TV REVIEW: The Village - Episode Six

Last week, in my review of the penultimate episode of The Village, I wrote that it had begun to seem like the show was going somewhere, that there was a point to the endless misery and bleak outlook. Fortunately, it seems I was right to have faith.

Having jumped forward in time, the final episode is set in what is now 1920. War is over, and the villagers are dealing with the aftermath, discussing the building of a memorial to their dead. Naturally, this leads to several disagreements, namely whether or not to include Joe Middleton’s name, as his ill-timed shell shock meant he was shot at dawn for cowardice. Bert (Alfie Stewart) now a teenager, has continued in the role of photographer entrusted to him by teacher Gerard Eyre (Matt Stokoe). Happily, the latter has returned to the village having been imprisoned rather than executed for refusing enlistment, although his psychological state has been considerably damaged by the experience.

Meanwhile, Lady Clem (Juliet Stevenson), continuing to go from strength to strength, stands against creepy Doctor Wylie (Jonny Phillips) and his intentions with Caro (Emily Beecham) and Grace (Maxine Peake) makes her views clear on Joe’s exclusion, as well as on grief as a collective consciousness at a village meeting.  Poor George (Augustus Prew), my favourite, considerably more subdued after his time at war, is later dumped by goody-two shoes Martha (Charlie Murphy), who admits she does not love him, having always been in love with Joe. Needless to say I shouted at the screen at that point. Finally, a bout of influenza, leading to quarantine, does nothing to lift spirits, and leads the memorial service in jeopardy.

Fantastically well-paced and carried out with a hefty helping of class, this series finale certainly packed one hell of an emotional punch. Thrilled as we were (well, I certainly was) that Mr Eyre returned safely to the village, we were no sooner allowed to enjoy this than we had to endure his being humiliated by weedy, hateful fellow teacher Crispin Ingham (Stephen Walters) in the classroom. It was also difficult to work out why Eyre had escaped with a prison sentence for being a shirker where poor Joe Middleton, having already given years of his life to the war effort, was executed for refusing to return. This certainly goes some of the way to explaining why the reformed John Middleton (John Simm) is so hostile towards Eyre. There were, however, several touching moments between father and his sons, both dead and living, as the family come to terms with Joe’s death, and John notices that Bert has photos of the entire village, apart from his father.

The real highlights of the episode though, well and truly belonged to Lady Clem and Grace- clever parallels having been drawn between the two all series. As one lost her husband to suicide, and the other to religious fanaticism, both grew steadily stronger, tougher and far happier to express their opinions. This came to a head in the finale, with the revelation, for both, that they share a grandchild, as Joe was the father of Caro’s baby. Maxine Peake was fantastic as the grieving Grace, embittered and betrayed by the state whilst still desperately fighting for her rights as a working woman. The town meeting scene, in particular, saw Peake excel. Juliet Stevenson’s Lady Clem had some absolutely corking lines which not only showed the intensity of her character developed, but summed up the mood of the hour perfectly. The poignant ‘Time to change’, when choosing a different dress stood out in particular.

This was a classy, beautifully produced end to what has been, at times, rather a hard going series to watch. This last hour of brilliantly well-executed television made it oh so very worth it.

I do hope it returns for a second series, so it can do such a fabulous job of making us miserable all over again.

Jen

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TV REVIEW: The Village - Episode Five

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

You can read my own blog here or follow me on twitter here

TV REVIEW: The Village - Episode Two

In my review of last week’s The Village, I remarked, at length, upon the darkness of the series, and that it certainly didn’t seem set to be a ‘cosy fireside drama’. And judging by this week’s episode, it isn’t about to get any brighter.

Since Joe’s departure for the front line, things have only really gone from bad to worse for the Middleton family. Grace (Maxine Peake) has another baby on the way- meaning another mouth they cannot afford to feed. Meanwhile John (John Simm) relies on alcohol more than ever, and Bert is in perpetual trouble at school, receiving regular corporal punishment from a teacher with not such much a chip on his shoulder as a big gaping hole. For a change, things aren’t actually much better up at the big house, either. Already struggling to keep their reputation in tact during wartime, Lady Clem is devastated to discover daughter Caro is pregnant by a mystery man, quickly crying foul play and laying the blame at the Middleton door. This is to have potentially devastating consequences for him and his family, due to an apparent previous conviction. Caro isn’t having a great time with all of this either, still grieving and confused over the torture and murder of her dog, Baby the dachshund.

So reasonably bleak, then. It wasn’t all bad news though. At the end Grace gave birth and John bought a cow...Also on the plus side, there were some moving performances throughout, particularly from John Simm, who captures well the essence of a man constantly finding himself in terrible circumstances without any understanding of what he could possibly have done to deserve them. Maxine Peake is brilliant as the much put upon Grace, lurching between sadness and a desperate desire to keep her family in one piece. Her reaction to John’s *spoiler alert* suicide attempt was genuinely affecting. Young Bert Middleton (Bill Jones) is coming along a treat as well, particularly in his relationships with both the other boys at school and with his tyrannical teacher.  Juliet Stevenson is great as the haughty Clem Allingham, but I think that one’s sort of a given.

In fact all of the characters seem to be developing well as we find out more about them, and as we settle in to this depiction of village life. We’re learning more and more about how things worked in that time week by week, and as a result it is actually becoming progressively more uncomfortable to watch the villagers have to turn and face the wall when the Lord and Lady arrive/do anything/are spotted half a mile away sneezing delicately into a handkerchief, because know they're no better than the rest of them. The only character writer Peter Moffat (I don’t know if there’s any relation) doesn’t seem to know what to do with, is Martha Lane (Charlie Murphy). He clearly wanted her to fill the shoes of educated feisty suffragette, and there is a good deal of potential for her to be exactly that, but it isn’t going to work out so well if she carries on storming into places, making a couple of half-arsed speeches, then storming out again in a sulk two minutes later when it becomes clear that no one actually gives a monkey’s.

Nevertheless, this is shaping up to be a strong series, dealing with the passing of time in a compact and not all that confusing way. Which can be rare. I just can’t help but wish something nice would happen to someone. Just once. Like maybe they get a free sponge cake or something, or go for a nice walk. Anything.

I’ll let you know- but I don’t think I’ll be holding my breath.

The Village is next on tonight, BBC One, 9pm.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0162blq

- Jen

You can read my own blog here or follow me on twitter here


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