Alice & Jack
Channel 4,
Wednesday 14 February, 9pm ★★★★★ This six-parter from the people who gave us the
I Am… series of searing individual women’s stories on Channel 4, is similarly difficult to summarise, and similarly bold and impressive. Written by Victor Levin, best known for creating classic US sitcom Mad About You, it explores the relationship between city executive Alice, played by Andrea Riseborough (National Treasure), and scientist Jack (Domhnall Gleeson, Ex Machina). The two contrasting characters initially meet 15 years ago via a dating app, and Alice only seems interested in one-night stands, whereas sweet Jack is after a deeper connection.
SCARY FUNNY
Despite Alice spending her life going from one bloke to another, she does find something special in Jack, and he is smitten with her. But it’s clear she also has a trauma in her past that is having a huge effect on her in the present. There’s a scene in episode one when the duo visit an art gallery, and Alice behaves so awfully, it’s quite scary. But their relationship endures, kind of, and the series tracks their ups and downs over many years, with as many sharply funny moments as there are shocking dramatic ones.
SUPPORTING STARS
The two lead actors are as great as you would expect, but the show is almost stolen by the supporting cast. Aisling Bea (This Way Up) and comedian Sunil Patel are both brilliant as key figures in Jack’s life, while Sex Education’s Aimee Lou Wood dazzles as Alice’s assistant. Indeed, everything about the show is top-notch.
Who is Jack?
Jack is like me, in a lot of ways. He’s an Irish fella… that’s where the similarities end actually. He is reasonably open when we meet him. He is open to the world, he is pretty optimistic and generally he’s had a happy upbringing, even though he has lost his parents. He meets somebody, and his life changes.
What first attracted you to the scripts?
I got sent the scripts a long time ago, the first and last episode had been written. They were wonderful, really short and punchy, and they were about love. I’d been looking for something to do about love and they seemed pro-love. Things can be sort of soppy or they can be cynical, and this wasn’t either, it was in the middle. I thought the combination of Jack and Alice were two people I hadn’t really seen on screen together before, and I think that’s what I liked about it most.
What makes it different from other love stories?
I think our story is funny. A lot of stories that are funny end up being less deeply felt because they concentrate on funny, or on emotional. It’s really hard to do both honestly and well and together. I’m hoping that this is properly funny and warm despite so many difficult things happening to the characters. And I’m hoping that it’s genuinely romantic, not in a soppy way or in a sentimental way, but romantic.