Capital

Capital was a three part adaptation of a satirical book by John Lanchester and adapted by Peter Bowker as a modern Dickensian satire looking at class, race, immigration, greed and a London neighbourhood in a background of rising house prices.

Petunia is at 84 Pepys Road and lived here all her life and seems to have come to grips with the cosmopolitan nature of her neighberhood. She has a grandson who seems to be some type of Banksy style street artist and her daughter comes to stay with her and she knows that value of her house. The Ahmed's are second generation children of Pakistani immigrants who want to foster good relations with their customers but one of the brother's is showing signs of radicalisation.

Roger is an investment banker with a big house, big extension and plans to do more work in the house and maybe get a house in the country with his big bonus. His wife already has made plans to spend the bonus. They have kids that go to private schools and eastern European child minders. The series seems to have few regrets about investment bankers who bought the country to its knees a few years earlier.

In among the mix are an asylum seeker embroiled with the appeals system, Polish builders making a nice living with the constant demands for refurbishment from good cheap labour and who all interact with each other. They all start to get threatening letters and emails. Someone wants what they have and police are called in to investigate.

The film is a gentle satire but I felt light on plot. Maybe it could had been done as a two hours film. We kind of guess the Ahmed's will end up in trouble with the police when that long lost friend came to crash in their house for a few days.

However it was worth just to see Toby Jones face when he got that much lower than expected bonus. Later on his account to his bosses as to whether they actually understand what these mathematical geniuses that they employ to do the trading is rather prescient

It's a nice TV drama series featuring some superb actors as Toby Jones; Adeel Akhtar; Danny Ashok and Wunmi Mosaku.

It highlights residents living in the London capital city on a high-value surbaban street where houses cost more than £2m. The value of the houses rise as the months of the characters' lives are portrayed.

Each character has signifant issues in the script during the series. It is also a melting pot of 'WE WANT WHAT YOU HAVE' being advertised at the characters in various messages either through thier door or on advertising elsewhere. No one knows where or why this message came (from).

It's a very interesting cynical look at the elite v us and how people's lives can change so much for the worse or the better. The most affluent member of the street is also not immune to having a life being rapidly-changed.

It shows you that you should not neccessarily be too greedy and want everything and there are problems when you reach the top as much as there are problems at the bottom.

The dialogue is great. The script and casting is superb. I regret that I did not see this on TV but it came out on Netflix and as I am a huge fan of Toby Jones so I had to watch it!

It's really a great drama and I don't want to ruin too much but if you enjoy how different people live on a street and character development and big drama with characters fighting and making-up and interwoven love-stories then this is the perfect show for you!

Really nicely done. 8/10!

I loved it. Mysterious, funny, suspenseful, and moving. Great characters, great acting. What more can you want? I only wish there had been more. Watched on PBS Passport.

This more of a (mostly) comedy soap opera than anything. It has elements of realism in its premise: the social mix created in London streets because of exploding property prices - but there is also over-the-top parody and slightly cloying sentimentality. The comedy Pakistani grandmother is a case in point. The story of the postcards is weak and a bit baffling. The Detective Inspector (yes, that's the drip's rank) who endlessly visits the street on this rather trivial matter certainly isn't realistic. I have my doubts, too, about the church which entirely consists of a large wonderfully disciplined choir. We're in a dream world, except perhaps for Gemma Jones's story. And then there's the sadly all-too realistic tale of the Home Office relentlessly persecuting an immigrant. A strange mix, but overall it is fun to watch and the acting is mostly excellent.

Very cleverly written satire. I'm surprised this hasn't been viewed (or reviewed here) by more, and I completely disagree with the criticisms posted by earlier reviewers.

It's a neat story, with some attractive characters compellingly facing various moral dilemmas. The acting is first-rate - no weak links in the cast.

Strongly recommended.