Although I rate the directing and acting high, this is ultimately a detestable story, full of logical holes and homophobic animosity. To take a heroic character of basically good intentions and essentially destroy him because of flawed judgment is worthy only when the writer redeems the character in some revelatory denouement. In this case, that never comes.
(SPOILER ALERT)
First, we are treated to a guy who could be the envy of any woman's or man's eye -- a decent, hard-working, fundamentally ethical young man who carries a big secret behind the facade of machismo. That secret -- the tragic flaw, if you will -- is that he is in love with his best buddy (or "mate" in the parlance of the U.K.). Although he tries to find appropriate ways to deal with his emotions, he falls into the trap of bending the truth more than once in an effort to break up his buddy's relationship with an unstable but attractive woman. The result is inevitable: he loses the friend and almost loses his life. End of story. Crude homophobic jokes, gay stereotypes, and fag bashing thrive.
What could have been a nice twist in this made-for-TV play involves the cathartic "outing" of the main character, David (splendidly played by Steve John Shepherd) on a TV talk show much like the old Jenny Jones show. This is an obvious ripoff of the infamous case in the U.S. where a young man did indeed lose his life a few years ago. Instead of allowing David to reveal the complex entirety of his subterfuge, however, he is made out to be a complete fool, which sets up in turn the ineffectual, gratuitous, and needlessly violent ending.
How David's Greek God could fall for a heterosexual nebbish like Theo (played well by John Simm) with almost no redeeming qualities really begs the question. Theo's girlfriend is similarly two-dimensional, Only by some ironic aspect that the audience is never made privy to can there be any sense in this. Likewise, nearly all of the supporting cast consists of stock characters and blatant stereotypes, like the angry Dad and the swishy design consultant supervising David on the job.
But the directing and editing values are good for a TV production. My only complaint is that it could have been so much better. Give this one a high mark for technique and a pass at the same time.
(SPOILER ALERT)
First, we are treated to a guy who could be the envy of any woman's or man's eye -- a decent, hard-working, fundamentally ethical young man who carries a big secret behind the facade of machismo. That secret -- the tragic flaw, if you will -- is that he is in love with his best buddy (or "mate" in the parlance of the U.K.). Although he tries to find appropriate ways to deal with his emotions, he falls into the trap of bending the truth more than once in an effort to break up his buddy's relationship with an unstable but attractive woman. The result is inevitable: he loses the friend and almost loses his life. End of story. Crude homophobic jokes, gay stereotypes, and fag bashing thrive.
What could have been a nice twist in this made-for-TV play involves the cathartic "outing" of the main character, David (splendidly played by Steve John Shepherd) on a TV talk show much like the old Jenny Jones show. This is an obvious ripoff of the infamous case in the U.S. where a young man did indeed lose his life a few years ago. Instead of allowing David to reveal the complex entirety of his subterfuge, however, he is made out to be a complete fool, which sets up in turn the ineffectual, gratuitous, and needlessly violent ending.
How David's Greek God could fall for a heterosexual nebbish like Theo (played well by John Simm) with almost no redeeming qualities really begs the question. Theo's girlfriend is similarly two-dimensional, Only by some ironic aspect that the audience is never made privy to can there be any sense in this. Likewise, nearly all of the supporting cast consists of stock characters and blatant stereotypes, like the angry Dad and the swishy design consultant supervising David on the job.
But the directing and editing values are good for a TV production. My only complaint is that it could have been so much better. Give this one a high mark for technique and a pass at the same time.