This England - Season 1
When Boris Johnson moves into 10 Downing Street in This England in 2019, his gaze is focused on the long term, Brexit must be heeded. Suddenly a pandemic is imminent. Because that is what This England is all about, Johnson's period as Prime Minister of Great Britain and in particular the way in which the coronavirus has been dealt with. However, each episode starts with the text that This England is 'fiction based on real events'. So not a documentary, but a series in which actual events are used as a common thread, but in which the creators of the series also have the necessary creative freedom.
We start the series with some archive footage. We see the real Johnson take to Downing Street after Prime Minister May's resignation before Kenneth Branagh (Wallander (UK)) takes on the role of Johnson. However, the party atmosphere quickly diminishes when we are taken to Wuhan where the coronavirus is spreading and soon making its appearance in Europe.
As the series progresses, it gets a little easier to follow and there are some larger storylines that take center stage. On the one hand, this is the way in which the British government has dealt with corona and the difference in perspective between the policymakers and the doctors who have to deal with corona in practice, and on the other hand, the position of Johnson and his adviser is becoming increasingly untenable. Dominic Cummings (Simon Paisley Day, Alex Rider).
It has to be said that Branagh has produced an excellent Johnson. As the series progressed I started to get annoyed with the mask he wears, but the way he speaks and also his movements are very close to Johnson (despite the fact that Johnson is occasionally caricatured). And the roles of Cummings and Symonds are also excellently played.
The question that arises after watching the series is why this series was made so quickly. Most of the story takes place in 2020, and that wasn't that long ago. We already know more about the controversies surrounding Johnson at that time than what has now been depicted. The problems in hospitals and care homes are also portrayed very realistically. That is well done, but also ensures that (due to the many stories that are told) it is sometimes uncomfortable to watch. Something that must certainly be the case for people who have been more closely involved in this and where it is still fresh in their minds.
All of this is reinforced by the choice to present it as fiction. It paints a picture of a government that has made errors of judgment with regard to the virus, but has always acted in good faith. But this is done without clarifying what is fiction and what is reality and also involving Johnson's private life (which is otherwise unrelated to his premiership). As far as I'm concerned, a less fortunate combination and for me the question remains what they actually intended with this series.
© Sky Atlantic
We start the series with some archive footage. We see the real Johnson take to Downing Street after Prime Minister May's resignation before Kenneth Branagh (Wallander (UK)) takes on the role of Johnson. However, the party atmosphere quickly diminishes when we are taken to Wuhan where the coronavirus is spreading and soon making its appearance in Europe.
The first episodes of the series are very chaotic. There is a quick switch between Johnson's first steps as prime minister, the situation in Wuhan and how the (medical) experts in Great Britain feel about this, the way in which the government initially wants to respond, but also how corona increasingly manages to hold Great Britain in its grasp. The fact that many people are mentioned by name in the beginning (some of which do not play a major role in the further series), that Johnson's private life is also involved (his relationship with the pregnant Carrie Symonds (Ophelia Lovibond, Minx) and his bond with his older children) and the short stories of many citizens who come into contact with corona (often with fatal outcome) do not improve the clarity.It has to be said that Branagh has produced an excellent Johnson.
As the series progresses, it gets a little easier to follow and there are some larger storylines that take center stage. On the one hand, this is the way in which the British government has dealt with corona and the difference in perspective between the policymakers and the doctors who have to deal with corona in practice, and on the other hand, the position of Johnson and his adviser is becoming increasingly untenable. Dominic Cummings (Simon Paisley Day, Alex Rider).
It has to be said that Branagh has produced an excellent Johnson. As the series progressed I started to get annoyed with the mask he wears, but the way he speaks and also his movements are very close to Johnson (despite the fact that Johnson is occasionally caricatured). And the roles of Cummings and Symonds are also excellently played.
© Sky Atlantic
The question that arises after watching the series is why this series was made so quickly. Most of the story takes place in 2020, and that wasn't that long ago. We already know more about the controversies surrounding Johnson at that time than what has now been depicted. The problems in hospitals and care homes are also portrayed very realistically. That is well done, but also ensures that (due to the many stories that are told) it is sometimes uncomfortable to watch. Something that must certainly be the case for people who have been more closely involved in this and where it is still fresh in their minds.
All of this is reinforced by the choice to present it as fiction. It paints a picture of a government that has made errors of judgment with regard to the virus, but has always acted in good faith. But this is done without clarifying what is fiction and what is reality and also involving Johnson's private life (which is otherwise unrelated to his premiership). As far as I'm concerned, a less fortunate combination and for me the question remains what they actually intended with this series.
