anyone watch "Born Equal"?

[hatwoman]

absolutely brilliant

Nice.
And Christmassy.

Notquite, it was totally unprofessional of the 'charity' to let an untrained volunteer loose on vulnerable young people, but i know that that happens

apparantly the programme was commissioned to highlight the 40th anniversary of 'Cathy come Home' and show how little things have moved on since the outrage that came from that. The unscripted dialogue and the scene of the child being taken from the mother both directly mirrored Cathy come Home.

I thought it was fantastic. Colin Firth as a new volunteer being allowed alone with the girl WAS far fetched but apart from that I was transfixed.

I live in an area where many people get the HUGE bonuses being talked in the papers recently. (Its not unusual for a family at my sons STATE (!) school to have a £100k extension built and they just pay for it straight out - no loan or anything needed. Kids being dropped off in Astin Martins etc etc)

We on the other hand have a very normal 3 bed semi, both work and really have to watch the pennies. I really try to not let it bother me but I have to admit that the sometimes gets me!

But after watching this I made a promise to myself that I will never ever let any of us forget that our little semi would actually be a palace to so many people and that we really are so so lucky.

I just wonder how many of my super rich near-neighbours saw it and whether it made them think ??

Kizziex

IMO, Ann Marie Davis stole the show.

She was FAB.

couldn't bear to watch bit where Robert turned up at Colin Firth's door (NOBODY touches my Colin!) - was he actually killed or just wounded? I couldn't sleep afterwards, was very unsettling but definitely the sort of thing we should all watch to make us count our blessings!

oh it was fab.

Cried when DD was taken away at the hospital.

I just caught the very end of it and was really cross that I missed it! Hope it's on again. Love Robert Carlyle.

pretty sure colin was dead at the end - hence the wife crying alone in the matrnity ward (meanwhile anne marie duff is also crying and alone in the maternity ward!)

i thought his character was utterly repellant and was quite please robert carlisle done him in in the end . But it was brilliantly acted and i usually think colin firth is quite wooden, i am now converted

I think Robert whacked him, too.

But then, who just throws open the door like that?

I saw this - it was excellent. Very thought-provoking, although what a shocking ending!

glad I started this thread - really interesting to hear all your views. as I said below I think the film showed one particular set of outcomes - someone on here said they didn;t see any other way out, someone commented that the moral was don;t get involved. i really disagree. I think the moral was that things needn;t have been like this/needn't be like this in rl. there were lots of "ifs" - lots of other ways things could have gone. and I think it all boiled down to the quote someone else highlights - that we all need someone. The 17 year old needed someone to care about her, someone to trust, and if CF and the charity had handled the situation better, that could have happened; same with Robert Carlyle (am I the only weeping buckets when he asked to touch Michelle's bump and when they went to the seaside - it was so rejuvenating, so beautiful and intimate and warm. Maybe I only cry at happy bits...) but it showed how good things could have been; even really posh woman who employed the woman from Nigeria - there was quite some warmth between them and there could have been another way - she could have asked more about the situation, offered her the money. And the ending - it was such a strong message that a society so divided engenders such anger and bitterness and violence. but all these lives are intertwined and there are other ways of doing it.

vitomum - what did you find so repellent about CF's character? I thought he was stupid the way he handled the situation with the girl, and weak to have let his experience put him off the voluntary work; and I think he was weak not to have shared his thoughts about it all with his wife. but none of that, for me, adds up to repellent.

Totally agree, HW. I think the message was that there are no simple solutions, but that doesn't mean that there aren't things that could and should be done.

The reason i found colin firth's character repellant was because in the end he was revealed as totally shallow. I felt that ultimately his little foray (of about 4 days) into the lives of the have nots taught him only that yes, he would buy the Richmond House. It seamed as though he 'used' the homeless people to confirm to himself that he did appreciate his life, and when he had got that from them he walked away.

Also, CF's character couldn't seem to believe that the homeless people had fewer choices than him re their situations. he didn't appear to get it that the sleeping on the streets was preferable to staying at home for the 17 year old girl (who was being abused by her stepfather).
If there was a moral I think it was that the rich just don't get the poor and believe that anyone can pull themselves out of it.
Also that the poor should still have the same morals as the rich eg the evidently otherwise very moral cleaner taking the money in desperation (not for herself but to save her FIl's life in Nigeria).
So, maybe its that the rich can afford to have morals? Or more morals?

yes, i agree BethelCAM, the gulf in unedrstanding and the lack of choices came across very strongly. I think as well that colin firth and the rich american initially came across as pretty caring sharing. But scratch the surface and their own self interest and selfishness emerged. The really depressing thing is that probably just makes them human.