raspberry4life2002

This is an abomination of the source material. I'm surprised Jeff let anyone mess with what was a suspenseful, well thought-out novel. The changes to the characters (names, genders and ethnicities) was the hardest part to take. The biggest of these being that Lincoln Rhyme is white in the books, and Amelia Sachs is the granddaughter of a German Jewish immigrant.

SPOILER:

And they shied away from depicting the romance that develops between the leads, as if they were uncomfortable with the notion of a non-disabled woman having a relationship with a quadriplegic. I find that distasteful.

SEVERANCE scribe James Moran does it again with another sharp, bloody script containing a social message relevant to our times. 3 months after witnessing the death of a teenager, the residents of the top floor of a tower block awaiting demolition find their reluctance to talk to the Police coming back to haunt them when an unseen sniper starts picking off anyone who unwittingly goes near a window. Sheridan Smith (Gavin and Stacey) and Jack O'Connell (Skins) head a uniformly excellent cast in this taut British thriller that doesn't skimp on the blood or the depiction of the true cost of looking the other way when someone's in need and you could help them - but don't, because you're too scared or complacent to do so.

Gareth Edwards' micro-budget guerilla-filmed masterpiece is NOT for those expecting a brainless gung-ho popcorn epic of the BATTLE:LA type - this is a thoughtful, improvised story of survival and how we treat the outsiders in our society. The last point may not have been Edwards' express intent, but it's certainly a feature. Real-life husband and wife Scoot McNairy and Whitney Able are convincing as characters simply because - in their improvised dialogue - they are talking how a real couple would. Able is particularly praiseworthy, puncturing the stereotype of a rich heiress - this lady is no damsel in distress - but she brings a vulnerability that is relateable, even in such extreme circumstances. You find out little about these characters, apart from in phone calls to those they're ostensibly trying to get home to, yet you come to care about them and speculate where this journey will take them in the future.

This episode plumbed the depths of awfulness, unintentionally harming the cause it was trying to promote. How come a modern school wasn't fully accessible to wheelchair users? It was clearly written by someone who is non-disabled. The method of promoting "Disability Awareness" that was the backbone of the plot was redundant back in the 80's. Outdated words like "Handicapped" to describe a Disabled person (which I am) are the equivalent of calling an African American the N-word. And who on earth came up with the clumsy made up word "Handicapable"?? Lastly, to add cliché to Disablism, the subplot involving Sue was utterly predictable - although well-acted.

Must do better, Glee.

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