In 2024, when Richard Gadd\u2019s \u201cBaby Reindeer\u201d became a stock-boosting hit for Netflix, there were few Americans who knew his name.<\/p>\n
In the UK, however, the Scottish writer\/comedian\/actor had already emerged as a talent to be reckoned with, blending autobiographical stand-up comedy with theater to create a reputation as an edgy and provocative creator whose shows tended to be equal parts divisive and successful. One of these, his fictionalized true-life story of being stalked and sexually harassed by a female fan, became an Olivier Award-winning hit in the London theater; that was \u201cBaby Reindeer,\u201d and \u2013 in the form of a seven-episode miniseries adaptation \u2013 it became the vehicle that carried him to wider fame.<\/p>\n
Two years later, Gadd has returned with another high-profile miniseries, this time for HBO Max, and like its predecessor, it\u2019s a story that deals with queer sexual repression, unhealthy attachments, and a central relationship that can safely be described without exaggeration as \u201ctoxic\u201d \u2013 and it\u2019s an even darker (and more twisted) ride that stretches across decades.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHalf Man,\u201d which debuted on April 23 and continues with one episode per week through May 14, is the story of two \u201cbrothers\u201d \u2013 Niall (Jamie Bell) and Ruben (Gadd) \u2013 whose mothers (Neve McIntosh and Marianne McIvor) have become a lesbian couple after leaving their relationships with the boys\u2019 respective fathers. They are seeming opposites in personality; Niall is quiet, sensitive, and secretly unsure about his sexuality, while Ruben is tough, rebellious, and prone to violence \u2013 and unsurprisingly, it\u2019s a match made in hell.<\/p>\n
We meet them at the top of the first episode as adults, on the day of Niall\u2019s wedding, when Ruben shows up without warning; his appearance triggers what looks like fear in his \u201cbrother from another lover,\u201d and a private meeting between them in a barn at the wedding site turns ugly, launching a flashback format that takes us back to their schooldays, when young Ruben (Stuart Campbell) \u2013 already in trouble with the law and trying for a new start \u2013 comes home from juvenile detention to become roommate, protector, and bully to young Niall (Mitchell Robertson), all in one.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the dawn of a new and epic relationship, despite a history that has made Niall terrified of the older boy; their seemingly opposite qualities somehow mesh into a kind of symbiotic bubble, in which a tense equilibrium turns them into unlikely allies. Ruben makes sure Niall has nothing to fear from the sniggering schoolyard homophobes who target him, and Niall helps Ruben pass the tests he needs to pass in order to stay in school, Nevertheless, their dynamic is equal parts surprisingly tender and alarmingly lopsided. Though they form a bond, it\u2019s a volatile one, and by the end of episode one \u2013 after an uncomfortable-to-watch late night incident that amounts to a sexual assault \u2013 there is little doubt that Ruben is a psychopath. By then, however, it\u2019s too late; Niall has become hopelessly ensnared by his manipulations, and their dangerous attachment has taken permanent root.<\/p>\n
In episode two, the timeline moves the past forward several years (while rolling the wedding-day story back a few hours as well), bringing Niall forward to his college years. Ruben is once again absent from his life, but the bond is still deep. He struggles to make connections in his new setting \u2013 including with another student, the openly gay Alby (Bilal Hasna), who recognizes a side of him that he has still yet to accept for himself. Though he gradually begins to adapt to his new social circle, his insecurities get the better of him \u2013 and despite warnings from his mother not to do so, he calls Ruben to come and visit. His arrival triggers another escalating series of incidents, this time entangling Niall\u2019s new friends and culminating in a shocking, jealous-fueled explosion of violence.<\/p>\n
Without going on with the story \u2013 after all, the two remaining episodes have yet to be released, so we wouldn\u2019t want to spoil anything \u2013 it\u2019s safe to say there\u2019s a pattern here, and it\u2019s intentional.<\/p>\n
Gadd has already been public about his own struggles with repression, which were directly explored (albeit fictionally) in \u201cBaby Reindeer,\u201d and it\u2019s clear that he had more to say about the effects they had on his life and identity.<\/p>\n
As he put it himself, in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, \u201cThemes of, I guess, masculinity, or what it means to be a man, or \u2018I\u2019ve gone through a masculinity crisis\u2019 come into [the show] probably because I\u2019ve been through that in my life, and I feel I can write to it and speak to it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always think that the best kind of art is kept close to your chest, kept close to your heart, kept close to your experiences, and I guess with \u2018Half Man,\u2019 there\u2019s a lot in it that I relate to. It\u2019s not an autobiographical piece by any stretch, it\u2019s purely fiction, but it certainly borrows from themes and struggles and issues that I understand.\u201d<\/p>\n
That understanding translates to the series through its focus on tracing the roots of Niall and Ruben\u2019s relationship by methodically tracking the cause-and-effect chain that links the major events of their lives together. It explores the contradictory combination of worship and terror, the transgressive eroticism that intertwines danger and desire, the power of the forbidden to make us want it more, and the self-loathing that punishes itself through violence toward others. The inverted framework of the storytelling, which works both forward and back to meet at (we assume) some definitive point, makes following it a bit like putting together a puzzle, which also has the effect of building suspense as we wait to see the \u201cmoment of truth.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course, those who prefer a more straightforward narrative might not appreciate the additional challenge, especially when the subject matter \u2013 which revolves around experiences, feelings, and behavior that might be entirely unfamiliar to many audiences \u2013 is challenging enough by itself, in its own way. Likewise, and for much the same reason, there will be viewers who are unable to relate to its characters, as some of the show\u2019s less-favorable reviews have pointed out.<\/p>\n
But it would be naive to assume that the themes in \u201cHalf Man\u201d \u2013 of fragile masculinity, internalized homophobia, misdirected rage, nihilistic rebellion, conflicted desires, projected shame, and the other ingredients that infuse this shadow-boxing psychodrama with such a distinctive musky odor \u2013 do not apply to more men in today\u2019s culture of incels, \u201clooksmaxxers,\u201d and \u201cthe Man-o-sphere\u201d than any of them would like to admit. We\u2019d wager that its portrait of a same-sex, sub\/Dom, borderline incestuous relationship might resonate more urgently there than within a queer community that has been grappling with those issues for generations already and are just waiting for everybody else to catch up.<\/p>\n
In any case, Gadd\u2019s newest variation on a theme is a solidly crafted, well-acted, and hypnotically fascinating (if sometimes uncomfortable) exercise in the kind of \u201ccan\u2019t look away\u201d drama that makes for a perfect binge watch. Or, at least, it will once all the episodes drop.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In 2024, when Richard Gadd\u2019s \u201cBaby Reindeer\u201d became a stock-boosting hit for Netflix, there were few Americans who…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":369344,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8,9021,149749,149750,147031,93,149751,149752,149753,149754,149755,19099,19100,149756,103899,81864,149757,149758],"class_list":["post-369343","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-drag-race","tag-drag-race-all-stars","tag-eric-calvario","tag-fathers-day","tag-featured","tag-gay-dads","tag-gay-fathers","tag-hector-and-derek-del-valle","tag-jeffrey-williamson-rose","tag-lgbtq-families","tag-lgbtq-representation","tag-lgbtq-visibility","tag-queer-families","tag-rupaul","tag-salina-estitties","tag-same-sex-parents","tag-world-of-wonder"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369343","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=369343"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369343\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/369344"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=369343"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=369343"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=369343"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}