A Few Thoughts On Episodes 1 & 2 Of Normal People
It’s even more irresistible than its source material.
Jamie Mah @grahammah
A Few Thoughts On Episodes 1 & 2 Of Normal People
There are some books you just can’t put down. Don Quixote, A Gentleman in Moscow and Shantaram are three which immediately spring to mind. Normal People is another. Back in late April, I devoured Sally Rooney’s masterpiece in one sitting. Seven solid hours of pure enjoyment. Don’t let the title fool you. This work of fiction is anything but normal.
Set in Ireland, Rooney’s native land, the book weaves you through the lives of Connell and Marianne, two horny adolescents who cannot keep their hands off one another. Over the course of their last year in high school and several years of University, their lives criss cross the highs and lows of love, insecurity, loss and what their relationship means to them. It’s the kind of story anyone over the age of twenty five can relate to. First kiss. First sexual experience. First love. The boundaries of what these poignant events mean are hardly left unsaid as Rooney succinctly captures the inner psyche of her two main protagonists with a simplicity that’s hard to resist. Put in the wrong hands and this book falls flat. Something you’d forget the minute you’d finish reading it.
Devoured in one night, Normal People left me wanting more the instant I turned that last page.
Luckily, as fate might have you, I quickly learned that a Tv series was due to be released at the end of April — on Hulu. Late May for us here in Canada on CBC’s Gem. It thrilled me to realize that the story I loved would be put up in live action. Two episodes in, I can safely say that this series lives up to its source material. It might even be better than the book, which is saying something.
Below are some of my thoughts on episodes 1 and 2.
Casting done right.
This process could not have been easy. Normal People was a massive bestseller. With so many minds eager to see this adaptation, finding the right pair to fill the roles of Connell and Marianne had to be done correctly, or this wouldn’t have gone over well. Fans of the series Fifty Shades of Grey (I have not read these) can most likely attest to this sentiment. In any event, what Rooney, Director Lenny Abrahamson and Casting Directors Louise Kiely and Karen Scully have achieved with the selections of Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal, is find a pair who not only exemplify all the nuanced character traits of Connell and Marianne, but, have also given them the dexterity and weight each character so richly deserves.
Marianne is feisty in the book and Edgar-Jones demonstrates this trait in the series first scene with her combative exchange with her Math teacher. You can give an actor lines to memorize and act, but it’s in the brief moments when nothing is said where true depiction comes to fruition. Edgar-Jones is exactly what I wanted and hoped Marianne would be.
As for Mescal and his portrayal of Connell, what I envisioned for the character was someone smaller in size but nonetheless just as lost as Mescal has shown him to be. When he and Marianne discuss what they want for their lives, Connell’s response of “I don’t know” typifies a sentiment I’d have felt at that age. Mescal plays the part with a passivity I enjoy as he makes you feel as if each step he takes is one he isn’t sure he’s ready to proceed with. The gentleness with which he brings when he and Edgar-Jones get intimate for the first time couldn’t have been easy to pull off. Making one believe this is all new to you, with a girl who is a virgin, needs the right touch. Their chemistry as actors had to possess a certain comfort. Luckily, Mescal and Edgar-Jones share this in spades. Well done, I say with the choice of these two.
How about that sex scene?
It isn’t hard to be reminded of what it was like to have your first sexual experience. The anticipation. The nervousness. The excitement. These feelings come to bear as each layer of clothing is removed. Vulnerability ensues and how your partner reacts to this emotion can be paramount to how the experience unfolds. The camera in this scene captures this balance as it follows the eyes and wishes of both lead. It’s a cute and irresistible segment that made me long for the innocence of youth.
Marianne’s brother is a dick
He’s awful in the book and just as bad here. I just needed to say it.
I’m curious to see how they transition over the ensuing episodes, especially once they head off to University. Big swings are on the horizon. Marianna isn’t all that she seems. Can’t wait for episodes 3 & 4.