Post by Ice Cream Planet on Jul 19, 2014 16:31:52 GMT -5
Hello fellow watchers of Utopia (cough, Douay-Rheims-Challoner, Paleu, Post-Lupin)! Thank you for your patience, and apologies for the delay in this review. It's been a busy week. But, at long last, here is my review for the second series premiere of Utopia.
'We're saving a species': How it all began…
Well, Dennis Kelly wasn't kidding when he said the premiere would either thrill audiences or have them scratching their heads, saying, 'What the fuck did you do that for?' Instead of revealing the fates of the characters at the end of series one, Kelly chose to jump back in time to the 70s and show how The Network and Janus came to be. It's a mighty big gamble, and yet, I can say with great enthusiasm that it paid off.
First things first: doing a prequel episode in serialized television presents one giant risk-'does it actually contribute to the mythology of the program, or is it just an excuse to waste time?' This question is especially revenant given the significantly shorter UK TV seasons in comparison to US programs. With this prequel episode, Kelly allows a glimpse into the lives of Milner and Carvel, as well as a clear portrait of how far The Network was willing to go to protect its investment in Janus.
At a little under an hour, it's amazing how much Kelly managed to tie into the narrative: you have the Airey Neave assassination, the Aldo Moro kidnapping and assassination, the strikes across the UK, the rolling blackouts, Thatcher's impending rise to being Europe's first female Prime Minister, AND the Three Mile Island disaster. Real-life news footage, such as Thatcher's reaction to Neave's assassination, is interspersed throughout the episode. I mean, how do you approach all of this? Simple: Kelly uses these events, in a relative short time span, to give a sense of apocalyptic doom. No matter where the characters go, whether it is the UK, Europe, or the US, disaster is seemingly just waiting around the corner. Rewatching the premiere, I was stuck with how detailed and layered Kelly was in his execution (sorry) of these events: an unending atmosphere of despair gives a weird degree of understand to The Network and their brutal actions. They are merely trying to keep everything from falling apart.
Anchored by Kelly's fantastic script, Marc Munden's fantastic direction only adds to the atmosphere of doom. The whole episode is filmed with the boxy ratio of 70s television, which only adds to the claustrophobia of the plot. Utopia remains one of the most beautifully filmed TV dramas on air, but there is an ever-so faint faded nature to the visuals. This, along with the extraordinary eye for detail regarding the clothing, set designs, and massive piles of garbage that litter the streets, epitomizes the program's love of blending fact and fantasy.
All of this would of course collapse into American Horror Story silliness if it weren't for the wonderful performances by Rose Leslie and Tom Burke. Leslie is a genius bit of casting on a purely superficial level, but she is a real standout. Leslie has done excellent work before, on Downton Abbey and Game of Thrones, but playing a younger version of Geraldine James (who is my choice for one of the best actresses of her generation) is a glorious challenge, and she shows she is more than up for it. Her Milner may be younger, but she still has the seductive, evil glamour; she's ruthless and precise in her decisions. However, she shows she is more than just a malicious, manipulative killing machine. Her eyes welling with tears as Carvel is tortured, her choice to drown her alcoholic husband, are all beautifully played, but never detract from Milner's inherent capacity for ruthlessness.
Conversely, Burke's portrait of Carvel as a tortured and torturous scientist is a similarly excellent bit of casting. Unlike Milner, Carvel wasn't present in the first series, so Burke has greater freedom to do as he pleases with the character. Kelly wisely avoids turning Carvel into an innocent victim who was duped by The Network. He is incredibly bright, but more than content to go conduct experiments like inducing violence in his son, Pietre, or talking about selecting a particular race as to what race he would like to remain unsterilized. However, he is also a weakling: he can't bring himself to destroy his own creation, so he choses to inject it in Jessica, thereby dooming her to a life on the run. Carvel is a bad man, and the program wisely never asks for sympathy.
If there is any complaint about this episode, its that there is so much interesting plot details at lay, I wish it was the pilot to a Utopia spinoff series. Another 4 episodes would be grand. Hell, even another 90 minutes would be splendid!
But, that's Utopia at its best: beautiful writing, beautiful, direction, and beautiful performances, all served in a manner that left this viewer hungry for more.
Grade: A
Miscellaneous thoughts:
*Carvel killing the rabbit in front of Pietre was a brutal touch.
*Utopia: a program where if a character is tortured (this time, it's fingernails instead of eyes), the torturer will at least be pleasant in demeanor.
*Christos appearance was a bit jarring, but I like how Kelly didn't feel the need to explain every little detail of the show's past (I'm sure other viewers may disagree with me).
*Tom, Milner's husband, and his speech about her being in 'brain love' with Carvel was absolutely heartbreaking.
*'So, Jessica. Let's show you how to use a gun.'
What did you lot think?
'We're saving a species': How it all began…
Well, Dennis Kelly wasn't kidding when he said the premiere would either thrill audiences or have them scratching their heads, saying, 'What the fuck did you do that for?' Instead of revealing the fates of the characters at the end of series one, Kelly chose to jump back in time to the 70s and show how The Network and Janus came to be. It's a mighty big gamble, and yet, I can say with great enthusiasm that it paid off.
First things first: doing a prequel episode in serialized television presents one giant risk-'does it actually contribute to the mythology of the program, or is it just an excuse to waste time?' This question is especially revenant given the significantly shorter UK TV seasons in comparison to US programs. With this prequel episode, Kelly allows a glimpse into the lives of Milner and Carvel, as well as a clear portrait of how far The Network was willing to go to protect its investment in Janus.
At a little under an hour, it's amazing how much Kelly managed to tie into the narrative: you have the Airey Neave assassination, the Aldo Moro kidnapping and assassination, the strikes across the UK, the rolling blackouts, Thatcher's impending rise to being Europe's first female Prime Minister, AND the Three Mile Island disaster. Real-life news footage, such as Thatcher's reaction to Neave's assassination, is interspersed throughout the episode. I mean, how do you approach all of this? Simple: Kelly uses these events, in a relative short time span, to give a sense of apocalyptic doom. No matter where the characters go, whether it is the UK, Europe, or the US, disaster is seemingly just waiting around the corner. Rewatching the premiere, I was stuck with how detailed and layered Kelly was in his execution (sorry) of these events: an unending atmosphere of despair gives a weird degree of understand to The Network and their brutal actions. They are merely trying to keep everything from falling apart.
Anchored by Kelly's fantastic script, Marc Munden's fantastic direction only adds to the atmosphere of doom. The whole episode is filmed with the boxy ratio of 70s television, which only adds to the claustrophobia of the plot. Utopia remains one of the most beautifully filmed TV dramas on air, but there is an ever-so faint faded nature to the visuals. This, along with the extraordinary eye for detail regarding the clothing, set designs, and massive piles of garbage that litter the streets, epitomizes the program's love of blending fact and fantasy.
All of this would of course collapse into American Horror Story silliness if it weren't for the wonderful performances by Rose Leslie and Tom Burke. Leslie is a genius bit of casting on a purely superficial level, but she is a real standout. Leslie has done excellent work before, on Downton Abbey and Game of Thrones, but playing a younger version of Geraldine James (who is my choice for one of the best actresses of her generation) is a glorious challenge, and she shows she is more than up for it. Her Milner may be younger, but she still has the seductive, evil glamour; she's ruthless and precise in her decisions. However, she shows she is more than just a malicious, manipulative killing machine. Her eyes welling with tears as Carvel is tortured, her choice to drown her alcoholic husband, are all beautifully played, but never detract from Milner's inherent capacity for ruthlessness.
Conversely, Burke's portrait of Carvel as a tortured and torturous scientist is a similarly excellent bit of casting. Unlike Milner, Carvel wasn't present in the first series, so Burke has greater freedom to do as he pleases with the character. Kelly wisely avoids turning Carvel into an innocent victim who was duped by The Network. He is incredibly bright, but more than content to go conduct experiments like inducing violence in his son, Pietre, or talking about selecting a particular race as to what race he would like to remain unsterilized. However, he is also a weakling: he can't bring himself to destroy his own creation, so he choses to inject it in Jessica, thereby dooming her to a life on the run. Carvel is a bad man, and the program wisely never asks for sympathy.
If there is any complaint about this episode, its that there is so much interesting plot details at lay, I wish it was the pilot to a Utopia spinoff series. Another 4 episodes would be grand. Hell, even another 90 minutes would be splendid!
But, that's Utopia at its best: beautiful writing, beautiful, direction, and beautiful performances, all served in a manner that left this viewer hungry for more.
Grade: A
Miscellaneous thoughts:
*Carvel killing the rabbit in front of Pietre was a brutal touch.
*Utopia: a program where if a character is tortured (this time, it's fingernails instead of eyes), the torturer will at least be pleasant in demeanor.
*Christos appearance was a bit jarring, but I like how Kelly didn't feel the need to explain every little detail of the show's past (I'm sure other viewers may disagree with me).
*Tom, Milner's husband, and his speech about her being in 'brain love' with Carvel was absolutely heartbreaking.
*'So, Jessica. Let's show you how to use a gun.'
What did you lot think?
