The brilliant showcase for the UK’s finest female actors is finally back
IN 2017, British writer-director Dominic Savage combined with Gemma Arterton and Dominic Cooper for a feature film that was an excoriating look at modern parenting and partnerships – and the lies people tell one another.
The Escape didn’t set the awards season (or the box office) alight, but it delivered a powerful, thought-provoking, emotional wallop of a tale that will stay with you for days.
It also provided Savage (then best known for portmanteau dramas such as The Secrets and True Love) with the inspiration and template for an anthology series featuring some of Britain’s finest female actors.
Boasting the same extensive improvisation and collaboration, I Am’s initial 2019 run featured three almost documentary-style portraits of Kirsty (Samantha Morton), Nicola (Vicky McClure) and Hannah (Gemma Chan).
Now, almost a year-and-a-half after their UK debuts, and hot on the heels of the British bow of the Kate Winslet-starring first instalment of the third season, I Am’s second trilogy has finally made it to our shores.
Tonight’s opening episode is perhaps the most harrowing. Featuring the always intense Suranne Jones (Doctor Foster,
Gentleman Jack), I Am: Victoria looks at the unravelling of one woman’s life and mental health over a single weekend.
When we first meet the mother of two, she’s up exercising and excited about the day ahead. While her husband Christian (Ashley Walters) encourages her to take a day off, she’s determined to keep on top of the burgeoning inquiries for her latest property development.
After she becomes exasperated when she discovers the girls haven’t bothered to get changed to go shopping with her, her feckless sister Deborah (Alice Feetham) arrives desperate to borrow more money because she’s missed two weeks’ rent and had a car accident.
A sleepless night for Victoria follows, while Christian worries that perhaps Deborah is right and his wife really does need professional help. But before he can contemplate that further, the following morning, Victoria is busy in the kitchen preparing for a small dinner party that evening and pleading with him: ‘‘Can’t we just act like we like each other tonight?’’
What follows is a masterclass from Jones and one of the most excruciatingly heartrending scenes. It truly is disturbing watching Victoria undermine herself and break down in front of our eyes. It’s actually an earlier moment, though, that will sear into your memory – desperate to relieve some of her pent-up frustrations, Victoria silently screams into a milk carton before biting down on it. It’s an image not easily forgotten.
With the second and third stories featuring Letitia Wright (Black Panther) as Danielle looking for love and Lesley Manville (Mrs Harris Goes to Paris) as a sexagenarian reassessing what she wants from life, I Am offers the kind of Sunday night appointment viewing thought lost some time ago. Embrace it while you can.
Season 2 of I Am makes its New Zealand debut on Sky’s Rialto Channel tonight at 8.30pm. Episodes will also be available to stream on Sky Go.