"If you've seen one, you've seen them all", mother used to say as we sat at the breakfast table.she always sat there for serious discussion.
"It's all sex and that, unrequilted love" she said, of course she meant unrequited, but I knew what she meant.
"Have you been to the allotments?", she was right of course, about seeing one, seeing all.
"aye, I went yesterday" I said, I hadn't, but she wouldn't know.
That's Alan Bennett. Rinse and repeat, throw in some thing out the ordinary usually some narrative of a forbidden sexual encounter that he's trying to mitigate, and a passive aggressive dig at some racial grouping, just once mind, as not to make it the feature of the ramble, usually Indian, harping back to the 60s mindset he never really left behind, casual racism that were meant to think comes from the mind of some suburban housewife, so he can maintain cognitive dissonance from his own narrative, There must be one in every episode, then he will make some statement as thought the character is accepting of that culture....at a distance, as though he has the right to be a judge and then benevolent with his acceptance, "applaud me, I'm live and let live". while he projects this abstract acceptability of mitigation for perceived societal sexual deviations for his own middle class mind.
Meanwhile you've set up a minor twist, that comes as no shock to anyone, as you reveal it in quarterly sections, little hint a quarter of the way in, a little reinforcement of if halfway, big confirmation 3/4 of the way through, followed by quiet reflection of the shock, opinion, and acceptance of the last act. Which probably mentions the original opening clue as a closing statement, to show you that the clues were there all along.
As for the wooden, predictable staring out of the windows of the actors. Clearly none of them got to see any of the others works, and all opted to go for the same basic drama 101. Deep in thought, pause, look off from the camera, wait, 3,2,1, next line. Or juicy gossip you have to say with immediacy. Look into the camera, say the line, pull face afterwards to reflect smaller or "what do you think of that?" expression.
It is great to return drama to the tv, play for today is long missed. But it's about time the world woke up to the fact that Alan Bennett has one story, that he's been piping out for his, and our lifetimes. The tragedy is, most people can't see it.
I clicked contains spoilers, but that's an understatement, I've just about spoiled everything Bennett has ever written.because it's all the same, made more evident by watching this series in quick succession.
Independently, if no other er Bennett work was around, then for sure, excellent, imaginative. Cutting and thought provoking. It's when you see all these works together, and reflect on them and his others, you suddenly realise...they're all the same.
"Aye, you've seen one, you've seen them all".
That's Alan Bennett. Rinse and repeat, throw in some thing out the ordinary usually some narrative of a forbidden sexual encounter that he's trying to mitigate, and a passive aggressive dig at some racial grouping, just once mind, as not to make it the feature of the ramble, usually Indian, harping back to the 60s mindset he never really left behind, casual racism that were meant to think comes from the mind of some suburban housewife, so he can maintain cognitive dissonance from his own narrative, There must be one in every episode, then he will make some statement as thought the character is accepting of that culture....at a distance, as though he has the right to be a judge and then benevolent with his acceptance, "applaud me, I'm live and let live". while he projects this abstract acceptability of mitigation for perceived societal sexual deviations for his own middle class mind.
Meanwhile you've set up a minor twist, that comes as no shock to anyone, as you reveal it in quarterly sections, little hint a quarter of the way in, a little reinforcement of if halfway, big confirmation 3/4 of the way through, followed by quiet reflection of the shock, opinion, and acceptance of the last act. Which probably mentions the original opening clue as a closing statement, to show you that the clues were there all along.
As for the wooden, predictable staring out of the windows of the actors. Clearly none of them got to see any of the others works, and all opted to go for the same basic drama 101. Deep in thought, pause, look off from the camera, wait, 3,2,1, next line. Or juicy gossip you have to say with immediacy. Look into the camera, say the line, pull face afterwards to reflect smaller or "what do you think of that?" expression.
It is great to return drama to the tv, play for today is long missed. But it's about time the world woke up to the fact that Alan Bennett has one story, that he's been piping out for his, and our lifetimes. The tragedy is, most people can't see it.
I clicked contains spoilers, but that's an understatement, I've just about spoiled everything Bennett has ever written.because it's all the same, made more evident by watching this series in quick succession.
Independently, if no other er Bennett work was around, then for sure, excellent, imaginative. Cutting and thought provoking. It's when you see all these works together, and reflect on them and his others, you suddenly realise...they're all the same.
"Aye, you've seen one, you've seen them all".