Ricky Gervais continues to surprise me. I know that he's very funny, with his own brand of humor that many people find offensive, but I like most of his stuff. And I think of him as a comedian - both as an actor and a writer/director. So every time he does something serious and thoughtful, I am amazed at the level of depth, humility and kindness he brings to his creations.
"After Life" is the story of a man who just lost his beloved wife, and with her, the will to live. He probably would have killed himself immediately, if he didn't have a dog to take care of. So he manages to get out of bed every day, and lead an existence devoid of any shred of happiness or hope. He titters on the brink of death, yet doesn't cross the line; he manages to anger, but not completely alienate those closest to him. People annoy him, probably because they go on living despite the fact that his world has ended. Worst of all, he claims to not care about his own life to the point where he deliberately puts himself in harm's way, yet the only people that he's hurting by his behavior are the people who still care about him.
I recently lost the person that I loved most in this world, and who loved me the most, and this show displayed so precisely all the feelings that I've been going through. All the terrible feelings and thoughts that you don't share with anyone, because they are too dark to put into words.
I'm so grateful to Gervais for doing it for me. Now when someone asks me how I'm feeling, I can reffer them to this show.
Review of After Life
