Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Telly addicts

Normal People on BBC3

649 replies

Bouledeneige · 27/04/2020 20:05

Binge watched it yesterday and loved it. Emotional, passionate and two really great leads. Thoroughly recommend it (so long as you don't mind lots of love scenes). Cried lie and felt bereft when it finished.

OP posts:
covetingthepreciousthings · 29/04/2020 16:21

the male lead reminds me of the gurning village idiot from Father Ted. He sat on a wall wearing an "I Shot JR" t-shirt and now that's all I can see when I look at Conal on scre

Grin thanks for that...

Cherrypi · 29/04/2020 17:00

I loved it. Watched it all now. Made me feel eighteen again.

soupmaker · 29/04/2020 18:03

Binge watched over the weekend. I've not read the book so didn't really know what to expect. Wish we'd had more on Marianne's family back story. Agree with PP that her mother's character two dimensional. I enjoyed the leads performances and couldn't help but like Connell.

xsquared · 29/04/2020 18:05

I've watched the first 2 episodes and am enjoying it so far. The two leads are very good, especially Daisy Edgar Jones.

Plurabellicose · 29/04/2020 18:31

Wish we'd had more on Marianne's family back story. Agree with PP that her mother's character two dimensional

It's not in the novel either. The mother isn't fleshed out, other than her being a solicitor, her snobbery and her strong preference for Marianne's brother, and that she's fine with him using physical violence towards M that's literally all we are ever told and we know nothing at all about Marianne's dead solicitor father, other than that she has a strong response when her nasty boyfriend smashes champagne glass belonging to him in their Italian holiday home.

I think that's a deliberate decision by Sally Rooney -- she doesn't do backstory. Connell never follows up on finding out about his unknown father, even though Lorraine says he only has to ask her, and there's no attempt to connect the fact that the Waldrons are considered a 'bad' family, with several of them in prison, with the warmth and conviviality of the family members who are in Lorraine and Connell's house at Christmas..

It's the same in her previous novel Conversations with Friends -- the main character has estranged parents, and an alcoholic father who sometimes phones her at night and sounds as if he is about to commit suicide, but even though Frances goes back to her hometown to visit both parents, there's no backstory about their marriage or its ending.

I think some people really liked that, that Rooney left out the dutiful excavations in the characters' pasts that slows down the action in the present.

(I have only seen the first two episodes, so don't know whether Rooney changed any of this in the TV scripts...)

WhatWouldYouDoWhatWouldJesusDo · 29/04/2020 19:59

My theory is Marianne's father felt belittled by her mum's intelligence and earning power so took it out on them.

Her brother followed in his dad's footsteps with his massive, inferiority complex

covetingthepreciousthings · 29/04/2020 21:59

I'm only two episodes in, but why don't they tell people at school that they're in a relationship? Is it because he's embarrassed to be with her?

EdwynCollins · 29/04/2020 22:03

I've watched the first 2 and was so bored. Take out the sex and you could put 2 episodes into 10mins
I don't know if can watch anymore. I guess just more sex and angst

Plurabellicose · 29/04/2020 23:06

Yes, @covetingthepreciousthings. He’s the popular guy, who runs with the school alpha males (despite being secretly Sensitive and Bookish), she’s the weird, flat-chested, ugly-shoed, universally-disliked loner. It would ruin his reputation. And neither of them thinks of it as a relationship, more like secret shag partners.

If you persist to the Trinity episodes, the tables are turned, and Marianne is popular and appreciated in her first term, while Connell is a lonely, out of his depth culchie dressed in ‘Argos chic’.

DreamingOfAFullNightsSleep · 29/04/2020 23:20

Argh!!! The amount of misunderstandings left for MONTHS is driving me a bit nuts... up to episode 7.

There is a lot of sex, is there really that much in the book?!

Bouledeneige · 29/04/2020 23:33

They had an intimacy coach to work on the love scenes to ensure 1) the actors were comfortable 2) that it was appropriate in terms of consent, sensitivity and realistism. I think this is very apparent in their first love scene where she is a virgin and they discuss openly and honestly her consent, contraception, her choice to stop if it hurts, etc. Its very well done.

OP posts:
Plurabellicose · 29/04/2020 23:39

There is, @DreamingOfAFullNightsSleep, but the thing that fiction can do that tv can’t is to reduce the act of sex to a single, matter-of-fact sentence rather than a gaspy, soft-focus marathon.

covetingthepreciousthings · 30/04/2020 00:09

) that it was appropriate in terms of consent, sensitivity and realistism

I've actually been really impressed with these scenes, usually you don't get much in the way of this in tv shows and I think it's refreshing for it to be shown, even mentioning condoms too.

southeastdweller · 30/04/2020 09:41

Loved the book but struggling with this (only watched the first two episodes). I find the half hour format makes it hard to get into the story, and agree with others that the Connell actor looks way older than 18, which is distracting.

covetingthepreciousthings · 30/04/2020 11:06

it made me fall in love with falling in love

I've just finished it this morning, after bingeing on it. This is how I felt so I know what you mean OP.

I think it's possibly one of the best shows I've watched, I think it's a mix of the stunning cinematography and how intimate it is. The actors are brilliant, and both deserve an award for it.

I haven't read the book but might read it now to compare it.

I'm going to watch it again with DH and see what he thinks as he didn't watch it with me.

mistermagpie · 30/04/2020 12:15

I'm only halfway through but the whole 'so I suppose you want to see other people' thing over the summer holiday is totally jarring. Why?!! I had a long distance boyfriend while I was at uni though so maybe I just can't get to grips with this.

I agree that her mum and brother are 2 dimensional. They are frosty and unpleasant but again, why?!!

Overall I'm enjoying it though and Connals angst is very believable, even if his actions aren't.

covetingthepreciousthings · 30/04/2020 12:16

www.theguardian.com/books/2020/apr/25/normal-people-intimacy-coordinator-works-sally-rooney-sex-scenes

I found this interesting

pawsforawhile · 30/04/2020 12:44

I'm enjoying it, have read the book but it makes me sad at the same time.

I felt that kind of connection once to someone and I can't see it happening again.

Methtones · 30/04/2020 12:47

We are on episode 7, thought we only had 1 to go. Fucking hell theres another 5. Nothing is happening but I want to know the ending now.

cushioncovers · 30/04/2020 12:50

I'm only halfway through but the whole 'so I suppose you want to see other people' thing over the summer holiday is totally jarring. Why?!!

^^ this I found that conversation unrealistic tbh. It wasn't in keeping with the rest of the scene. Why did he suddenly say that ?

cushioncovers · 30/04/2020 12:51

Bold fail

covetingthepreciousthings · 30/04/2020 12:55

I found that conversation unrealistic tbh. It wasn't in keeping with the rest of the scene. Why did he suddenly say that ?

I didn't find it that jarring or unrealistic, I thought it was kind of like the table had turned in that she used to be insecure and ask him about whether he fancied Rachel etc, and then this was his way of expressing that he was now concerned that she wouldn't want to be 'exclusive' and that she might want to see other people. But I could be wrong, that's just how I interpreted that scene.

HesSpartacus · 30/04/2020 12:58

In the book, thew whole summer thing is ridiculous. It's a very overhyped book - I enjoyed it, but it had a lot of flaws. The characters are very flat. I'm only on Episode 7 of the TV series, but Daisy Edgar-Jones makes it a lot better than the book, as she makes Marianne more likeable. And I agree that Connell sounds like Father Dougal!

covetingthepreciousthings · 30/04/2020 13:18

Daisy Edgar-Jones

Does she remind anyone else of Anne Hathaway? Its reminded me of the film One Day, but it might just be because of that likeness, or maybe because it's mainly focused one two characters? Anyone else get this similarity.

Methtones · 30/04/2020 13:30

I think they should just give it up. Connell needs to get involved in some uni stuff rather than hanging around Marianne the whole time. They're what, 18,19? Get a life man.