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[TV] The Virtues



nicko31

Well-known member
Jan 7, 2010
18,574
Gods country fortnightly
Very gritty, not one for kids to watch. Really well acted and produced...
 




Thimble Keegan

Remy LeBeau
Jul 7, 2003
2,663
Rustington, Littlehampton
I love Shane Meadows' stuff and this is another masterpiece...Like previous Meadows offerings, The Virtues has me on edge as you know the next piece of sickening violence, sexual abuse or harrowing self-destruction is just around the corner.

No one does gritty social drama like Shane Meadows and it helps that he has fantastic collaborators in such actors as Stephen Graham and Paddy Considine. As has been mentioned with The Virtues, the way the characters seem to be ad-libbing their way through gives it a very realistic feel, especially the children who they let ramble on before being told to "shut up".

Anyway, I cannot wait for the final part next week.

Albion & England forever.

Thimble Keegan
Westminster BHA
 




Is it PotG?

Thrifty non-licker
Feb 20, 2017
25,455
Sussex by the Sea
Shane Meadows with yet another pearl. The man is a genius, a canon beyond compare. Using his favourite actors in several productions has been great, as has been the choice of music. In The Virtues, I mean Micah P Hinson - Beneath the Rose, Gavin Clark - The Truth Hurts, Lisa Hannigan - Flowers and Laura Gibson - Empire Builder.

Not one bad 'un amongst these classics.

SM.JPG

Only Debra Granik compares with the ability to bring stark, basic reality to the screen and grab you.

Fantastic.
 








Wilko

LUZZING chairs about
Sep 19, 2003
9,927
BN1
Outstanding drama again from Meadows, no one does gritty Brit realism like Shane. Perfect in every sense. Looking forward to the finale with palpable dread.

You know the finale has already been on, right?
 








Fungus

Well-known member
NSC Patron
May 21, 2004
7,156
Truro
I seem to be out of step with everyone else - thought it was grim, slow, repetitive, tedious, fairly predictable and non-gripping. The dialogue was very naturalistic and probably unscripted, but so were all my conversations today, and they weren't very interesting. How many times did characters say "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry"?
 


The Clamp

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jan 11, 2016
26,185
West is BEST
I felt the conclusion was was unsatisfying but a very good drama nonetheless. Had to watch some Taskmaster afterward to wash my brain.
 




dazzer6666

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Mar 27, 2013
55,550
Burgess Hill
Caught up with the final 2 episodes now. Grim, grim watch but so brilliantly acted. The flashbacks to the kids home interspersed with his panic attack was excruciating to watch. Top stuff from Meadows as ever, although did think the two ending scenes were a bit weak. According to an interview I saw with Niamh Algar they did film two for each of the main characters.
 




oneillco

Well-known member
Feb 13, 2013
1,321
I seem to be out of step with everyone else - thought it was grim, slow, repetitive, tedious, fairly predictable and non-gripping. The dialogue was very naturalistic and probably unscripted, but so were all my conversations today, and they weren't very interesting. How many times did characters say "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry"?

I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, but you are indeed out of step with everyone else...
 




piersa

Well-known member
Apr 17, 2011
3,155
London
I felt the conclusion was was unsatisfying but a very good drama nonetheless. Had to watch some Taskmaster afterward to wash my brain.

It was a bit like they'd run out of money. Not enough closure on the characters.
 


Is it PotG?

Thrifty non-licker
Feb 20, 2017
25,455
Sussex by the Sea
It was a bit like they'd run out of money. Not enough closure on the characters.

So 2 parallel lives, meet up by chance with big past issues. One decides to forgive and enjoy his life/son, one tops her Mum in retribution. I'd say that's closed.


Have you seen the peerless This is England and Dead Man's Shoes? Did you like them?
 


*Gullsworth*

My Hair is like his hair
Jan 20, 2006
9,351
West...West.......WEST SUSSEX
So 2 parallel lives, meet up by chance with big past issues. One decides to forgive and enjoy his life/son, one tops her Mum in retribution. I'd say that's closed.


Have you seen the peerless This is England and Dead Man's Shoes? Did you like them?

Nail on head. My Mrs couldn't watch it and thought it way too deep for her. I am usually the one to give up on a drama with the " I don't get it card" but I thought it was a hard watch because it was a grim subject but easy to grasp the comparison between the characters. It drew you in and at one point you wondered who was going to kill who and who was going to forgive who, great drama in my opinion, brilliant music.
 


piersa

Well-known member
Apr 17, 2011
3,155
London
So 2 parallel lives, meet up by chance with big past issues. One decides to forgive and enjoy his life/son, one tops her Mum in retribution. I'd say that's closed.


Have you seen the peerless This is England and Dead Man's Shoes? Did you like them?

Yep. Seen both liked them very much. I really enjoyed the virtues, just think there could have been some more light shed on what happened next. But perhaps that what makes it good.
 




marlowe

Well-known member
Dec 13, 2015
4,295
I felt the conclusion was was unsatisfying but a very good drama nonetheless. Had to watch some Taskmaster afterward to wash my brain.

I think the casual almost off hand way the finale ended with a serene looking Joseph being driven off in the car was done intentionally as a counterpoint to the devastation and tragedy his visit had inadvertently caused to those he had come into contact with, and which at that point he was totally oblivious to.

While he had confronted and seemingly come to terms with his demons his visit had served to awaken and unleash an emotional maelstrom in those around him who up until his visit had been stumbling, but just about coping with their lives and who might have continued stumbling along had Joseph not made his appearance.

So while he sits daydreamily staring out the car window having acheived a level of personal salvation the real consequence of his visit was one suicide and one murder both carried out by people carrying the same baggage as Joseph, one a victim of childhood sex abuse and the other the loss of child and both of whom had been coping with that baggage far better than Joseph had been until he entered their lives.

I think Jonah might have been a more appropriate name for him than Joseph given the unfortunate effect he had on the lives of others.
 




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