True Love - End of Series Review

22nd June 2012

When I saw that True Love, the much hyped five part semi-improvised drama, had been scheduled so late at night, it seemed like a bizarre move – with such big names involved, it seemed like primetime viewing. Unfortunately after seeing the series in its entirety, I can understand why it was shunted so late in the schedules.

For a show that promised so much, most of True Love was decidedly underwhelming. I was propelled past a disappointing opening episode by my admiration for David Tennant, but things didn’t improve. Despite a strong performance by Lacey Turner as a shattered mother, the second episode ‘Paul’ felt too similar to the opener, with a husband being tempted away from his boring home life – for Tennant it was by an old love, for Ashley Walters it was, bizarrely, a random woman at a bus stop (it didn’t end well, don’t try this on the number 4).

Billie Piper’s episode, ‘Holly’, was possibly the weakest of the lot; in trying to explore a controversial storyline that was sure to grab headlines – a teacher embarking on a relationship with a female student – the episode took on a plot with implications it didn’t have time to explore, resulting in something feeling flat and implausible. Even the director seemed to be losing interest in the series, with the episodes comprised mainly of characters brooding dramatically on the Margate seafront, with a blaring soundtrack that sounded like someone in the editing suite had pressed play on their Cheesiest Love Songs compilation album. In such short episodes, this frustratingly overshadowed the actual drama.

By the mid-point of the series I was beginning to despair; for a Doctor Who fan, it feels morally wrong to criticise something David Tennant and Billie Piper are in, but True Love was feeling like a let-down. Thank goodness for Jane Horrocks’s episode, ‘Sandra’, which encapsulated everything the series could and should have been all along. Horrocks was outstanding as a woman awakening to her weak marriage and distant husband. Finally the overlapping nature of the series came into fruition, with the knowledge that her husband had an affair in the previous episode changing the dynamic of this one. Believable and perfectly paced, it was a great piece of drama regardless of the improvisation aspect. It was so good I could almost ignore the deafening soundtrack.

Sadly the final episode ‘Adrian’ suffered from its short run time, and despite a convincing David Morrissey as a man internet dating and a stand-out performance from young actress Jo Woodcock, the engrossing drama ended prematurely.

Ultimately True Love didn’t achieve the dizzying heights it should have done with the talent involved. The improvisation itself wasn’t to blame, as the actors mostly excelled with the challenge; rather it was the focus on this, instead of on decent drama, that let the series down. Too often the episodes felt disjointed and rushed, which was a real shame, as Jane Horrocks’s episode showed what the series was capable of. It’s certainly worth catching a couple of the episodes whilst they’re still on iPlayer, if only for the fact that by this showing, it doesn’t look like the BBC will be quick to venture into improvised drama again.

True Love

18th June 2012

The heavily promoted, star-studded improvised drama series True Love arrived on BBC One last night, prompting many questions. Would the improvisation prove to be a brave dramatic choice or merely a gimmick? Would the high profile cast be able to cope with the challenge of writing their own lines? And most importantly, would there be enough lingering close-ups of David Tennant’s face?

The answer to the final question, mercifully, was yes. The opening episode of the series revolved around David Tennant’s character Nick struggling to cope with the arrival of an old flame, tempting him to abandon his wife and family (I should probably warn you right now that I’m something of a Tennant fan – although I’m pretty confident it won’t be noticeable). The majestic Tennant starred opposite Vicky McClure and Joanne Froggatt, with Lacey Turner briefly popping up to provide a neat overlap into the next episode. The high calibre cast certainly can’t be faulted in True Love, and they coped well with the challenge of working without a script.

Director Dominic Savage’s choice to let the actors improvise their lines is obviously the main talking point of the drama. For the majority of the episode it really seemed to work, creating a fascinating realism that is rarely captured by a writer’s pen, and was particularly well suited for creating a realistic portrait of Nick’s family life. However sometimes I felt myself wishing for a writer to hone the more dramatic moments, and the occasional scene came to an unnatural end, as though the actors (though never the glorious Tennant, of course) hadn’t been sure when the scene should stop.

But what let this otherwise strong drama down was the fact that the episode was quite simply too short for what it attempted. At half an hour in length, the episode gave us very little time to engage with the characters (and even less time if you read the TV guide wrong and tuned in 5 minutes late – not that I did this of course). It felt like we were breezing through the plot, and as such it all felt a bit fleeting. The glimpses we got of the marvellous Tennant’s angst over the choice between his wife and ex-lover were moving, but the episode didn’t linger long enough to make it feel like there was ever a struggle. After seemingly deciding to ditch his wife, Tennant barely had time to pose for a dramatic silhouette on the sea front before changing his mind and sending Vicky McClure packing.  The ending of the episode was similarly disappointingly abrupt, with no time for the ramifications of Nick’s actions to be explored.

Overall the brief glimpse we got of the drama of True Love and the impact of improvisation was tantalising, but over all too quickly, leaving the whole thing feeling a bit flimsy. Perhaps as the drama continues exploring other characters over the course of the week it will form into something more substantial, but the first episode felt like it promised so much but never got the chance to stretch its legs, creating a rather sedate experimental drama.

Oh, and David Tennant was superb.