The A Word

Set in the Lake District, a dramatically and hilariously dysfunctional family, the discovery and subsequent journey of  having a child on the Autistic spectrum. What's not to love? It may seem like an odd concept to some but believe me, The A Word is an absolute gem; a truly moving, funny, rousing, likable and powerful piece of TV drama.
It focuses on Joe, a young boy who has always been viewed as 'different', but is subsequently diagnosed as being Autistic. What follows are the initial steps of his, and his family's ongoing journey, through life basically. We are thus introduced to these various characters who are undergoing their own ups and downs, but who are also focused on the youngest in their midst, and how their own lives now have to interweave and balance with his.

I think generally just that basic idea alone would be compelling viewing. Alongside the Autism elements we see some pretty regular aspects of TV drama too - infidelity, love and marriage, school, the generation gap. All things that we can instantly relate to, and things that we are probably not strangers to seeing on prime time drama shows. But the way in which each character and element is written, and how each character and element is engrossed (or not, as the case may be) in the life of the young boy at the centre of it all make The A Word so charming, so instantly reliable and uniquely brilliant to watch. You almost relax into it - you know you are watching compelling drama that deals with a very important, and sometimes very raw subject, but the combination of great personalities, great cast, great music, great comedy as well as drama just creates an atmosphere of familiarity which enables you to go with the flow of this dysfunction set before you, with very little compunction.

As I say, the concept alone is good, but throw in a great cast and the combination is near perfect. Familiar names such as Lee Ingleby and Vinette Robinson as Joe's dad and aunt respectively add touches of quality and different flavours of gravitas and family dynamic. Greg McHugh is a stand out for me as put-upon Eddie - he is both highly comedic and incredibly down to Earth and likable. The addition of Pooky Quesnel is a welcome face, and the debut of young Mollie Wright as Joe's teenage sister is too; I feel she carried her screen time and character chemistry superbly. We must also mention Joe himself. I am no expert at all on the ins and outs of Autism - but young Max Vento carried his character off spectacularly in my view. I have in the past bemoaned the wooden delivery and clichéd cringiness of some actors generally, yet particularly child actors , but not so here. In almost every scene he featured in, Max Vento as Joe stole the show. Lovable, hilarious, and massively compelling. He fitted in brilliantly to every situation that was written for him (which were many, varied and at times difficult I am sure for many an actor). He was brilliant; if he is this good in everything he does (and I'm sure he will get a few offers) then I feel he has a long and excellent acting career ahead of him. And I think for me, and other viewers of The A Word, the lasting image of the series will be of young Max casually strolling down a deserted mountain pass in the Lakes, headphones on and not a care in the world.
If there was one other cast member who could steal the show as well as Max Vento's Joe, then it was the great Christopher Eccleston as Joe's grandad Maurice. His character is brilliant, and he inhabits it perfectly. From the touching moments of bonding with his granddaughter, to his on/off awkward (and hilarious) love affair with his music teacher, to the brilliantly conceived moment where he shouts at a mountain (and some unfortunate passing ramblers) to - "FUCK OOOOOOFFFFFF!"
Truly, I cannot really put into words Eccleston's superb performance; just watch it.

The only cast member/character that not necessarily spoiled The A Word for me , but certainly marred it was that of Morven Christie as Joe's mother Alison. If the sole purpose of her character was to portray a totally and completely sickening, over-protective, smothering, self-obsessed, bullying, spoilt, manipulative, narcissistic, selfish, conniving bitch; then job well done, her casting and performance were perfect. But somehow I don't think that is all it was supposed to be. I'm sure that Alison was supposed to be written and performed as a deeply multi-layered figure who certainly portrayed the above qualities (again in that respect, job well done) but was also supposed to be somehow fragile and tragic in some sense or another. As I say, I can see the idea, but it just did not happen for me. Sadly the character of Alison to me stopped at being the vile mother and woman that was seen on the surface throughout the series. It is a shame because I really wanted to grasp the underlying current of her character, and I wanted her to be perfectly flawed and multi-faceted, like almost all the other characters brilliantly were in The A Word. Yet it just did not happen; and the resulting character on screen infuriated me, so much so that I couldn't even appreciate her as simply another dynamic or take on the drama, and by the end I wished someone would push her off a Lake District mountain.

OK, enough rambling about my hatred for Alison's character. Black spot though it may be, it did not wholly detract from the enjoyment I felt watching The A Word. It truly is a great piece of telly, and I hope it will return to offer more insight into Joe's world.