Chivalry MYVERDICT
It’s still common to see middle-aged men dating women half their age – especially in showbusiness. But who are we to judge? And why should women who get involved with much older men be judged for it? Then again, if it’s a man with way more power than the young woman – say, a film producer and his personal assistant – just how appropriate is that relationship? Such questions are what Chivalry, the six-part comedy created by Sarah Solemani and Steve Coogan, is all about. Solemani plays Bobby, an Indie film director suddenly asked to take over on a movie when the original French male film-maker dies. Coogan is the film’s producer, Cameron, who is not averse to having a personal assistant/girlfriend half his age. He’s also hyper-aware that he needs to tread carefully when it comes to sex, relationships and professional interactions with women in the #Metoo era. He’s trying his best, basically or, as Bobby puts it, “Are you just keeping your head down in the same way you don’t tweet about transgender issues?” Bobby herself is far from perfect, as the scene at the end of ep two shows,
‘It takes on many issues’
when she’s wantonly cruel to a young would-be actor. Then in the next ep, there’s a shocking moment when Bobby reveals a devastating incident from her past in a high-powered meeting, and the studio exec, played by Wanda Sykes, is furious with her. No time for sisterly support in this world. Yet Coogan’s Cameron is sensitive to Bobby’s trauma. The series is a phenomenal high-wire act, taking on as many issues of power and consent as you could fit into six half-hour episodes with proper nuance, while also functioning as a superbly accurate and hilarious take-down of Hollywood greed, shallowness and egomania. Can we have a second series right now?