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Naui Haebangilji (2022)
I'm sorry, but this drama is affected! Let me explain!
I thought that the characters were interesting and the acting and cinematography were also good, so I wanted to like this, but have called it a day after episode four because the series is undoubtedly what I call "affected" or "twee" and this spoils a show for me. By this, I mean the characters engage in unrealistic behaviours and generally speak in an unnatural manner. The most glaring examples of this are the last scenes of episodes two and four. In the former, Yeom Mi Jung suddenly darts off on a whim to visit Mr Goo late at night to say to him: "Worship Me" - cue soft music. All this before there had even been any real interaction between the two of them. Oh come on! I was unsettled by this, but gave the show the benefit of the doubt. The end of episode four in which we witness a slow-motion shot of Mr Goo risking life and limb in executing a superhuman jump like he's Superman to retrieve Mi Jung's hat which had blown away in a sudden gust of wind, when he could have walked a short distance to fetch it was the last straw. He'd just injured his foot in one of his drinking binges for goodness sake! Totally unrealistic and unnatural. I write this review as a warning to those people like myself who are averse to affected dramas that this series is one such, so that they can see past the many positive reviews which it elicits and which drew me in.
I Am...: I Am Maria (2021)
Lesley Manville is a tour de force
The story of a frustrated middle-aged woman, or late middle age in this case, wanting more from her life has been told many times, so there is nothing new storywise here. This dramatisation however is made captivating viewing by the sublime acting of Lesley Manville, who brings all of Maria's suppressed desire into vivid reality. Michael Gould is also good in an able supporting role as her nice-but-dull husband. You can cut the the tension in their their 31-year marriage with a knife. I was cheering Maria on in her desire for fulfilment. You may have a different take. Either way it's engrossing stuff.
I Am...: I Am Danielle (2021)
Raises moral questions
I'm posting this to provide some balance to earlier reviews because for me it was worth watching. Whilst it wasn't gripping, and as others have said, the chemistry between the leads was wanting, it did raise a thought-provoking moral issue which was handled in a realistic and sensitive manner, so supplying an ending which left me pondering how the lives of these characters might continue from here.
Play for Today: Don't Be Silly (1979)
A searing depiction of domestic violence
Don't Be Silly is a stunning portrayal of the growing menace and escalating violence of a husband, Michael, toward his wife, Pamela. The path to violence is subtly signposted in scenes depicting Michael's arrogant belittling of Pamela and his selfish, sexist, condescending dismissal of her feelings and aspirations, leaving her progressively downtrodden. Bitter invective leads on to rough handling and the scene is set for a step-by-step descent to savage inhumanity. The scope of the treatment is deepened further by characters' remarks on domestic violence, relating how this was commonly seen in the 1970s as variously a sign of virility, the fault of the injured party and an expression of commitment to the relationship. The harmful effect on the development of the couple's two children is also adroitly developed. The two leading actors play their parts so realistically that anyone who has experience of domestic violence is likely to be emotionally triggered by watching this play and so I advise anyone in this situation to do so with caution.