I have to say I wasn't quite prepared for this miniseries when I first set down to watch it. I was led to it through my admiration of David Tennant, who does a truly remarkable job as the title character - Dave, a father of five children who suddenly and tragically loses his love, Rita. I feel uniquely qualified to judge the realism and emotional weight of the story having just lost my boyfriend equally as suddenly about 10 weeks ago. Coincidentally, the main story picks up for Dave at the same place in his life - 10 weeks after the loss.
So please keep that in mind when I say that these performances struck something very real and very present inside of me. The breakdowns Dave has are so incredibly and perfectly portrayed - the full rainbow of emotions artfully shining through David Tennant. The writing is exactly right. The leap from pain to sex isn't that far off and it's wonderful to see how such basic wants and desires can blossom into full-fledged love as Dave and Sarah cope with their loss.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention the portrayal of Dave as father and his relationship with his children. Though you watch him almost neglecting them as he struggles, it is clear that he loves them above all else and so the character never becomes unlovable. The children's' performances are all spot-on (and you know how difficult it is to find good child actors).
To sum up, I feel as though my personal loss and pain was expressed through this film, and that is a fair feat. Thus, perhaps I was moved more than the average viewer may be, but I think there's enough solid drama, acting, and writing present to make this a worthwhile watch for anybody. Also, because it's always fun to just tack something on at the end, I really rather enjoyed the filmmaker's style and thought it was well directed.
So please keep that in mind when I say that these performances struck something very real and very present inside of me. The breakdowns Dave has are so incredibly and perfectly portrayed - the full rainbow of emotions artfully shining through David Tennant. The writing is exactly right. The leap from pain to sex isn't that far off and it's wonderful to see how such basic wants and desires can blossom into full-fledged love as Dave and Sarah cope with their loss.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention the portrayal of Dave as father and his relationship with his children. Though you watch him almost neglecting them as he struggles, it is clear that he loves them above all else and so the character never becomes unlovable. The children's' performances are all spot-on (and you know how difficult it is to find good child actors).
To sum up, I feel as though my personal loss and pain was expressed through this film, and that is a fair feat. Thus, perhaps I was moved more than the average viewer may be, but I think there's enough solid drama, acting, and writing present to make this a worthwhile watch for anybody. Also, because it's always fun to just tack something on at the end, I really rather enjoyed the filmmaker's style and thought it was well directed.