In his trailblazing novel ‘1984’, George Orwell wrote, “Imagine a boot stamping on a human face-forever”. Well, now we don’t have to imagine, we’ve got ‘Half Man’. Yay.
Hot on the heels of the success of his drama series ‘Baby Reindeer’, writer and actor Richard Gadd announced the release of a follow-up drama series, which had actually been written before his global phenomenon. This one though, isn’t based on Gadd’s real life experiences.
I was suitably intrigued, particularly since Gadd had transformed himself into a hulk with a scraggly beard for the role of psychopath Ruben, and because a lot of heat had been generated around the themes of repressed sexuality, identity and toxic masculinity.
Jamie Bell co-stars with Gadd in their adult iterations as meek, sexually confused Niall, who’s equal parts attracted to and terrified of Ruben, who he’s grown up with, as Ruben’s mother is in a relationship with his own. Essentially, as the title suggests, one is meek and the other, a bully, two disparate sides of masculinity.
All of which should make for an exciting and original drama series. Sadly, despite an excellent cast, it’s all executed with sledgehammer subtlety, with no humour or lightness to contrast the dark subject matter, creating a sense of constant claustrophobia.
Ruben, the archetypal Scottish hardman, speaks in capitals, usually swearing, and overreacts to the smallest thing. Everything is a slight to him. He’s like a wounded dinosaur, thundering around at 0-100 at all times. He’s so steeped in machismo that at times I am reminded of Bluto from the original ‘Popeye’ cartoon. You almost expect a skinny Olive Oyl to emerge from his flat, squealing, “Oooh help!”
Then there’s the small matter of the enmeshed toxic relationship with Niall. Niall is constantly at his beck and call, and daren’t say no to him. Not once does he display any backbone, or sense of agency.
Nothing good or humorous happens, ever. There’s not one likeable character here at all. For those of us who grew up around violence, it’s both triggering and rather tedious.
The same accusations Lynne Ramsay received from naysayers when her film ‘Ratcatcher’ was released apply here. Scotland is an unremittingly grim, violent backwater with no joy, hope or wit, and dreams of anything better are pointless. It’s relentless in its myopic vision of torture, nihilistic in its constant reinforcement of darkness. Ruben and Niall are two sides of the same coin, and that coin is coated in grime. Imagine what someone like Irvine Welsh would do with a similar storyline. Still, if the sequel’s called ‘Half Biscuit’, count me in…somehow, I doubt it. It’d be half-baked, too.
Hit The North 