How do you really say goodbye?
Damnation Season 1 10 episodes, available now
This series was cancelled recently in the US which is a shame given the warm critical response to it as well as the wonderful central performance of our own Killian Scott.
Billed by its creator and executive producer Tony Tost as “one part Eastwood, one part Steinbeck, one part Ellroy”, the series is on the surface about a farmers’ strike in a small Iowa town in the 1930s, and the two men — activist preacher Seth Davenport (Killian Scott), and mercenary Creeley Turner (Logan Marshall-Green) — on opposite sides of it. But the writers have used this pulpy and violent Great Depression yarn in part as a commentary on the current state of class conflict in the US, and how the wealthy and powerful in any era are inclined to do whatever’s necessary to keep the wealth and power for themselves.
At times it’s a little overly heavy and the characterisation unnecessarily intricate. There are inconvenient corpses to dispose of, brothers who come into combat with one another and elaborate montages, and it’s easy to see in some ways why this didn’t get the audience it deserved.
Those who stay will be rewarded, however.
Everything Sucks Season 1, available Friday
Between shows like Stranger Things and The Goldbergs, the 1980s are well represented on Netflix these days. But when it comes to nostalgia for the generation that grew up with Doc Marten boots, Alanis Morissette, Dawson’s Creek, discmans, and torturously slow dial up internet — Netflix’s latest show, Everything Sucks! is a nostalgic throwback, with the added surprise of no vampires or sci-fi.
Set in 1996 in a town (literally) named Boring, the series introduces us to the newest young nerds who are using their video skills for a much more realistic high school boy reason: trying to pick up dates. The resultant dramas may have the 1990s references laid on a little thick but there is a sweet Stand By Me feel to the teenage friendships, and the ensemble performances from the young cast are excellent. Although then again if this were the actual 1990s they’d all be played by 35-year-olds.
Irreplaceable You (2018) Available Friday
Be prepared to weep. This one is for those who have lost love on Valentine’s Day and are still getting over it. The drama follows Abbie (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) and Sam (Michiel Huisman), best friends since childhood who are engaged to be married, and whose tranquil New York lives come crashing down when Abbie receives an unexpected diagnosis. Faced with the prospect of an uncertain timeline, Abbie begins a search for a new love to take care of Sam. Along the way, Abbie makes unlikely friendships with Myron (Christopher Walken), Kate (Kate McKinnon) and Mitch (Steve Coogan), whose one thing in common is that they focus on living, while they are dying.
Ultimately, the film asks the question: how do you say goodbye? It’s a cast list to die for, with two Emmy winners, one Oscar winner and one Oscar nominee — not bad going for a directorial debut of Stephanie Laing, who was a producer on Veep.
Shakespeare In Love (1998) Available Wednesday
Hard to believe it has been 20 years since this romantic masterpiece came out.
It imagines a young Will Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes) as a struggling playwright whose writer’s block is relieved by the mere sight of the heaving bosom of Viola De Lesseps (Gwyneth Paltrow). It becomes a play within a play. Shakespeare’s off-the-boards life mirrors, inspires and occasionally substitutes for his writing.
Mistaken identities, star-crossed lovers and moonlit balcony embraces transform the play under construction. ‘Will’ works out the narrative kinks while stealing off each night to the bedchambers of Viola, who, during the day, dons man’s attire and stills those heaving bosoms in order to pass as the perfect Romeo.
It’s all slightly too chummy at times and the references to Shakespeare’s actual works are laid on a little thick, but there is a joyful exuberance to this film which launched Gwynnie into the stratosphere — she won the best actress Oscar for her performance.