03/04/2020
Why you should make The Virtues your number one lockdown watch!
Disclaimer: article contains NO spoilers.
Look, we are all mind-numbingly bored of this lock down, and if any of you are like me, youâve been scrambling for something to watch after exhausting all that Netflix and Amazon Prime have to offer. Well donât fear and search no more; Desert Island DVDs has you covered. Todayâs recommendation is Shade Meadowâs The Virtues.
Meadows is well known for his gritty dramas that chronicle working-class life in Britain, made famous by his ultra-realistic portrayal of the skinhead movement in his film and subsequent TV series, This is England.
Meadows reunites with Stephen Graham (This is England, The Irishman, Sn**ch) for The Virtues, a four-part mini-series first shown on Channel 4 in the UK in May 2019 and still available on 4OD.
Graham plays Joseph, a downtrodden tradesman from Liverpool who is trying to cope with the fact that his young son is moving to Australia. It is clear from the outset that Joseph has had a traumatic past and the series follows his story of self-discovery which sees Joe end up in Ireland where he attempts to discover the truths of his past.
Meadows treads carefully to avoid any suggestion of poverty-porn to provide an extremely hard-hitting and melancholic exploration into redemption, recovery and revenge which is sure to linger in the minds of the viewers for years to come. The part-scripted drama allows Graham and the supporting cast of Helen Behan (Anna), Mark OâHallaran (Craigy) and Niamh Algar (Dinah) to flex their ultra-realistic, pathos-filled repertoire through inventive, empathetic improvisation.
The script and acting are so realistic that youâd be forgiven for thinking this was a documentary rather than a drama series. The directorial skill of Meadows is evident throughout the series, combining a multitude of filming techniques that offer the viewer an raw and authentic experience that only very few writers and directors are capable of producing. Meadows combines home camcorder footage of the past with CCTV-like angles to give an extremely life-like impression of the events that unfold. He also allows for some seemingly unimportant and unscripted conversations to run for longer than you may expect to heighten our familiarity with the characters, meaning that this four-part drama offers a slower pace than that to which many viewers may be accustomed.
The Virtues is held together by an outstanding PJ Harvey soundtrack, each piece of music meticulously placed to add an extra emotional dimension to every scene, an intensity that can make the viewer grateful for the light relief that the advert breaks provide.
The series culminates with a jaw-dropping feature-length final episode which throws up several unexpected encounters. Youâd be looking far and wide to find a more thrilling and emotional series finale than The Virtues. As TV dramas go, they donât come much bleaker than this Meadowsâ masterpiece, but the immensely nuanced script, flawless acting and evocative soundtrack make it one of the most watchable pieces of British television that I have ever had the pleasure of watching.
So, if you have five hours to spare (I know you do) then get onto 4OD and indulge in this perfectly British masterpiece, a work of dramatic potency that is sure to leave its mark on you.
http://cityjournalism.co.uk/desertislanddvds/uncategorized/why-you-should-make-the-virtues-your-number-one-lockdown-watch/?preview=true
Disclaimer: article contains NO spoilers. Look, we are all mind-numbingly bored of this lock down, and if any of you are like me, youâve been scrambling for something to watch after exhausting all that Netflix and Amazon Prime have to offer. Well donât fear and search no more; Desert Island DVDs...
