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It must be my age, but I seem to be more and more out of sync with most reviewers - both professional and amateur - who generally seemed to have liked this latest BBC offering.
Or is it that nobody dares to criticise a supposedly well-meaning BBC drama with autism at its centre, for fear of being accused of political incorrectness?
When this six-episode series was launched, the pundits were extolling its virtues as a piece of real British drama - without having to resort to yet another 'cops and robbers' theme to catch its audience.
To be fair, episode one of this family drama: mum, dad, Grandad, teenage daughter, five-year-old autistic son, uncle and cheating aunt set in the Lake District - was quite enjoyable. The characters were well developed, the acting first class, the action had some good humour and the adorable young boy at the centre of the story who was afflicted with mild autism was brilliant. He had a passion for music and was only happy when he had his music headphones on or the radio in his home was turned up to ear splitting volume. Sure the family seemed a little at odds on how to deal with this problem in their midst - who wouldn't be? But nobody dared suggest that he was suffering from autism. Anyone who ventured to offer an opinion that there might be something seriously wrong with him- like cheating auntie tried to do, (who was also a qualified doctor) - was dumped on from a great height by protective mum; with dad also in a supportive role.
So far so good; but for me, things went downhill from there. I almost stopped watching. Instead of mum and dad accepting that there was something wrong, that their son needed professional help, they continued to bury their heads in the sand. Granddad took the boy to the doctor without telling mum. The doctor agreed there was something amiss. Mum went ballistic and threw dad out of her house.
Slowly -oh so slowly - mum and dad sort of came to terms that something was indeed wrong, but still continued to reject professional and well-meant amateur advice at every turn. There are many sub-plots in this piece. Cheating wife trying to make a fresh start with uncle; uncle trying to take over the running of Granddad's brewery business because his own business had gone bust; Dad, deeply in debt building a costly 'gastro-pub' - whatever that may be; Grandad having it off with his singing teacher; teenage daughter having it off with local dick-head schoolboy, and so on
So good acting, good plots, plenty going on, plenty of drama - so why the 'sour face'? I have a sour face because the remaining five episodes of the drama were so utterly depressing, and in the main totally lacked credibility. Everyone has faults, but in this particular extended family, they had enough faults to fill Hades itself. Mum took the lead; with her resolute determination to never tell anyone her son was autistic. At first, this meant trying to teach him at home - roping in all the family to help. When that plan collapsed, amid bitter recrimination and arguments, she insisted the poor lad went back to a normal school so that she wouldn't be tainted with having an autistic son. It really was painful to watch.
Dad wasn't a lot better, and he continually insisted he knew the way to control his son and had almost violent arguments with his wife about it. Grandad was a pain in the arse and was always letting his temper getting the better of him and saying hurtful things to anyone and everyone. Uncle couldn't forgive his cheating wife, despite her very best efforts to put it in the past. I haven't told you half of it - it just goes on and on. They never stop arguing and bickering and saying bad things to each other. The poor boy at the centre of it all seems to be a punching ball.
I'm sorry, but I simply do not believe in this enlightened age that parents would feel embarrassed about admitting their son was autistic. It just doesn't ring true, especially when by denying his condition they were harming his chance of getting proper help. The rest of the family weren't much better either.
It was only in 'corny' episode six, when the boy disappeared, that they finally and very begrudgingly admitted their son was autistic so that the search party would know what to expect if they came across him. Then they tried to blame another autistic adult for the boy's disappearance. Is a whole community of well-educated, middle-class people really like this? I'm sorry, but I just do not believe it.
score 6/10
Mobithailand 3 May 2016
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw3462790/ |
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8-11-2020 12:29:10