STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning
On the 15th of April 1989, Anne Williams (Maxine Peake) waves her fifteen year old son, Kevin (Campbell Wallace) goodbye, after agreeing to let him travel alone to the Nottingham Forest vs. Liverpool game in South Yorkshire, despite some reservations from herself and her partner Steve (Stephen Walters.) Hours later, they find themselves making the arduous journey to the Hillsborough stadium ground, after learning of a major disaster that's occurred there, before their worst nightmare is confirmed, and Kevin is announced as one of a number of fatalities the incident has claimed. After overcoming her devastation, Anne is galvanised into mounting a powerful campaign for justice, after learning her beloved son could have been saved if it weren't for the actions of a few.
The Hillsborough stadium tragedy wasn't just one of the biggest disasters in the history of English sports, it also went on to emerge as one of its biggest scandals, with horrifying revelations of lies and cover-ups, as well as collusion between the worlds of politics, media and the authorities to smear and discredit those most closely and personally affected by the disaster, with increasingly unsettling new layers emerging from the case as the years went by, and further actions were taken for accountability and justice. This ITV drama, from director Bruce Goodison and writer Kevin Sampson, attempts to humanise one of those affected, in the shape of Anne Williams, a mother who suffered the unimaginable agony of losing her son, and who has sadly since died.
Maxine Peake has a natural affinity playing these tough, working class women roles, and this is certainly no exception, portraying a mother forced to endure one of the worst fates imaginable, before being plunged in to a desperate hurdle for the most human of instincts for justice. Her scenes at the beginning, searching around the makeshift hospital beside the football ground, wading through a maze of misery and despair before brutally hearing the truth of her son, are truly heart wrenching. Throughout, her performance just never stops feeling wonderfully human, in the simplest of scenes to the most demanding, and it is this central force that guides it through, over four parts, complimented by some strong supporting performances.
Like the best true life dramas, it is sadly not the happiest of tales, and at times is quite uncomfortable, but it still tells an inspiring and relevant true life tale, that gives a human voice to one of those affected, sadly no longer here to speak for herself. *****
On the 15th of April 1989, Anne Williams (Maxine Peake) waves her fifteen year old son, Kevin (Campbell Wallace) goodbye, after agreeing to let him travel alone to the Nottingham Forest vs. Liverpool game in South Yorkshire, despite some reservations from herself and her partner Steve (Stephen Walters.) Hours later, they find themselves making the arduous journey to the Hillsborough stadium ground, after learning of a major disaster that's occurred there, before their worst nightmare is confirmed, and Kevin is announced as one of a number of fatalities the incident has claimed. After overcoming her devastation, Anne is galvanised into mounting a powerful campaign for justice, after learning her beloved son could have been saved if it weren't for the actions of a few.
The Hillsborough stadium tragedy wasn't just one of the biggest disasters in the history of English sports, it also went on to emerge as one of its biggest scandals, with horrifying revelations of lies and cover-ups, as well as collusion between the worlds of politics, media and the authorities to smear and discredit those most closely and personally affected by the disaster, with increasingly unsettling new layers emerging from the case as the years went by, and further actions were taken for accountability and justice. This ITV drama, from director Bruce Goodison and writer Kevin Sampson, attempts to humanise one of those affected, in the shape of Anne Williams, a mother who suffered the unimaginable agony of losing her son, and who has sadly since died.
Maxine Peake has a natural affinity playing these tough, working class women roles, and this is certainly no exception, portraying a mother forced to endure one of the worst fates imaginable, before being plunged in to a desperate hurdle for the most human of instincts for justice. Her scenes at the beginning, searching around the makeshift hospital beside the football ground, wading through a maze of misery and despair before brutally hearing the truth of her son, are truly heart wrenching. Throughout, her performance just never stops feeling wonderfully human, in the simplest of scenes to the most demanding, and it is this central force that guides it through, over four parts, complimented by some strong supporting performances.
Like the best true life dramas, it is sadly not the happiest of tales, and at times is quite uncomfortable, but it still tells an inspiring and relevant true life tale, that gives a human voice to one of those affected, sadly no longer here to speak for herself. *****