An Event?

The Event

Episodes One and Two

Creator Nick Wauters, U.S.A.

Aired on Channel Four, 23rd October 2010

Billed as literally the greatest event on television (at least on an Friday evening in October) the first two episodes of 'The Event' were reported to be the type of unmissable television which leaves you demanding more and asking endless questions.

Certainly the latter was true, although this was due more to the way in which the two episodes were shot and constructed than the plot. Outwardly there is an interesting premise: an unidentified group of aliens whose existence has been kept imprisoned and under wraps by the American government since 1944, some of their number had managed to escape and, outwardly identical to human beings, live alongside the population at large. It certainly has the makings for an interesting conspiracy thriller. However this was largely undermined by the constant shifts in time, location and character focus which played across the piece. Signposted by a series of irksome on-screen titles such a rapid shift in the story served only to confuse the viewer - perhaps that was the intended effect. If so it seems the most plausible explanation for such a decision would be to cover up a promising, but shallow script.

Like almost every conspiracy thriller the two episodes hinged on the type of 'us' and 'them' narrative which dominates U.S. politics. The American people, personified by U.S. everyman Sean Walker, are eternally portrayed as the 'good guys', the unquestioned holders of the moral high ground. Acting against some unseen, yet potent enemy they seek to prevail. So be it sinister CIA agents (who have an irritating tendency to turn out to be 'OK' in the end), alien interlopers, unknown government departments or perhaps even Al-Qaeda or the once ubiquitous Russians, these good American people are set at odds with an unidentified threat.

It may well be a little unfair to view a series which is still very much in it's infancy harshly and with such media euphoria surrounding the series we must be careful not to expect what we are told we should. There are undoubted twists and turns to follow. The only danger is that a programme which relies on an apparent alien foe with identical human characteristics may lead to tedium as, like the closing scenes of the disappointing Mission Impossible III, enemy and ally blurr almost into one in tiresome twists in plot.

Rating - 2/5

Sigh, Yawn, Sleep

Eat Pray Love (2010)

Dir. Ryan Murphy. Columbia Pictures, U.S.A.

In the course of the film the main characters were asked to describe a city in one word. If London is best described with 'stuffy' and Copenhagen 'conformity' the best word for Eat Pray Love is undoubtedly 'tedious'. That the full duration of the film was only two and a quarter hours is certainly surprising as, to the casual viewer it seemed far longer.

The feature, as the name suggests was split into three distinct sections set in three separate locations: Italy, India and Bali. The rigidity with which each stuck to was somewhat disappointing. The first third, which featured the consumption of such a volume of food that it would easily be mistaken for an advertisement for Sainsburys, bares little relation to either the second or third sections. Similarly the new found ability of Liz Gilbert (Julia Roberts) to open up and pray bares only limited relevance in the final stages.

It is often said that through film we can see as much about our own time as the narrative of the picture, this is certainly true in this instance. Roberts' character divorces her husband without attempting to reconcile their difficulties, putting self first and leaving her native New York on a voyage of self discovery. To abandon all responsibilities at the drop of a hat is perhaps a brave one, and one which seemed to resonate well with the chiefly middle aged female contingent at the showing I attended. It is, however a largely selfish one. The character stays in her three chosen communities only as it takes for her own needs have been fulfilled. Indeed in the scenes in the Indian Ashram Roberts was compelled to take on self-sacrificing, devotional work. Whether such a compulsion is a contradiction in terms is open to interpretation, what is clear is that is played no significant role in the development of either character or plot.

However the principle character did manage one act of unprompted charity. In contacting her friends she was able to collect sufficient funds to help a divorced woman and her daughter to build a home in their native Bali. A laudable act, certainly but one which was largely passive. Gilbert's friends helped, quite literally, through the cheque book alone. There was no hardship, sacrifice or even great consideration in the act. Greater involvement in the task of home building may well have been far more beneficial.

Such a view is perhaps a little churlish, but it did seem sad that someone who spent the full length of the film thinking about and developing her sense of self would use her sole act of charity in such a personally disconnected way.

Eat Pray Love did, however have some saving graces. The call to open up and be willing to meditate on what is really important in life was a valuable one to a busy society. Similarly the development of such a mentality, largely within the Ashram community, free from the potentially alienating dogmas and fixed liturgies of many clear cut, organised religions is praise worthy (although an apparent unwillingness to seek develop this understanding of faith further was disappointing).

Ultimately, however this romantic comedy was hampered by excessive length, selfish outlook, obvious plot and unsubtle script.

Rating: 1/5