The first review is the highly anticipated Half Man by Richard Gadd, who won acclaim with Netflix’s Baby Reindeer. This new show, which he also created and wrote, focuses on two estranged men – Niall, played by Jamie Bell, and Ruben, played by Gadd – who grew up as brothers despite not being related by blood. Thirty years on, they’re reunited at Niall’s wedding, where things turn violent.
Hayley and Scott agree that Half Man is a Must Watch.
Hayley says she watched all of the episodes over two days, which she wouldn’t recommend and says, “you do feel a bit weird afterwards, wandering around your house thinking about it.”
“It’s extremely bleak. It’s relentlessly miserable. It’s all about the things we talk about now around toxic masculinity.”
She notes that creator and actor Richard Gadd has “piled on loads of muscle in an animalistic way to make him look like he’s weighed down by his own masculinity.”
“The younger actors are great. Stuart Campbell’s [character] seems like a kind headcase that you’d encounter at a pub and just feel uneasy about.”
She thinks the show isn’t “a masterpiece” but it is “excellent”.
Scott says, “this is a very tense drama set at a very tense wedding. It then turns to a scene of violence between these two brothers and then there is an almighty flashback of how these boys’ lives became intertwined.”
“It looks at the close proximity between power and violence and how people can seek shelter and protection by associating themselves close to somebody powerful, but then that might result in them condoning such violence.”
He explains that the show looks at how you can experience “unspeakable things” in childhood and yet be unaware of how traumatic they were as an adult.
“There is a remarkable, tender storyline about coming out and identity and the pressures you feel in terms of fitting in and what length you would go to hide your own sexuality.”
He describes the performances as “remarkable” adding that the show “captures adolescence in a way that is really rather striking.”
A new episode of Half Man is on BBC iPlayer every Friday.