The Minor Character - What Did You Think?


David's latest drama project, The Minor Character aired last night on Sky Arts last night.

David Tennant starred as Will, an artist who observes life in minute detail. His dry commentary ranges from witty engagement to a casual erosive critique of his social set: the urban-suburban, middle-class landscape of his middle-aged friends.
Over a series of dinners, drinks and parties, we witness the shifting sands of friendship, marriage, love and lust, and the complexity and corruptness of London circles through Will's eyes. All the while, he entertains us with his reportage and offers us the privilege not only of his profound, inner thoughts, but also of an impartial, outward look into this microcosm of debauchery and selfishness.
As the clock cycles on, dreams are broken, relationships are ruined, misfortune strikes, and we, the spectators, are overwhelmed by the randomness and absurdity of life.

But how does Will stand in all of this?
Though he fends off sexual impropriety and resists indiscretions with the determination of staying afloat and unperturbed by this poisonous current of society, we soon get the impression that his judgement fails when it comes to placing himself in this very world he examines in so much detail. He is, after all, also a part of it.
His epiphany finally comes when a friend of the group dies; Will is shocked by the others' reaction, and bitterly realizes that all is not as it seems, and that despite years of 'friendship', they are all simply minor characters in each others' lives.
With his air of superiority now condensed to nothing, Will feels the most minor of all them all. In fact, for the first time ever, he discovers the void and realizes that although he took pride in being detached from the corruptness of his circle, he was, as were his friends, entirely detached altogether.

We asked fans on our Twitter and Facebook pages what the thought of the drama, thanks to all of you who replied!
Here's a selection of the responses from Twitter:
  • @Helriley says: "It freaked me out! It was creepy, dark & frankly, odd! In other words, DT was completely believable & amazing! :)"
  • @Visionthing64 says: "It was superb - and if David Tennant can make us dislike him, it proves he can do anything! Dark, disturbing, edgy"
  • @ilsiux_f says: "dark & claustrophobic, scary cause we've all felt like that. DT great as always, channeling dislike & creepiness! So good!"
  • @mactando says: "I thought it was a powerful story-very dark and cynical but original David played the 'creepy' Will to perfection."
Our Facebook friends were just as impressed:
  • Mitch Waddon A very good performance in an interesting contemporary piece. Enjoyed the range Tennant showed.
  • Marie Wood Would Excellent performance, as usual! Loved it.
  • Vicky Crossley Really interesting work, very well acted.
  • Justine Jones David inhabits any role he does,and this was no exception. I forgot it was David!
  • Alice Lovell That was intriguing to watch. Although it wasn't a very accurate representation of real life, it cast a rather horrifying light on what some of the more upper class circles might be like. Well acted, too.
  • Agnes McCourt It was quite intense drama. I guess it's the way real life is, when lives intertwine, as they invariably do.
And if you'd like to leave your thoughts you can do so on Twitter or Facebook or by leaving a comment below!
Thanks :)

Comments

  1. I especially liked the various bits of image trickery that added to the edgy surrealism that one's own memories can take on sometimes, and also how all of the dialogue had a similar flavor of dark (self)loathing running through.... I will think about this for days, which is my favorite reaction to art of all kinds.

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