I am Victoria

[Aquarius1234]

9pm Channel 4.
New series with 3 different female well known actresses.

I do like Suranne Jones, she is extremely versatile. I started watching it on catch up but can't say I found it all that interesting so far; I'll watch the rest when in a more receptive mood.

The Vicky McClure series is uncomfortable watching. I do like surranne Jones - she was excellent in Save Me

I found it interesting and watchable. I didn't realise until the end that it was part of a series, as I'd not heard of them before.

I agree that the ending was poor, as the counsellor wasn't believable. But I thought Suranne Jones was really good.

agree with UrbanRambler.
wish i hadn't wasted time on this.
no real point to it.
like a kind of theatre workshop exercise in shouting and emoting.
didnt like it.

We switched it off after 15 minutes because of the shouting and the camera work. I’d liked to have punch her h for that ‘give me a kiss’ and her sis for being so bloody useless and relying on her.
I liked the ‘I am Kirsty’, it was gritty and probably as to true to life for a lot of struggling single parents. This was two years ago iirc, as I watched it on a plane on my phone as I got really emotional watching it.

I am Nicola is actually quite triggering. Time to turn off and go to bed

I thought the depiction of a woman having a breakdown would have been enough without the inclusion of a deeply unpleasant sister and gaslighting husband. They were just distracting to me, because often people break down because of completely normal reasons piling up. Suranne Jones was excellent though, I adore her, she can carry any storyline to perfection.

@merrygoround88

I thought it was really brilliant. She was clearly overwrought and obsessive and the oh so chilled husband made things just a million times worse.

Instead of helping he belittled. Yes she was OTT but couldn’t he have pitched in rather than drink juice and tell her it doesn’t matter what she cooks while she’s the one who shopped and cooked for it.

She was desperate to be in control, there is no way he would have been allowed to help. That was part of her illness. He might not do it perfectly, for her that would be an unbearable disaster. I actually thought he coped admirably.

"She was desperate to be in control, there is no way he would have been allowed to help. That was part of her illness. He might not do it perfectly, for her that would be an unbearable disaster.
I actually thought he coped admirably."
I agree I think people are so quick to see something wrong in a man's behaviour. It is so difficult to live with and understand someone struggling with their mental health and he pulled back from looking for anything from her but instead tried to get her to seek help when he realized he didn't have the skills to help her. Don't forget he's also trying to keep things normal for the kids. I also think living with her was so stressful him and the kids were walking on egg shells constantly.

I only started watching it when the argument with the sister happened. Which was awful and the sister seemed on a complete wind up. Yet the husband was cross with Victoria and not supportive at all? Unless I missed something?
And all that wanting to kiss her/watch her when she was trying to get on with stuff.

@Moanranger

I think the scene with the sister gave you the entire back story, to wit, manipulative mother, with sister as accomplice, (“mum always told us to share”), probably poor/short of money so Victoria compensates/escapes by over-achieving. So she is carrying huge issues from childhood, then marries a waster as that is what overachievers often do, or else he just like her father. I liked it more than I thought I would.

Moanranger, that is a really good point about the backstory.

I thought it was excellent, I'm surprised more people didn't like it. I thought the whole thing was totally believable.

According to am interview in Good Housekeeping, it was very collaborative between Suranne Jones and the writer with lots of improvisation in the acting. I thought it was very well done and showed the challenges for the husband and children of living with someone who is having a breakdown as much as the challenges for the individual themselves. Yes, in an ideal world the husband would be super supportive and always do the right thing but in the real world he will have times when he is frustrated and frankly pissed off. Apparently Suranne drew on her own experiences of mental illness.

So what does the writer dominic savage know about the inner workings of female rage?

So what does the writer dominic savage know about the inner workings of female rage?

Nothing about my rage but clearly he knows about SJ's because she told him.

I found it incredibly difficult to watch someone unravelling like that. But thought it was really well done.
I think people are being really unfair about the depiction of the husband. He wasn’t gaslighting her. He was just trying his best in an unbelievable difficult situation and also trying to protect the children.
Partners are not psychologists. They have no idea how they can help or what is actually wrong.
Living with a family member with a mental health issue makes you feel totally useless as to how you can support them

@lazymum99

I found it incredibly difficult to watch someone unravelling like that. But thought it was really well done. I think people are being really unfair about the depiction of the husband. He wasn’t gaslighting her. He was just trying his best in an unbelievable difficult situation and also trying to protect the children. Partners are not psychologists. They have no idea how they can help or what is actually wrong. Living with a family member with a mental health issue makes you feel totally useless as to how you can support them

So true. My DD has MH issues and, to my shame, on occasion, I have shouted and got upset and frustrated because it's so damn hard watching someone you love fall to pieces and not know how best to help them.

I thought her husband was worried and concerned about her as most partners would be, it must be exhausting living with her.

Perhaps for me, I prefer stories of female rage that have a more obvious reason behind it, eg. 3 billboards and mare of eastown, brilliant portrayals of women on the edge, suranne just drove me nuts

God this was like watching my sister, very triggering. Both of us from a childhood with no money, abusive unpredictable mother etc etc. I am the quiet one who lives well within my means and because of my childhood I eliminate drama as much as possible. My sister loves showing she has money, having a nice house, designer clothes, expensive car etc. I suffer from anxiety, but my sister has this anger within her which is scary to be around once it builds up and she eventually explodes.

I am Kirsty & I am Nicola were brilliant. I had to turn this off purely because the camera work made me feel sick. I might try the others.

oh i was looking for this last night, on itv, but it is channel 4

i went back and watched the first series, the one with the mother of two girls getting into financial trouble was very good i thought, how easily an event can tip people over into desperation
i think the wobbly camera angle thing is supposed to represent us as viewer, standing in the room following them all around like a ghost !

I didn't notice the wobbly camera at all.

I watched the rest of the series,didn't like the second but the third one with the great Lesley Manville was fantastic.