There is a lot of flak given to British drama sometimes. This is possibly due to comparisons with offerings from America – as one Guardian blog entry suggested, ‘They get The Wire, we get Casualty’. Sometimes though, something pops up that makes you think that shows that we can produce something truly brilliant if we wanted to. Exile is that ‘something’.
Exile starred John Simm as Tom, a disgraced London journalist, who moves back up north with his sister Nancy (Olivia Coleman) and his dad (Jim Broadbent) who suffers from Alzheimer’s. The return brings back unsavoury memories for Tom as he has a strained relationship with his father due to events that happened when he was younger and wants to find out why this was the case. Along the way, he uncovered more than he thought he ever could.
I can’t remember for the life of me who described it as a good mix of human drama and conspiracy thriller but that’s what it is. The story is utterly compelling, expertly written and there is never one time where you feel appalled at the implausibility of anything (which is a frustrating habit of British dramas at times). In summary, it all makes sense. There’s a lot to take in at times, yes, but it’s not utterly indecipherable for the viewer.
What’s more, the acting is fantastic. Jim Broadbent is excellent in most things so it’s a given that he is excellent in this too. John Simm, who I’ve never really had the time for in the past since I completely missed all the Life On Mars hype and don’t watch Doctor Who, is pretty stellar as is Olivia Coleman. It is refreshing to see Coleman in a non-comedic role after Peep Show, That Mitchell And Webb Look and Twenty Twelve and it solidifies how excellent an actress she is.
The soundtrack is brilliant, the cinematography is brilliant…I think everything about it was brilliant. It’s the kind of thing that HBO would beg for, it’s that good. I watched Case Sensitive on ITV1 after the second two parts of Exile and, whilst decent, just didn’t really match up to the standard that I had seen an hour earlier. I guess that’s the problem with British drama…there’s a lot of serviceable stuff out there but nothing that really ranks as a must-see. At least when there is something that good, it is immensely satisfying.
