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.
