Once
again, it seems that times have not improved for the residents of The Village. But then you weren’t really
expecting them to, were you? On the plus side, however, it can perhaps be said
that the point of this laugh a minute chuckle fest (and the Sarcasm of the Week
Award goes to…) is now slowly becoming apparent.
Episode
5 saw the shell-shocked Joe Middleton (Nico Mirallegro), clearly suffering terribly
from post-traumatic stress syndrome, reach the end of his latest period of
leave. Knowing he must go back to the front line, he struggles to hide his distress
from his family, in actual fact breaking down before making it over the borders
of the farm. Collapsing in a heap in the middle of a field, he is helped back
home in no fit state to return to duty. Naturally, the terrifying red-capped military
police have other ideas, meaning harrowing consequences for Joe, and distressing viewing for us. Meanwhile, young Bert (Bill Jones), blaming himself
for the mental state of his older brother, runs off into the night, injuring
himself in the process. Grace (Maxine Peake) meets with union leaders in an attempt
to secure better working conditions for the factory women, Martha (Charlie
Murphy) continues her flawless performance in the role of irritating busybody
and John (John Simm) continues to do little with his time but pray.
Unsurprisingly,
all is not well up at the Allingham household, either. The family, still reeling
from the suicide of its patriarch, must continue with business as usual.
Business as usual, however, means shady dealings for Edmund (Rupert Evans), as
his employment of Detective Bairstow (Joe Armstrong) as a spy grows
complicated, dredging up the private life of Arnold Hankin (Anthony Flanagan)
in the process. As it were. Caro (Emily Beecham) is still lost to the spell of
Britain’s creepiest and most unprofessional psychiatrist, Wylie (Jonny
Phillips), with even her mother, Clem (Juliet Stevenson) beginning to show her
suspicions. Poor, poor George (Augustus Prew), ever the Assorted Buffery
favourite, is now also a soldier, thanks to good old Wylie, and is distraught
that he wasn’t able to come home sooner after the death of his father, but he
did not wish to desert his men. God love
him.
The
horror of war was the key theme this week, with Caro and Grace’s storylines
very much taking a back seat. Nico Mirallegro was outstanding as the
traumatised Joe, and even Augustus Prew’s George (aww) carried with him a
quiet, frightened dignity- a chilling contrast to his pre-war personality, and
an excellent device for highlighting the sheer extremity of Joe’s own
condition. Two female performances also shone through this week, and they
belong to Maxine Peake and Juliet Stevenson. The former’s anger at God, the world
and specifically Martha at the suggestion that Joe’s illness was somehow God’s
will, and that she herself had no part in the saving of her husband from alcoholism
was perfectly judged, and showed a far tougher, almost more admirable side to
Grace’s character, as did her stunning response to the military police. She’s
gone from downtrodden alcoholic’s wife to campaigning, self-confident
superwoman in just five short episodes. She looks good on it, too. Not that it
will get her anywhere in this village.
The same for Juliet Stevenson’s Lady
Clem. Suddenly much more assertive, not just in name only but in her own
opinions, we saw her make jokes over dinner about impotence and her husband’s
suicide. To the outside observer she’d lost the plot. However, as she said
herself, things can’t get any worse, and ‘that, in itself, is a form of freedom’.
These
words actually sum up rather nicely how I’ve come to feel about The Village as a whole. Expect the
worst, and not only will you never be shocked, but you can step back and appreciate
the show for what it is. It’s been a sharp, if bleak, human condition
commentary, highlighting the terrible effects of war, poverty and contemporary
attitudes upon peoples’ lives. It hasn’t been a cheerful ride, but it’s been a
profound one.
I’m
looking forward to the final episode next week, half because of a genuine
desire to watch it, and half out of sheer delight that this televisual ordeal
is coming to a close.
Although
I dread to think what the writers are going to throw at us for the big finale.
The Village is next on tomorrow night, 9pm,
BBC One.
Jen
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