Truelove

I'm disappointed but not flat out shocked at the number of reviewers here who seem to view any treatment of end of life subjects played by actual oldsters as depressing.

This isn't -- not a bit. Instead, it's a very twisty take on the subject of assisted suicide with plenty of nuance and a lot of surprises you won't see coming.

One of the biggest surprises is someone actually turned out a script about old people that isn't solely comprised of patronizing stereotypes. These folk all feel very real -- the unique distillation of their own complicated (and often compromised) lives and careers.

It's fun to watch, despite the subject matter -- more police procedural in tone and content than dark night of the soul.

This UK Channel 4 series starts well but tails off somewhat as it progresses. Certainly a difficult, painful and controversial subject is handled competently without bias and at times with some delicacy. The fact that a retired senior copper is a main player in the deployment is of some interest, given the nature of the law on this subject. The cast was well chosen and mostly very convincing in their portrayal of a group of old friends facing stark choices in their declining years and how to deal with them. I have one reservation - the later stages of this drama tended to stretch credibility, and the ending is - well, frankly - a little disappointing.

Truelove starts with a question that nobody wants to answer - could you and should you kill a friend if they asked you to? But it doesn't linger. The story moves forwards at a pace that keeps the weight of its moral quandary off of the shoulders of the viewer. It's comical, nostalgic, heartwarming and fun despite its subject matter.

The story, told through a stellar cast, is well balanced and constantly developing through each episode. It resists the temptation to be carried too far into any specific genre whilst giving the audience enough familiarity on which to hang their reference points. Police procedural, thriller, drama, it has hints of each without compromising on its highly original concept. The show strikes a pleasing balance between entertainment and stimulation whilst opening up discussion with viewers both young and old(er).

The big 'but' is what did all those brilliant actors make of their raw material, the script and the screenplay?

Please let me express dismay that this is still such a 'live' (difficult choice of a word) topic in the UK, with the whole Esther Rantzen story on the lips of the nation, a much-loved TV star facing a dismal death from cancer, and unable to choose to die with dignity. Please also let me say that I live elsewhere, in the State of Western Australia, where Voluntary Assisted Dying is on the law book, as it is in all of the other five states of our nation, and has been for so long that nobody even thinks about it any more.

The UK is not so enlightened, and those people who consider that their personal religious affiliations give them a right to insist on how others live their lives, and how they die, still appear to hold sway. We had that battle here about five years ago, not long after I was myself diagnosed with cancer, and this is a matter of considerable comfort to me, knowing that a slow, lingering, agonising death will not be something I will be forced to endure if that time ever comes.

There's the background setting. I wish to avoid spoilers, as such reviews which are thus blanked tend not to get read. I will simply say that those involved do not display in any way the competence we would associate with them from their former professional lives. A top-ranking police officer and an SAS officer in particular would plan things immaculately, and carry them out faultlessly. It is the fact that they don't even get close to either which spreads this out across six episodes, the last of which was all but pointless.

Perhaps they felt they had to do things this way to present a 'balanced' view of Voluntary Assisted Dying, and maybe the religious obstructionists would have otherwise been even more up-in-arms than I am sure they were.

So they did all this to generate drama, and thus lost the plot.

8/10 for the courage to at least open up this dialogue on such a vital topic, and for great acting, but ...........................

Finally a story relevant for people over 40! This is a really good story, and a mystery snuck in for good measure. The acting was a bit stiff in some spots, and it is NOT a comedy. The best part - all the main characters, except one, is over 60. There are some holes in it, and the young police officer is annoying, that's why it only gets an 8. It could have had a better ending where Justice would have been served and Death With Dignity could have been preserved. As we all know justice and the law are two very different things. This has an Awesome soundtrack and it's not about pretty young people. It's more realistic in it's approach and it is a great watch for people that have to deal with their mortality - which is ALL of us. Whilst I'm not in that age bracket, I appreciate what it would take to deal with Death With Dignity. Highly recommend for the story, cinematography and realistic way it deals with it's subject. Would have like to see the younger person be more adult, though. A 28 year old should be way more mature. It's good enough to watch twice.