Most
television audiences will be familiar with the work of Kay Mellor.
From Fat Friends and Playing the Field to The
Syndicate, the writer/director of 'In the Club' has always
exhibited a strong desire to tell honest, Northern, family-driven
stories with humour and warmth. The first episode of In The Club sees Mellor deliver what her audiences have to come to expect.
An
entertaining and often moving hour, the episode focuses on six
expectant mothers and their families as they try to navigate the
later stages of their pregnancies. Brought together towards the end
of the episode, we learn that the six all know each other from an
almost implausibly popular hospital led antenatal group. But, for
those who might be expecting this show to be a sit-down discussion
about piles and swollen ankles (the scenes where these discussions
occur are thankfully few and far between, almost there as a knowing
nod to people who expect pregnant women to only be concerned with
their physical condition rather than anything else); there is a lot
more going on underneath the surface of each of the characters'
lives.
What
seem to be the strongest of these stories bear the most weight in
this first episode, with two of the mothers being brought to the
fore. The most engaging of these is 15 year old Rosie and her
heart-breaking struggle with a secret pregnancy confused by the
neglectful adults in her life to be weight gain. We follow her as she
is bullied on her way home from school, mourns her late mother by
embracing the last remnant of her smell from a dressing gown and
tries to learn more about child birth by watching television
documentaries. Played by Hannah Midgely, Rosie's story is entirely
believable, allowing Mellor to draw upon her own experiences as a
young mother in as sympathetic a depiction of teenage pregnancy as
I've seen on television in recent years. Midgely's performance is
just the right balance of fear, loneliness and hidden strength.
The
other mother featured this week is Jill Halfpenny's Diane, an older
woman who contrasts nicely against Rosie's lack of experience. Having
adopted in the past, she has finally conceived naturally and learns
in the opening scenes of the episode that she is having twins. What
she doesn't know, however, is that her husband (played by Will
Mellor, who always excels in this kind of role) has been made
redundant five months previously and the family is on the brink of
financial ruin. As Diane uncovers this secret and tries to come to
terms with the deceit, Mellor's character makes another catastrophic
mistake that will have immediate repercussions for them all.
In
this mistake, we come across an element of 'In the Club' that jars
slightly, despite the strong characterisation and the flexible format
which encourages the episode to move freely from story to story,
making for an enjoyable hour of entertainment.
It's
related to the idea of over-dramatising which, as I type it, sounds a
little bonkers. Drama is good. You need a lot of drama and story to
fill six hours of screen time. However, the established stories in
this first episode are taken to levels within their hour which make
me concerned for where they could possibly have left to go over the
next five episodes: Rosie has not only had her child but her father
has also crashed off the road in his van, leaving his life in
jeopardy. Rick has robbed a bank to get some money in a fit of
madness and is already being pursued by the police: how much worse
can it get for them over the next five hours? And if it does get
worse (which it will surely have to), are we perhaps risking a
realistic and down to earth portrayal for stories which challenge an
audience's suspension of disbelief? And if so, is this too much at
odds with what 'In the Club' initially appears to be offering?
That
said, this opening episode surprised me with its pace and, for all of
my worry about where the stories might go, the narrative was slick
with unexpected twists and turns. With four other women's lives to
investigate, I'm sure that the audience will be tuning in for the
full six weeks, just as I will.
In the Club Continues Tuesday's at 9.00pm on BBC ONE.
Contributed by Jane Harrison
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