State of the Union

Great realistic dialogue and great chemistry between Rosamund Pike and Chris O'dowd. Half of me wants more episodes that are longer and where we follow them into the counseling session. The other half of me is satisfied with these short snapshots into the life of a married couple trying to save their marriage.

The device of keeping each episode around 10 minutes of running time is absolutely brilliant, because it's definitely a show that you can have a bite at in-between more traditionally long shows, without getting burdened by its repetitive nature. And I say repetitive in a somewhat positive way: it features two characters talking to one another, mostly inside the same pub, and that's about it. Simple, but comforting.

And it works. Largely because the writing is sparkling; the two main characters deliver the dialogues with so much gusto, so much realistic ebbs and flows in mood that I couldn't help believing that they really had been a couple for many years.

I feel like in this day and age when the traditional family is so apparently going into decline, where so many people are prone to the mentality that "if it doesn't work, I'll just start anew and find something that's better," this short little series is extremely refreshing and might provide a cause for some relevant and meaningful reflection.

What I really love about the series is how real the characters feel. Even though we only get to see a short snippet of their lives, the episodes do a great job of showing us how broken they are and the struggle that they are going through.

I don't think I would have enjoyed the series as much if they actually showed the conversations/therapy sessions that they had. Frankly that would have just been predictable/boring drama that I can certainly do without. What the short 10 minute style so brilliantly depicts is the internal struggles that they are grappling with, without any added meaningless cliches and drama.

Also Chris O'Dowd and Roasmund Pike are very likable and have great chemistry together. The conversations they had were quite witty consistently funny throughout without feeling too overly pretentious.

I couldn't recommend this enough to anyone who is even remotely interested after reading the synopsis.

Both have done outstanding job. The separate life they have developed, and the chemistry that once those _characters_ shared but now don't is portrayed very beautifully _with_ chemistry between actors.

Have to say it: Rosamund Pike. Divine.

Will watch again.

Everything about the show is great but one thing that kind of bothered me is the low amount of sequence shots and crazy amount of cuts in the cafe scenes. Considering the episodes are only ten minutes long, I don't know why didn't opt in for more continuity. The cuts honestly distracted me a lot. But at least this gets better after episode seven.

Regardless, everyone should give the show a try, whole season is 100 minutes and worth every minute.