, why would you change it? Great set pieces in stunning locations with superb stunts and some self-effacing references. Tom cruise is masterful at this stuff. 
7. Northern Comfort: Starts out being a film about a disparate foursome afraid of flying and turns into a black comedy in an Icelandic wellness hotel. Imagine Force Majeure crossed with Death at a Funeral and add an unhealthy dollop of Timothy Spall. Probably don't watch as in-flight entertainment.
8. The Old Oak: Ken Loach films may be grim, but he always finds the humanity. Life may be sh*te for those in the NE English village destroyed by post-industrialisation and the closure of the pit, but there are still some strong moral values at play. If the workers understood the power they have in unity, then they could take on the system, but on the verge of Brexit they turn their disenfranchised anger on the defenceless and vulnerable - in this case the Syrian refugees. Our shame is that in one of the wealthiest nations in the world, people have to make the choice between feeding their family or heating their home. Inequality is a disgrace. And that poor daft little dog!
9. Oppenheimer: Bringing in the sheets. So much symbolism and intelligent wordplay. 
10. Women Talking: But, as is so often the question, is anyone listening? Powerful subject; great cast; devastating dialogue well delivered. Would make a terrific play with the right direction.

Top Ten: Favourite Theatre in 2023

Michael Sheen in Amadeus at Sydney Opera House

I realise it's a Friday and that's usually a Friday Five, but as it's the end of the year, I give you a double episode, so here are my ten favourite theatre productions that I have seen this year (in alphabetical order):

1. Amadeus - Sydney Opera House, Red Line Productions, and the Metropolitan Orchestra, Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House: Let's face it, Michael Sheen is the draw-card here. Peter Shaffer's play is full of words and wit, interspersed with snatches of music and spectacle, and it requires a triumphant actor to bring the bombast and pathos in equal measure. As he looks back on the rumours concerning his part in the untimely death of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Rahel Romain), Salieri (Sheen) interprets events with a satirical detachment and studied indifference, barely concealing his passionate envy and desperate ambition. It is a masterly performance, and his voice and presence command our attention. The costumes are sumptuous (Anna Cordingley and Romance Was Born) with the rich fabrics, sensational colours and flamboyant designs appearing particularly striking on the austere set (designed by Michael Scott-Mitchell), illuminated by Nick Schlieper's lighting design - heavy on the back-lit scenes - which creates intriguing shapes, silhouettes and shadows. Besides the brilliant pairing of Romain and Sheen, other stand-out performances come from Toby Schmitz as an endearingly foppish Emperor Joseph II, Belinda Giblin and Josh Quong Tart as the frenetic Venticelli who buzz about the stage transporting news and gossip, and the musicians of the Metropolitan Orchestra who supply Mozart's sublime music which, despite Salieri's best (and indeed, worst) efforts, we all know and love. 
2. The Children - Chaika Theatre, ACT Hub: When people you genuinely like, respect and admire play characters so despicable you have a visceral reaction and want to punch them,… that’s great acting. Michael Sparks, Karen Vickery and Lainie Hart give superb performances in this potentially bleak futuristic drama set in a post-nuclear where you can't work to save your life. But you can save that of others. The pathos and frustration leads to boiling questions about definitions of selfishness. Into this sterile landscape, directors Tony Knight and Sophie Benassi introduce subtle touches of natural processes, and the chopping of a cucumber has never before been such a statement. ‘You don’t even know it, but right there, in that moment, you’ve lost, you’ve lowered your defences and the enemy’s got in, hasn’t it?’
3. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) [Revised] - Canberra Repertory Society, Theatre 3: Highly entertaining and very well-delivered with confident performances by Alex McPherson, Callum Doherty and Ryan Street. It is a challenge for the three actors to 'perform' all of Shakespeare's plays (and the sonnets) with mild audience interaction and character development, and the trio rise to meet it with aplomb. Kayla Ciceran's set nods to previous productions on this stage, which reflects the self-referential tone of the piece, and the lighting (Stephen Still) highlights all the right areas at all the right times. It flags slightly when one actor is left alone on stage by themself, but soon picks up the pace again in the second act to address Hamlet with requisite humour and the encores and reprises (including the esirper) do not outstay their welcome.
4. Good Works - Lexi Sekuless Productions, Mill Theatre: Director Julian Meyrick brings an intriguing touch to this potentially complicated drama. As the timelines and characters mingle and merge, the actors (Adele Querol, Helen McFarlane, Lexi Sekuless, Martin Everett, Neil Pigot, Oliver Bailey) work as a tight ensemble to highlight the claustrophobic atmosphere and mores of a post-war small-town environment. Some scenes are deeply disturbing as fear and hatred erupt in violence - subjects include corporal punishment, unmarried mothers and same-sex relationships - while moments of compassion and understanding are treated with respect and touching empathy. The versatile set (Kathleen Kershaw) is deceptively simple and the lighting (Jennifer Wright) and sound (Damian Ashcroft) are strikingly effective in this intimate space. 
5. Hay Fever - ACT Hub, ACT Hub: Gender-swapping Noel Coward may seem obvious. It could, however, very easily not work in this quintessential play of English manners, in which members of the Bliss family each invite s guest to their country house for the weekend ('on a clear day you can see Marlow' - my favourite line, obviously) only to treat them appallingly. The fact that it is still so charmingly awful (in all the best ways) is due in part to Joel Horwood's tight direction and set (full use of the stage to represent the ramshackle elements of a country house while inviting an awkward interaction with the audience). The rest is down to the obvious glee with which the actors portrayed their roles with strong physical and vocal performance techniques, led by the outstanding Andrea Close as Judith Bliss in a turn of pure comic genius.



The Bliss Family in Hay Fever

6. Julia - Canberra Theatre Centre & Sydney Theatre Company, The Playhouse, Canberra Theatre Centre: Apparently the Canberra Theatre Centre had to fight to get this premiere by Joanna Murray-Smith, and their efforts are well rewarded. Justine Clarke plays Julia Gillard in an almost one-woman play as she revisits scenes from her personal life and political career. It's not an impression so much as an embodiment, hitting the highs (successfully passing 561 bills through parliament) and lows (the oppositional slurs and sexism) with strength and perfect emphasis. Aided by well-chosen projections, director, Sarah Goodes teases out all the subtlety behind the speeches and the meaning behind the memorable moments. Of course it all leads up to that anti-misogyny speech which brings this house to its feet with justified applause. 
7. King Lear - Echo Theatre, The Q: Echo Theatre's King Lear is a stark interpretation of one of Shakespeare's most challenging plays with some bold and visionary directorial choices (Joel Horwood). With the startlingly dramatic soundscape (Neville Pye) and the bleak setting (Kathleen Kershaw), this production places us truly in the Wasteland. Karen Vickery assumes the fragile balance of performative arrogance and ultimate insecurity of the titular character with a wealth of strength and experience. The supporting cast sell their stories through clarity and costume (Helen Wojtas), with the subplot of Gloucester's (Michael Sparks) literal and metaphorical blindness to the intentions of his sons, Edmund (Lewis McDonald) and Edgar (Josh Wiseman) clearly mirroring Lear's oblivion. As an added bonus, the Dover cliff scene makes more sense than in any performance I have previously seen.
8. Ukulele Man - Canberra Cabaret Festival, ACT Hub: Marcel Cole brings this cabaret act to Canberra on the back of award-winning performances on the festival circuit. Directed by Mirjana Ristevski, he plays the part of  1930s/40s English entertainer, George Formby, accompanied by his ukulele and his mother Katie Cole, who plays his mother, wife and any other characters and musicians as required. With equal amounts of humour, pathos, wistful yearning and practical acceptance, not to mention expert timing and endearing renditions of Formby favourites (When I'm Cleaning Windows, Leaning on a Lamp Post, With My Little Ukulele in My Hand), the performance is fully deserving of the standing ovation it received. Turned out nice again.
9. The Visitors - Canberra Theatre Centre, Sydney Theatre Company & Moogahlin Performing Arts, The Playhouse: Jane Harrison reimagines the crucial moment when local elders meet on 26 January 1788 to decide what to do about the fleet of ships that appears to be arriving in the harbour. Do they welcome the visitors as is their custom, or do they ask them to move on. And what happens if they stay? A solid ensemble of talented actors present their arguments on a sandstone rock stage as if in one of those endlessly tedious work meetings where hierarchical structures bubble beneath the surface, personal resentments are barely concealed, and nothing actually gets decided. Costuming is a mix of modern business suits and indigenous apparel, sounds are the calls of the forests, and the light is bright to the point of glaring. As a political satire, there are moments of brow-beating didacticism (it is exactly the sort of theatre we will be told 'everyone should see'), but it is mainly humorous and thoughtful provoking discussion and consideration - and isn't that part of the purpose of theatre?
10. You Can't Tell Anyone - Canberra Youth Theatre, Courtyard Studio: Written by Joanna Richards, this is a really interesting and original play with a opportunities for a varied cast to display their talents.  Director Caitlin Baker employs a range of technical choices to create atmosphere and tension. The young cast deliver the smart and realistic dialogue to provide humour and immediacy as they gather at school graduation to consider future options. Deciding to play a party game, Paranoia (it would make a much better title, incidentally), in which the participants must provide answers to questions revealing what others truly think of them, a supernatural element creeps in making them all even more uncomfortable. The feeling of being between two worlds (as a metaphor for the threshold of adulthood) is made almost palpable through effective set (Kathleen Kershaw), atmospheric sound (Patrick Haesler) and lighting design (Ethan Hamill).

The cast of The Visitors

Friday Five: Books Read in July

 

Books read in July:

1. Quichotte by Salman Rushdie - Shortlisted for the 2019, Quichotte, is a breathtakingly sophisticated novel of postmodern genius, featuring a picaresque style and a desperately ordinary protagonist. Sam DuChamp is an Indian-born writer living in America, who has written a number of unsuccessful spy thrillers. Hoping to write a book "radically unlike any other he had ever attempted", he creates the character of Ismail Smile, a travelling pharmaceutical salesman. Having worked for unscrupulous companies and suffered a stroke in old age, Smile begins obsessively watching reality television and becomes infatuated with 'celebrity' and former Bollywood star, Salma R. Despite having never met her, Smile sends her love letters under the pen name of Quichotte and begins a quest for her across America with his imaginary son, Sancho. It is a spectacular piece of literary satire, which confounds simple synopses, as it is impossible to separate what is 'real' and what is not. That is clearly no accident in this post-truth society in which we find ourselves. 
2. The Opal Desert by Di Morrisey - Di Morrissey sets place extremely well. In her dozens of novels, the scenery and landscape are immediate and infinitely better drawn than her characters or plotlines. The Opal Desert is, unsurprisingly, set in Lightning Ridge, Broken Hill, Opal Lake, and White Cliffs, where most people are exceptionally friendly and we learn about the precious stones and the community who mine them. The three women around whom Morrissey tells her tale, Kerrie, Shirley and Anna, are all fairly predictable stereotypes who overcome their personal obstacles in life-affirming ways, which may not be realistic, but are heart-warming. Many people head to the opal fields for a change of pace, which is admirable. One character states, “We all need time out, as they say, on occasion. But that’s all it should be, a space between decisions. It becomes very easy to drift. You see it happen out here and before you know it, you’ve lost a great chunk of your productive life.” This begs the question, why must you be productive; what is the definition of produce – is it capitalist growth, and is that why Indigenous culture is ignored because it doesn’t visibly contribute to the GDP? What is wrong with “drifting”? Perhaps it has to do with the nature of Morrissey’s storytelling, in which all is tied up neatly at the end. It seems easy to get to be a curator, train for world athletic events or have an exhibition of paintings. Other character’s mysterious circumstances are cleared up in a page or two and everyone gets closure. This makes the people instantly forgettable (so much for recording their stories) but the landscape lingers in the mind.
3. Bewilderment by Richard Powers - Shortlisted for the 2021 Booker Prize, Bewilderment is a deeply moving and powerful novel, set in the near future. It concerns the degradation of the planet in tandem with a father's love for his neuro-divergent son. In an interview for the Booker Prize, Powers said, "It is, in part, a novel about the anxiety of family life on a damaged planet, and for that, I'm indebted to writers as varied as Margaret Atwood, Barbara Kingsolver, Evan Dara, Don Delillo, and Lauren Groff." It is a rich novel full of connections as, grieving for the loss of the wife and mother, the two embark on a camping trip in the wilderness to heal through nature. When they return to the 'real' world of work and school - competition, conformity and bullying - they are introduced to AI technology which can help connect to memories of others and suggest life in parallel universes. Some reviewers have considered it didactic and claustrophobic. Perhaps this is intentional as, if we continue to ignore the environmental portents, are we endangering our own species as the world closes in on us? 
4. Shit, Actually by Lindy West - Lindy West is a New York Times opinion writer and best-selling author who used to be the in-house movie critic for Seattle’s alternative newsweekly The Stranger – with a genuine adoration for nostalgic trash. In this humorous feminist revisionism re-evaluation of cult and classic films (re-watched during lock-down), she ranks all films against The Fugitive, which she thinks is the perfect film – Love Actually is the worst (why don’t any of the women actually talk?). Featuring rants, all-capital letters and italics, slang, swearing, and erratic punctuation, it reads like a teenager’s texts, complete with hashtags and initialisms such as YOLO and BTW. Other than Love Actually and Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (called Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone here), all the films are American blockbusters. As West writes, “I’m sorry but if there’s a British guy in a suit who talks in the first five minutes of your movie, he’s the villain! If it’s Tom Wilkinson, you’re fucked.”
5. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus - I have read this for not one but two book clubs, for which it is the perfect fare. Although a brilliant chemist, Elizabeth Zott is not taken seriously because she is a woman in the 1950s and, “When it came to equality, 1952 was a real disappointment.” Because she is beautiful and intelligent, the only thing the men can think of to do with her is either mock her when she spurns their sexual advances, or suggest she present a cookery show. In scenes familiar from Julia Childs' biographies, Elizabeth teaches women about self-worth as much as cooking. She focusses on the chemical aspects of cooking as she continues to refute social norms and expectations. There are some tough, hard-hitting moments, but it feels overall uplifting, and the bright primary colour scheme of the mid-century domestic sphere will look enchanting on the small screen in the inevitable TV adaptation. As she defends the importance and influence of women, Elizabeth points out, "Chemistry is inseparable from life – by its very definition, chemistry is life. But like your pie, life requires a strong base. In your home, you are that base. It is an enormous responsibility, the most undervalued job in the world that, nonetheless, holds everything together.” 
6. After Sappho by Selby Wynn Schwartz - Mostly what we have of Sappho’s work is of fragments of writing, and this novel emulates that style with short vignettes that feel like excerpts of longer works, all relating to great female creative artists; their work, loves and lives. They work together even if they have never met in a style of sisterhood. It includes snippets of laws passed against women and miniature biographies, which lead to further exploration. Men have been cut from the stories, as women have historically been, and their absence is no great loss, as they have dominated the narrative for too long. As the author writes, “What was a man’s life but the inalienable right to verbs of action? What might Vita [Sackville-West] have become, given the transitive and a pair of sturdy boots?”

You Keep It All In: A Clear Conscience

A Clear Conscience by Frances Fyfield

Corgi

Pp. 284

Helen West is a prosecutor in domestic violence cases, and this is her fifth outing in novels by Frances Fyfield, although that is not obviously apparent from this edition. The fast-paced and bleak thriller is set in the world of back-street boozers, wife abusers, ex-boxers, and knock-off perfume. The crime is both petty and serious, as passion erupts into fights over office romance and much darker offences. The characters are criminals, cleaners, bar staff, ex-army personnel, lawyers, policemen and caseworkers.

The writing style is almost breathless, and grammar seems optional as the prose gathers pace along with the narrative. The author constantly switches point of view so it appears to be third-person omniscient but we are always in the mind of the subject, blurring the lines between reality and perception. Helen’s friend Emily employs Cath as a cleaner; Cath’s brother Damien is the murder victim of a case investigated by Bailey, Helen’s partner; Damien was killed after a night at the pub where Joe, Cath’s abusive husband works. There are no easy answers or definitive source of truth; law and justice are explicitly not the same thing.

Everyone lies to a certain extent, and no one tells the whole truth to anyone, even themselves. “We are all at cross purposes, he thought, every one of us a little mad, each of us with a piece of puzzle in our hands, while the truth floats up there like that big, black raincloud.” In an attempt to feel better about one’s self-image, characters believe their own narrative and don’t examine their motives too closely. Helen is obsessed with home decorating, Cath smells of bleach, Emily dismisses Cath for suspected theft of perfume – the interior renovation metaphor alludes to the patina of gloss that covers cracks but doesn’t mend them. Perfume serves a similar masking purpose. “What a terrible gift was perfume, always given by a man to make you wear it and please him, while you stank of blackmail.”

Written in 1994, the novel has an end-of-the-century feminism feel as the author questions women’s roles and their need to validate themselves in society. Helen claims to be determinedly independent and happily childfree. “I’d hate to be a megalomaniac wife and mother. Mothers run a closed book. They shut the world out, close off anything inconvenient, as if being mum in charge of a family is so self-satisfying, so sanctifying, they never need have a conscience about anything else.” And yet, she is yearning for something intangible. “It was useless pretending she was not influenced by what she saw and read; she was not immune to the contagion of the romantic or the desire for security purveyed by mothers and magazines…but she did not quite know how to not want it either, or how to close her ears to the blandishments of marriage propaganda.”

Although short and sharp, this is an oppressive novel in which women are struggling to stand alone without being defined by men – partners; bosses; social constructs. There is a menacing tone and a fear that they will never be enough – but by whose standards? It reminds me of that playground 'joke', Q: Why do women wear make-up and perfume? A: Because they're ugly and they smell. They are not and they do not, but our patriarchal capitalist society has a vested interest in making them think thus.

Friday Five: More TV

I haven't done this for a while, which means there is a whole lot to catch up on. So without further ado...

Five TV Shows I've Watched Since the Last Time I Did This, in Alphabetical Order:

1. Death in Paradise (ABC iView, BINGE, Foxtel) - I love this utterly preposterous series. It is total comfort TV, of the 'cosy murders' trope, and I, along with many others I'm sure, binge-watched it through COVID lockdowns. There are limited characters on a small Caribbean island and a murder an episode (there are twelve seasons, with another two in the works) doesn't stop the visitors piling in. Mind you, as an actor, it would be hard to say no to a two-week stint in a tropical paradise. In a Calypso-Christie homage the half dozen or so suspects are rounded up at the end of each episode where the seemingly impossible crime is explained and the perpetrator is led away with a shake of the head and a sorrowful expression. And it all begins again next week. The detectives change every few seasons - we started with Ben Miller in 2011, through Kris Marshall (2014-2017), Ardal O'Hanlon (2017-2020) and latest incumbent Ralph Little (2020-current) - as do their sergeants and other officers. The two characters who have remained throughout are the bar/ restaurant owner Catherine Bordey, played by Elizabeth Bourgine, and the highlight of the show, Police Commissioner Selwyn Patterson played by the inimitable Don Warrington. There's also a CGI lizard called Harry, who has his own fan-following. Yes, it's that kind of show.
2. Fisk, Season Two (ABC iView, Netflix) - This has more of the same gloriously understated humour that was so enjoyable in the first season. Kitty Flanagan continues to write, direct and star as the not-quite-so-flash lawyer, dealing with obnoxious workmates and an overbearing father, This time round guest cameos come from Denise Scott, Harley Breen, Stephen Curry, Geraldine Hickey, Glenn Robins, Anne Edmonds, Rob Sitch, and Colin Lane, amongst others. Entertaining half-hour-long episodes make for perfect mid-evening viewing.
3. The Good Fight, Season 6 (SBS VICELAND, SBS On Demand, Stan, Paramount +) - If you want proof that the U.S. can do sharp, surreal, political, satire, look no further than The Good Fight. The final season sees the lawyers of Reddick & Associates trying and failing to ignore the collapse of their society, where white supremacists gather around the building, bombs are intermittently exploded, and Diane Lockhart (Christine Baranski) undergoes therapy with the bloke from Madman (John Slattery). She is prescribed a mild hallucinogen which helps her to see the funny side of barely futuristic news headlines in an only slightly altered reality. There are in-house leadership struggles, snappy suits and even-snappier spectacles, power plays and explorations of moral values which border on Boston Legal territory but without the obvious schmaltz. Charmaine Bingwa as Carmen Moyo is a great replacement for the much-missed Cush Jumbo as the up-and-coming focus character, while Marissa (Sarah Steele) and Jay (Nyambi Nyambi) continue their eye-on-the-ball down-with-the-kids schtick.

4. Mare of Easttown (HBO; Foxtel) - Kate Winslet won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Leading Actress as Mare Sheehan in a fine example of the 'going over there and taking their jobs' phenomenon as she plays a detective investigating a murder in a small town outside Philadelphia. She vapes, fights with her 'mom' and struggles to raise her daughter while doing her job with as much integrity as she can muster. The series won critical acclaim for its honest portrayal of women desperately trying to balance work and care duties. While failing to live up to societal standards of a good wife, mother, daughter and employee, she actually excels at all of the above to all who matter, and winds up exhausted and under-recognised. Despite multiple awards (Hollywood Critics Association; Primetime Emmy; Golden Globes: Critics Choice; Screen Actors' Guild; Writers' Guild) and box-office smashes (highest viewership for a linear series and one of only two series to see consecutive growth week-to-week for HBO), it still hasn't been commissioned for a second series. Maybe the predominantly male executive producers are still not ready to see women be real women. 
5. This is Going to Hurt (BBC & AMC) - In this stellar adaptation of Adam Kay's best-selling breakthrough memoir, Ben Wishaw and Ambika Mod epitomise the highs and lows of the medical profession, presenting their stories with comedic and dramatic tones. As junior doctors on an obstetrics and gynaecology ward in a National Health Service hospital, they work through the ranks of hospital hierarchy, breaking the fourth wall and addressing viewers directly with dialogue. Apparently you can save people's lives, have babies named after you, provide an exceptionally high level of care in agonisingly difficult circumstances, and be reviled, underpaid, underappreciated and criminalised at the same time. And sleep-deprived. Don't ever forget sleep-deprived. While I don't understand why anyone would undertake the ludicrously difficult position of Junior Doctor, I am forever grateful that there are people who do. And Nigel Lockhart, the Chief Consultant (played with scene-stealing panache by Alex Jennings) is an absolute c*nt.