Forget Me Not
Exile Preview
If you’re looking for a distraction from the no doubt endlessly looped coverage of the Royal Wedding this weekend, then the BBC have come up trumps with Exile. Paul Abbott, heavyweight writer of Cracker, creator of State of Play, Clocking Off and Shameless, has returned from his stint writing the US version of the latter show to bring us a characteristically riveting tale of family, identity and political corruption. Although Abbott created the series, his long-term colleague Danny Brocklehurst wrote the screenplay, which is both funny and heartbreaking in equal measure, and for the first couple of episodes at least, barely puts a foot wrong.
The basic story is straightforward. Tom Ronstadt (John Simm) has returned to his hometown in the North because of a professional and personal crisis that’s resulted in him losing his ‘glamorous’ job as a London journalist. It’s the first time he’s been back since a violent falling out with his father Sam (Jim Broadbent) many years before but Tom also has to confront the severe nature of Sam’s decline through Alzheimer’s disease. His sister Nancy has carried the burden of looking after Sam alone, and Tom has to deal with her initial resentment, as well as for the first time taking responsibility for a father who he’s hated for years. As well as these family matters Tom also has to face life back in a small town; he instantly manages to have a fling with a local barmaid, but this also leads to complications involving an old school friend.
Brocklehurst develops this story very skilfully, and is particularly good at blurring the personal and the political – a theme that almost certainly came from Abbott’s original concept as it recurs in his work, most obviously in State of Play. As in that series, Exile’s main characters are journalists; Sam was a well-respected investigative reporter for the local newspaper, whereas Tom writes for scandal-seeking celebrity magazines. Here though, Tom’s attempt to connect with the shattered mind of his father to understand why their relationship ended so violently is impossible to disentangle from Sam’s old profession and his enquiries into a local government scandal many years before. I can’t say more without getting into spoiler territory, but Brocklehurst manages beautifully to link the devastation of Sam’s personality though Alzheimer’s and Tom’s desperate attempt to regain control of his chaotic life by rediscovering the truth of a past obscured by the fog of time, failing memory and conspiracy.
While Brocklehurst’s script is undoubtedly excellent, much of the power of Exile comes from the brilliant performances given by the three leads. Broadbent manages to be hilarious, tragic and pitiful, while Simm is back on top form here in the dramatic milieu that suits him best. I don’t blame Simm for playing the Master in Doctor Who as a pantomime villain – the Master is a pantomime villain – but this is where he belongs and it’s a treat to see him rise to the occasion. It’s a real tribute to Olivia “ubiquitous” Colman that in the face of two powerhouse actors like Broadbent and Simm, she isn’t overshadowed and arguably gives the best and most human performance of the lot. The performances and the writing make the Ronstadts a really convincing family, and the genuine warmth between Tom and Nancy is played as wonderfully and naturally as it is written. I’d be surprised if there were no BAFTA nominations heading their way come 2012 as long as the voters haven’t forgotten the show by then.
Exile isn’t perfect. Tom’s love-interest Mandy (Claire Goose) is underwritten, and I wasn’t convinced by her character or motivations. In fact, I was reminded a bit of the story about the making of Boys from the Blackstuff when director Philip Saville rejected one of Alan Bleasdale’s scripts because a crucial female part was underdeveloped. It might have been useful if someone had shown similar attention to Mandy. As well as that, Tom’s old friend Mike (Shaun Dooley) while obviously important in terms of Tom’s past, at times came across as more of a useful device to link Tom’s story to the political sub-plot than a credible character. And I’ll leave you to make your own minds up about whether or not the final resolution of the political story is completely satisfying. But these are minor quibbles, and although I’m sometimes a bit dubious about the McGovern – Abbott – Brocklehurst lineage of quality drama (I worry about the passing of privilege down a hierarchical line) there’s no doubt that Brocklehurst is an extremely good writer.
He’s also a very funny writer, so please don’t give Exile a wide berth because it sounds like a misery fest about Alzheimer’s. Although the affects of the disease are portrayed sensitively, it is also true to the anger and frustrations that carers feel towards their dependents and recognises that humour is also an important and necessary response. Interestingly Brocklehurst commented in a recent interview that when working with McGovern recently on his series Accused he found that “There’s something about working with Jimmy that sucks the laughs away.” McGovern was once one of the most powerfully funny writers around, and losing that has perhaps made some of his recent work slightly one-note. Exile has no such problem, and is all the better for it.
Exile is on BBC1 from 1st to 3rd May 2011
