Reviews – 8/4

Normal people 10/10

As a survivor of toxic relationships, I found myself seeking comfort in tragic love stories. One of my favourites, Normal People, recently gained its well-deserved recognition on TikTok and Instagram movie edit accounts. I will try my HARDEST not to spoil the 12-episode TV show so here goes the warnings: possible SPOILER ALERT and major nudity during the miniseries (I got flashed unexpectedly multiple times).

The story starts with a cliché trope between a popular people-pleaser Connell and a rebellious ‘I’m not like other girls’ Marianne as they both try to survive their last year at the County Sligo secondary school. Connell (Paul Mescal) suffers from depression and anxiety. On the other hand, Marianne (Daisy Edgar-Jones) experiences domestic abuse in her own home. Their on-and-off love story reflects on the countless chances many people gave their ex which also ended up with the same result. The actors executed their roles with raw emotions, exposing the sad reality of mental health and domestic violence in the real world. One audience described Normal People as “Wondrous, magical, messy, complicated and oh so relatable”. I personally found myself in both Connell and Marianne, relating to their codependent relationship. Maybe, and just maybe, people need to work on loving themselves first before investing in loving someone else. 

Normal People can be described as the art that ‘comforts the disturbed and disturbs the comfortable’. There’s a sense of realism through the use of colours. Vivid and vibrant saturation appears when Connell and Marianne are together, executing romance and passion. However, across the TV show, we see things in grey, monotone, and mostly blue elements to convey sadness, dramas, conflicts, and the ‘not being able to live without you’ premise. On top of the colour palette are the camera angles. Intimate but uneasy. They make use of close-up and focus shots to tell their story. Cinematic, but still maintains its realism, bringing the audience to a closer perspective as if we are their inner thoughts. 

Oh, the things I would do for Paul Mescal. At this point, everyone knows I have an obsession with men who look like they have no sleep. I have an inside joke that I attract to people that look like they need to be fixed. But hey, to my fellow Fix-It Felix, you can’t fix someone unless they want to. Don’t become a Marianne enduring a relationship that will end up ruining you instead.