Living forever, looking like Blake
Louis Theroux’s Weird Weekends 5 episodes, available now
THERE are very few things that are more maddening than the calm and even tones of Louis Theroux and the veteran broadcaster’s habit of putting himself into slightly compromising situations during interviews. And a lot of it is down to tone, which is one of faux compassion and concern. Does he not worry that if he talks down to people like that they’ll punch him? Therein seems to lie a lot of the tension in his documentaries, which are ever-evolving. In recent years, the journalist has matured to produce hard-hitting shows on Alzheimer’s, the state of the US prison system and the lives of those people dealing with substance abuse. However, if you’re looking for something a little lighter, Theroux’s earlier “gonzo style” shows, Weird Weekends are a good place to start with the bounty of material Netflix offers from him — five documentaries in all. You can see the Brit take on wrestlers, delve into the porn industry and, of course, meet the most hated (and now largely disbanded) family in America — the family behind the controversial Westboro Baptist Church. Theroux has said he has never consciously turned someone over, but you could have fooled us.
Fire In The Blood Available now
IT sort of feels now like we are in a post-AIDS world, as preventative drugs for HIV continue to emerge. Perhaps now is also the time to look back at the worst of the hysteria around the illness and the class wars that shaped the developments of treatments. Fire in the Blood describes itself as a tale of ‘medicine, monopoly and malice’.
It documents the Western pharmaceutical industry’s unethical blocking of access to lowcost AIDS drugs for the countries of Africa and the Global South in the years after 1996, offering up a stark contrast between treatments in America compared to the rest of the world. HIV continues to dominate lower-income countries, despite the availability of cheap antiretroviral drugs. The documentary clearly carries a narrative of tragedy, determination, and eventually victory, without sugar coating the institutional racism and political failings involved in the epidemic.
Dear White People Available now 10 episodes
IT’S fair to say Justin Simien’s Netflix adaptation of his 2014 film Dear White People divided people. Even before it was released there was sniping from some about reverse racism, mostly along the lines of Donald Trump’s contention that it equalled “racism at the highest level”. The question of what equals racism was at the heart of the film that earned high praise, but also accusations of over-simplifying race to fit narrow stereotypes. Those who struggled with the satire’s occasionally simplistic portrayal of collegiate life found much to admire as the concept was given more room to develop. Over 10 episodes Simien essentially goes over the same ground the film did (almost shot-for-shot in the first episode), but this time has much more space to explore and each episode focuses on a different character. This is also a very talky, often earnestly didactic series, and at times it can be a little heavy-handed in the messaging and lessons but the ensemble cast is strong.
The Age of Adaline (2015) Available now
THIS is sort of like The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button if it were made by the people who brought us Sex and the City. It tells the story of a woman, born in 1908, but who gets to look 29 (and like Blake Lively, which is even better than 29) forever. And she uses her time wisely, by getting into romantic adventures while making a great play of wanting to avoid them. On a magical New Year’s Eve she meets a kind-hearted fellow historian who threatens to disrupt her carefully controlled life. Later she’ll meet a scientist who is even more disruptive — and is played by Harrison Ford in a lovely performance that both acknowledges his age and reprises his world-class charm. As the story goes back and forth in time, you don’t have to work too hard to come up with questions. Like, would a 106-year-old woman really have a lot in common with a millennial? It boasts several dry one-liners (“haven’t been there in ages,” and so on) and balances the semi-laughable scientific gobbledygook about ionised atoms and whatnot with lush photography and a fresh angle on the theme of doomed love.