More than Meets the Eye?

 

This kept popping up on my Acorn TV subscription. I love crime drama/mystery TV shows (from England, the US, Australia, Scandinavia) so I wasn't sure what to make of this. It looked more like a drama than a thriller, especially as the first couple of episodes very slowly explicate the plot and characters.

Well, if was worth the investment of time, as the storyline, characters, and acting are all superb. And, has been mentioned by other reviewers, the music is wonderful, and perfectly matched to the visuals and dramatic development.

I have recently been watching the excellent thriller, Hidden, which is also set in Wales, but is really an anti-Keeping Faith. And, there is nothing wrong with that. Hidden is more typical BBC, dark, even grim, with great writing and acting. But kind of hard to take sometimes. Faith, on the other hand fairly sparkles because it is set in the coastal area near Swanse which, at least at the times it was photographed, looks positively lovely.. What a contrast, and both shows deftly use the amazing Welsh scenery to great advantage.

Finally, I can't say enough about Eve Myles. I kept wanting to think that her character -- a working Mom married to her dream husband -- seemed a bit anti-Feminist, especially as the show makes great use of her natural beauty in its cinematography. Yet, as the show went on, and especially as it concluded its first Series, I realized that Faith is the epitome of a strong, intelligent woman working desperately to keep her family together in the face of unimaginable difficulty. Not defined by her Husband, or by Society, but by herself. What could be more Feminist than that?

A great show, and I am looking forward to watching Series 2.Slow burn, but worth the investment.

Great actress, great material

Sometimes the stars align for a film, as is the case with the legendary French actress, Isabelle Huppert taking the lead in Paul Verhoeven's in-your-face thriller, Elle. Both the story and the star are superbly matched, here.

It is almost cliche to say that Verhoeven is controversial. Hardly any of his English-language films, from Robocop to Basic Instinct did not generate strident conversations. Elle was not different -- is no different -- in its uncomfortable look at the role a strong-willed woman plays in a still male-dominated society.

A middle-aged CEO of a computer gaming company in Paris is attacked in her home. Not particularly unique, except that rather than reporting the rape to the police -- which, let's face it, probably wouldn't do any good -- she decides to take matters into her own hands and find the "perp" herself. She might have gotten more than she bargained for as the rapist begins taunting her, and without spoiling anything, when she finds out who it is it is not only surprising, but a bit anti-climactic.

Verhoeven and his lead actress use the unusual, but clearly-told story as a vehicle for interrogating issues of sexual predation, sexism in the corporate world and much else. Rather well, I think.