Conversations with Friends

After reading some of the reviews, I'm wondering why most Americans bother watching European films/series in which most of the focus is on the dialogue. No one is murdered, there are no frantic car chases. But what there is happening appears to be very beautiful, a look inside two young women, very different, who react in different ways to a charismatic couple who they get into a complicated relationship with at the beginning of the first series. For me its been absorbing, thoughtful, and therefore making me think too.

I tried to read the book first and got about halfway through but the pace was just not engaging enough for me to keep reading. Now I find myself feeling the same thing with the series. If you are someone who likes slow build up and slow pace then you'll probably like this. I also would have rated this higher if I felt the slow pace contributed to deeper character development (like happened with Sally Rooney's Normal People), but honestly I'm not entirely sure I even want to wait to get to know the characters better because they carelessly hurt decent people in their lives and it's not clear why. I wish we understood more from the getgo why these characters choose the path they go down. Didn't finish the book, and not entirely sure I'll finish the series. One good thing worth mentioning is the acting is good! Everyone did a great job in their roles! Best thing about this thus far is the casting!

There wasn't a massive storyline that kept me interested but I think it's the relationship between characters that kept me intrigued. I honestly don't know how I feel about the ending, but this was a good slow paced and calm show to watch.

It is a wonderful love story with some very clever dialogue and fantastic juxtaposition.

It shows ordinary people in ordinary families doing ordinary things with the usual spectacular failure to communicate well resulting in a bunch of things that don't go well.

Sally Rooney has the ability to portray the introverts amongst us with hugely human hearts and desires resulting in endings we support with all our being because we wish they happened to us.

I love the way no-one in these shows is your traditionally beautiful wonder however they are fantastically human, loving and lovable (apart from the bad ones..)

Give it a go - I loved Normal People and Heartstopper give me a love story any time especially one with life-like people.

Because it was never trying to be. Not really sure about the low ratings. This isn't a masterpiece by any stretch, but there's a lot here that people just aren't seeing, or aren't bothered to.

First off, the entire point of the story in the book is that Frances and Nick struggle desperately to express themselves properly. It's what makes their conversational interactions awkward whereas their physical interactions are where they feel more comfortable. I'm not sure how people are claiming this is "unrealistic" or "bland". I mean sure, real people can be bland at times but if you don't dare to look beyond the surface, why are you even bothering with this? Either way, they are certainly not unrealistic. The way the show depicts Frances and Nick's frustrations in expressing themselves is how it was in the book and how it is for many people in reality. In that sense then I completely disagree with the criticism that they were miscast. Both actors did entirely what was required of them as characters. If you find that boring then okay, you're entitled to your opinion but again I'm not sure how you can call it a fault on the writer's part.

I think the performances are delicate and detailed, and just like Normal People it feels real. Although that's the only comparison I'd dare to make between the two shows, because as I said one was never trying to be the other. If you believe CWF was true to its novel then the criticism makes no sense anyway, seeing as though the book of CWF was written before NP. So wouldn't that make NP the copycat?

I agree 12 episodes can feel a bit exhausting after a while but that's the problem these days with streaming especially - everyone watching this show is probably trying to binge it in a day - when it's obviously going to be far more impactful if you take your time with it.

Relax, watch a few episodes at a time, and don't be thinking about Normal People when you watch because thematically, this is not that.