The Watchlist: a fatally boring remake, an unsung Irish drama
There’s nothing thrilling or erotic about the Fatal Attraction revival, which lacks the cathartic, campy foolishness of the original.
If you’re looking for thrills, best skip Paramount’s latest reboot and opt for an unsung Irish drama, or a Krzysztof Kieslowski classic.
Fatal Attraction
Paramount+
It’s a pity that Paramount released such dreary schlock mere weeks after Apple TV’s triumph with the scrumptiously inventive reworking of Dead Ringers. The controversial yet oh-so-fun 1987 film Fatal Attraction popularised the erotic thriller genre, instilled fear in men, had theatregoers clamouring for Glenn Close’s demise, and coined the term “bunny boiler”. Now it has been adapted into a limited series with Lizzy Caplan taking over Close’s role as the villainous Alex, following the post-Joker trend of an origin story. The story is told through two timelines: the present, where Joshua Jackson’s Dan Gallagher is trying to prove his innocence after being imprisoned for Alex’s murder; and the past, with which we are already familiar. Both Caplan and Jackson give admirable performances but they can’t rescue this drab thriller. It lacks the cathartic, campy foolishness of the original and takes itself far too seriously (think frequent Carl Jung name-drops).
Love/Hate
SBS on Demand
Finally, this impeccable, hard-to-find show is available to watch in Australia. Love/Hate, the tar-black Irish gangster drama that originally aired from 2010 to 2014, is now streaming on SBS on Demand. Robert Sheehan (the Misfits breakout with an exceptional head of hair) stars as Darren Treacy, who has returned to Dublin after being on the run in Spain from a firearms charge, to celebrate his brother’s release from jail. After the brother is murdered in a gang hit, Darren is dragged back into Dublin’s brutal criminal underworld — ruled by John Boy Power, played by the towering and unpredictable Aiden Gillen. This is one of the many shows that has been praised as “___’s answer to The Wire”, and yes, there are similarities, particularly in the way the writers have created a world populated with richly drawn secondary characters, who feel as complex and real as the show’s central figures. But Love/Hate has its unique identity. It should be your next box set commitment.
Jury Duty
Amazon Prime
If you found Nathan Fielder’s The Rehearsal, addictively squeamish, there’s something for you in Jury Duty — the hidden-camera prank show from former writers of the US version of The Office. The premise: A group of actors are cast to stage a jury trial without arousing the suspicions of one non-actor, Ronald Gladden, a 30-year-old project manager from San Diego, who believes that he has signed up for a documentary about the American justice system, as advertised on Craigslist. Among the jury of actors is James Marsden, who plays a stroppier, more narcissistic version of himself. It’s a stroke of casting genius — he is exactly the kid of actor who is instantly recognisable, but whose name escapes you. This is a show filled with ridiculous pranks and hijinks — for example, a juror shows up to court wearing “chair pants”, an invention of their own making (it’s exactly what you think it is) — but it’s not mean-spirited. At the end of it, the victim, Ronald, comes out looking like a patient, kind-hearted dude who’s doing his best to be a good citizen.
Monty Python’s Best Bits (Mostly)
SBS Viceland, 5.55pm, Saturday
What better way to pre-game the coronation than by spending half an hour with the comic troupe that blew Britain’s genteel society to bits? As you sink into a quiche-induced slump, let Hugh Bonneville serve up the very best of Python’s gloriously silly back catalogue on a silver platter. This five-part series is essentially just a greatest hits compilation, with classics like the “Dead Parrot” sketch and “The Spanish Inquisition”, as well as lesser-known jewels like ”The Bishop” and “Nudge Nudge”. It features commentary from the likes of Noel Fielding, Matt Lucas, Stephen Fry, Simon Pegg, Steve Coogan, Jim Carrey, and Mike Myers, each of whom dissects their favourite sketches and explains the ways in which the group has influenced their own careers. There will be no judgment here if you ditch the slow procession to The Abbey in favour of rewatching Life of Brian …
Dekalog
Mubi
In 1989, Polish television aired Krzysztof Kieślowski’s Dekalog, a ten-part series that centres around the residents of a housing complex in late-Communist Poland, with each episode loosely based on one of the Ten Commandments. Kieślowski later expanded two of the episodes into feature-length films – A Short Film About Killing and A Short Film About Love – both of which are currently available for streaming on Mubi. The former, inspired by the commandment “Thou shalt not kill”, is a standout. This brutal, unforgettable film is about an angry, acne-pocked young drifter who senselessly and brutally murders a taxi driver without motive. He is caught, brought to trial, condemned to death and executed. In court, he is represented by an idealistic young lawyer who is morally-opposed to the death penalty. The film is credited with sparking the capital punishment debate in Poland and leading to the suspension of the death penalty that year. Its visuals are intentionally disgusting and cinematographer Slawomir Idziak agreed to shoot the film under the condition that he be allowed to use green filters.