Well wasn't this a shot in the arm after Lovers Rock...
Seriously, I was questioning if people only tend to talk about Mangrove because it's the only good episode of this show, but hell no it isn't. This was just as brilliantly directed and shot, conceptually much more interesting, and damn, John Boyega can act and play a really great character.
And hell, everyone in this, and the whole show so far to be fair, can bloody act, and of course Steve McQueen can bloody write and direct his socks off.
The one thing that makes me still label Mangrove as my favourite so far is something I was worried about all throughout watching this: how it would end.
Now, I know this, like Mangrove, is based on a true story, but it's not one I'm familiar with at all, so I'll just lay my cards on the table here: I was hoping for it to end pessimistically, because the police are so screwed up and loaded with deplorable pricks (yes, in Britain too, I live here), that it's impossible for one person alone to change that.
And for a while, it seemed like that was where it was going, but instead it goes...well, kind of nowhere. I don't want to spoil it, but...don't expect some kind of conclusive ending for this. It kind of feels like at one point it was also supposed to be two hours long, but they just decided to leave it at 80 minutes because of some reasons.
But man is everything leading up to that ending amazing, so yeah. Definitely better than Lovers Rock.
Seriously, I was questioning if people only tend to talk about Mangrove because it's the only good episode of this show, but hell no it isn't. This was just as brilliantly directed and shot, conceptually much more interesting, and damn, John Boyega can act and play a really great character.
And hell, everyone in this, and the whole show so far to be fair, can bloody act, and of course Steve McQueen can bloody write and direct his socks off.
The one thing that makes me still label Mangrove as my favourite so far is something I was worried about all throughout watching this: how it would end.
Now, I know this, like Mangrove, is based on a true story, but it's not one I'm familiar with at all, so I'll just lay my cards on the table here: I was hoping for it to end pessimistically, because the police are so screwed up and loaded with deplorable pricks (yes, in Britain too, I live here), that it's impossible for one person alone to change that.
And for a while, it seemed like that was where it was going, but instead it goes...well, kind of nowhere. I don't want to spoil it, but...don't expect some kind of conclusive ending for this. It kind of feels like at one point it was also supposed to be two hours long, but they just decided to leave it at 80 minutes because of some reasons.
But man is everything leading up to that ending amazing, so yeah. Definitely better than Lovers Rock.