"I guess we just misunderstood each other." - Sally Rooney in Normal People
Directors: Lenny Abrahamson, Hettie MacDonald
Release Date: April 26th, 2020
Where Available: Hulu
Summary:
Normal People follows Marianne and Connell, from different backgrounds but the same small town in Ireland, as they weave in and out of each other's romantic lives.
Review:
It's been a while since I wrote a review, but I am coming back with one of my favorite shows I have watched this quarantine: Normal People!
Now, I watch A LOT of entertainment ranging from stupid Netflix originals to HBO dramas, but I have never seen something so honest and truth as that of Hulu's Normal People. I thank my friend Alena who lent me her Hulu login because I would have never been able to watch this beautiful show without it. (One side-note, what do you guys think about the hundreds of new streaming services that are available to us? I think its a little annoying having to pay monthly for 20 different accounts to watch everything you want, but the positive is we constantly get so many new and original shows!)
Marianne and Connell have known each other since they were kids, but can they make their friendship more? Normal People gives us an inside look at the lives of these two characters as they fall in love and shows us the real troubles of a seemingly perfect couple.
Marianne, played by Daisy Edgar-Jones: Daisy Edgar-Jones is absolutely one of my new favorite actresses, and I can’t wait to see what projects she works on next. Later in the review I will talk more specifically about how beautiful the chronological flow of this show is and how we get to see the full relationship span across the episodes, but I want to mention how relatable she is. No matter what point you are at in your life or your maturity when it comes to relationships, there is a point in the Normal People story where you will relate to her. Marianne goes through a lot for one girl, but it felt so fulfilling to see her become this strong woman by the end of the show despite all the hard times she went through.
Connell, played by Paul Mescal: Connell is the sweetest man alive and no one can tell me otherwise. He goes through a lot of low points in life depression to intimacy issues that are concepts being more frequently talked about in Hollywood content today. There is this one scene that I won't spoil to much about but its a lot of therapy, crying, emotion, sadness, grieving, and regret. This is the first show where I genuinely felt like I was intruding on someone’s personal life through hidden cameras. I give a round of applause to the insane cinematography and script writing that gave Connell realistic blocking and lines that made everything so natural. It is hard to put in words the emotion that came from simply him dropping dishes in the sink in a quick 10 second scene, but if you watch the show I promise you will feel it too.
Alan, played by Frank Blake: This is one of the characters that you somehow thank for being an asshole because it makes your main characters who they are but also makes you want to punch them in the face. Alan is Marianne's brother and he clearly does some damage to her mental health. The interesting thing about his aggression towards Marianne is that we don't really get much information about why before the show starts. We just have to assume the worst based on his actions, which leaves that up to the imagination of the viewer.
Joanna, played by Eliot Salt: Joanna is the best friend anyone could ever ask for. Even though she doesn't show up too frequently throughout the show, she is always there to help Marianne with whatever issues are going on in her life. If I had to choose one person to be my college room mate, it would be Joanna.
Jamie, played by Fionn O'Shea: I can appreciate antagonists in shows because they are the cause of the drama that makes each show so interesting. But, there are only three characters that I truly hate in this world: Peter from Divergent, Strauss from Criminal Minds, and Jamie from Normal People. There are not enough words to describe the anger I had towards this character multiple times in this show. Jamie is one of Mariannes boyfriends that she meets in college, and boy oh boy is he the worst. He was constantly making Marianne's life worse and worse every day they were together, and lets just say I am happy that he disappears from her life eventually.
I did not want this show to end. It took all the will power to not just completely binge this show in one night, but I do actually recommend taking breaks in between the episodes even though they are only about 30 minutes each. This show spans from Marianne and Connell as seniors in high school to years after university. In just a short 12 episodes, I feel like I followed Marianne and Connell through their entire lives. I can name hundreds of shows that just cover 2 weeks or 2 months in one season and don’t really give you background content to really get to know your characters. With Normal People, there is not one part of Connell and Mariannes relationship or personal lives that I feel like I missed.
Normal People was visually beautiful and I could not peel my eyes away from the screen. The neutral colors made the show even more realistic because it felt like I was an extra in their life story with no filter to what I saw and what I didn’t. Now, the location of this show was SO FLAVORFUL! The show was filmed in Ireland and Dublin which are two absolutely stunning locations. I enjoy watching shows and movies that are mostly filmed in real locations and not in studios, and I’m sure many of you can relate.
To the people reading this who love a good book, I am so excited to announce my new review partner Eliza Cave! She will be reviewing her favorite books on this blog now and I can't wait for you guys to see some of her content! (More to come on that soon) I mention this because Normal People the series was actually based off a novel of the same name written by Sally Rooney. I haven't read the book, but if the 3 Youtube videos I watched reviewing this book have told me anything, it was not to judge the series based on the book. It is definitely on my to do list to read the book, but don't decide if you are going to watch the series based on the reviews the book got.
Now lets talk about sex. This show has been talked about frequently in the media because of the large amount of time dedicated to sex scenes, and the media is right. I won't go into the detail of these scenes because I am sure that you don't want to read about that in a series review. Sex in other shows and movies is so fake (especially Netflix, sorry:( , still love you guys). Normal People didn't shy away from the important topics not covered in other content: consent, protection, and intimacy issues. It makes me super happy to see a show like this on television, and I can't wait to see more shows like this in the future!
Marianne and Connell understand each other more than most people will ever be able to understand another person ever, yet they misunderstand the simplest things about each other. They are perfect together, yet the tiniest things keep them apart. Both characters subconsciously want to be, you guessed it, normal people.
There are not enough words to describe how much I love this show. I will not stop talking about it till the day I die and will continue to recommend it to everyone that has a Hulu account. Please let me know what you think about this show and if you love it as much as I do. More reviews on movies, TV shows, and books coming your way soon on The Betz Breakdown!!!!
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