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Black Mirror
S2.E1
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Be Right Back

  • Episode aired Feb 11, 2013
  • TV-MA
  • 48m
IMDb RATING
7.9/10
59K
YOUR RATING
Hayley Atwell in Black Mirror (2011)
CrimeDramaMysterySci-FiThriller

After learning about a new service that lets people stay in touch with the deceased, a lonely, grieving Martha reconnects with her late lover.After learning about a new service that lets people stay in touch with the deceased, a lonely, grieving Martha reconnects with her late lover.After learning about a new service that lets people stay in touch with the deceased, a lonely, grieving Martha reconnects with her late lover.

  • Director
    • Owen Harris
  • Writer
    • Charlie Brooker
  • Stars
    • Hayley Atwell
    • Domhnall Gleeson
    • Claire Keelan
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.9/10
    59K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Owen Harris
    • Writer
      • Charlie Brooker
    • Stars
      • Hayley Atwell
      • Domhnall Gleeson
      • Claire Keelan
    • 82User reviews
    • 16Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos44

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    Top cast13

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    Hayley Atwell
    Hayley Atwell
    • Martha
    Domhnall Gleeson
    Domhnall Gleeson
    • Ash
    Claire Keelan
    Claire Keelan
    • Naomi
    Sinead Matthews
    Sinead Matthews
    • Sarah
    Flora Nicholson
    Flora Nicholson
    • Midwife
    Glenn Hanning
    Glenn Hanning
    • Delivery Man
    Tim Delap
    Tim Delap
    • Simon
    Indira Ainger
    • Martha's Daughter
    Pamela Betsy Cooper
    Pamela Betsy Cooper
    • Mourner
    • (uncredited)
    Tony Fadil
    Tony Fadil
    • Christopher
    • (uncredited)
    Richard Glaves
    Richard Glaves
    • Sarah's Man
    • (uncredited)
    Richard Herdman
    • Onlooker
    • (uncredited)
    Chris Wilson
    Chris Wilson
    • Paramedic
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Owen Harris
    • Writer
      • Charlie Brooker
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews82

    7.959.1K
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    Featured reviews

    bob the moo

    S2: Be Right Back: Clever and moving with strong writing from Brooker and a great performance from Atwell

    I've not seen the new Spike Jonse film "Her" but watching this episode of Black Mirror which was screened over a year before Her was released in the US does rather make one think that Charlie Brooker would have some reason to be aggrieved at a film doing so well with a similar idea at its core. In the case of Be Right Back, the plot sees Martha and Ash as a couple – with Ash being a heavy online presence via social networks and so on. When Ash dies leaving Martha alone, she turns to a piece of software which will emulate your former partner and they begin chatting online.

    Although I did not think the first season of Back Mirror was perfect, I really did like that it is able to take current situations and move them a few steps down a logical or reasonable line and then see what happens in a specific situation. As with the previous season this episode very much sticks with technology as its jumping off point but it is most in common with the third episode of the first season it the way it is driven by an emotional core. The idea in this case is that, just as it is possible already to have software that can just about text you like a person, so, in theory, it should be possible to have software that builds a "you" based on all your emails, texts, Facebook posts and so on; OK it is a few steps beyond Amazon suggesting products based on your purchasing history, but it is effective because it doesn't seem too far away and thus we are not given the comfort of a future far from our own.

    With small steps we get to a plot that is far-fetched while being conceivable and with this idea as the narrative device, Brooker builds a story that is emotionally engaging as we can both empathize with what Martha does while also seeing how bad a thing it is in the grand scheme of things – just like it being easy to see the faults of others from a distance while totally failing to see the same in ourselves. It is really moving and the conflict is throughout the story which means that it never stops working on the level it does at the start. The downside is that it ends in the same mould rather than having something dramatic, but still it is effective for what it does.

    The direction is good and the tone matches Brooker's excellent writing. If I didn't already know this is the same sarcastic and miserable Brooker we see on Screenwipe, I never would have believed he wrote this. What really seals the deal though is the performance from Atwell, because she is amazing. She really understands her character and she convinces through the story whether she be content, grieving, denying, hurting or accepting. The story is essentially a two-hander but she is the lion's share of it and her success is the film's success. Gleeson is more of a device than character but his performance is also well pitched, convincing in how he needs to be even if Atwell gets the better of the split.

    This film will be hard to watch in the wake of Her since thematically they are similar but I'm sure this is just coincidence. It is best to ignore this and focus on the film doing what it does because it is clever, engaging, convincing, moving and sobering. Hard to believe that the guy cursing at his TV would turn out to be such a good sci-fi writer or that the pretty girl from the Captain America film would have such a great performance in her, but BRB is great.
    8mjw2305

    Good but not perfect!

    Be right Back is a great concept, but there was something missing that I am struggling to put into words here?

    Don't get me wrong, it is a good episode that realistically toys with a very chilling concept that, in part, may be somewhere in our future (Scary thought!)

    I think the first two thirds of this story played out better than the final third, maybe it went a little too far and became less scary when it could have become terrifying!

    As much as I enjoyed this, I was left wanting a little more.

    8/10.
    8Sleepin_Dragon

    Very moving. Very good episode.

    Hayley Atwell shines through in this thoroughly moving, heart wrenching tale of love and grief. Brooker proves that he can tug at the heart strings as well as entertain, as he takes you on a journey of tragedy and longing. The scary thing about this episode is I believe one day they'll have the technology to have something similar to the voice activated thoughts and conversations of someone deceased.

    I love the futuristic touches, such as the desktop and the car, really nice glimpses into a possible future.

    It's not an episode I'd be inclined to watch over, like San Junipero or Hang the DJ, but it serves as a really engaging, moving piece.
    9ritikaagrawal-32248

    It really might not be that tough to have our multiple digital clones walking around

    As much as the episode kept me connected throughout the whole story, feeling Martha's pain and jitters with every scene of the episode; it was also a revelation how much we are allowing the technology and different technical giants to control us. Every single movement, every single browsing history is captured somewhere. In this case clone was created for a loved one and the reason, howsoever illogical was genuine ... but doesn't it allow for digital clones that can be created and misused for any person possible. Texture mapping and tons of data floating around definitely make it very much feasible.

    Yes, the idea of being connected even after death was very touching and I am sure it pulled in the audience, because only at the moment you lose someone you want them all the much more, you understand their importance in your life. But at the same time i felt really bad for Martha, she was stuck with a robot for life whom she cannot get rid of out of the respect for Ash memories but that will never ever let her move on with life as well. She will keep clinging to the memories and never be able to make new ones.

    Also, the part where she yells at the robot to hit her brings out a very interesting aspect of human psychology. As much as we all want perfect and serving people in our lives, what makes them real and lovable is their imperfections. The imperfections in humans is what makes them different from algorithmically programmed robots; by the time we realize this difference it shouldn't be too late that we are living our lives more in control of the robots than ourselves.
    8GraXXoR

    Simulcra and Simulation

    At what point do we step over the "uncanny valley" and into a simulation of something so real that, even for a brief moment, we convince ourself that it is real?

    In this episode, what technology takes away from us when we are living: our concentration and focus on the here and now, it attempts to reinstate when we are dead, all those lost opportunities and moments spent in the virtual world are returned, with interest.

    Only what comes back is merely a simulacrum, a reflection of what once was, and when the grief is over and one opens one's eyes again, one realises the shallowness of that before them and any previous feeling of intimacy and thankfulness is quickly soured into resentment and anger.

    IS there a difference between life itself and a simulation, thereof? And if a simulation were of sufficient complexity and sophistication, would it become indistinguishable from life itself?

    "Black Mirror" Episodes Ranked by IMDb Users

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    Production art
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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      A service called 'That can be my next tweet!' has existed since 2013 that analyzes a person's Twitter stream and attempts to create a Tweet that they could have written.
    • Goofs
      At 8.45, The lights of a police car can be seen. It wasn't a emergency so the lights would not have been on.
    • Quotes

      Ash: Just sharing that.

      [he holds the photo of Ash as a boy]

      Ash: Thought people might find it funny.

      Martha: It's not funny; It's sweet.

      Ash: Trust me; that day wasn't sweet... first family outing after Jack died... When I came down the next morning all Jack's photos were gone... she put them in the attic. It's how she dealt with stuff. And then when dad died, up went his photos to the attic. She just left this one here. Her only boy giving her a fake smile

      Martha: She didn't know it was fake.

      Ash: Maybe that makes it worse.

    • Connections
      Featured in WatchMojoUK: Top 10 Actors Who Have Appeared in Black Mirror (2018)
    • Soundtracks
      If I Can't Have You
      (uncredited)

      Written by Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb and Maurice Gibb

      Performed by Yvonne Elliman

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • February 11, 2013 (United Kingdom)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Official sites
      • Official Facebook
      • Official Netflix
    • Language
      • English
    • Production companies
      • Zeppotron
      • Channel 4 Television Corporation
      • Babieka
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 48m
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 16:9 HD

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