“Normal People. That’s the name of the event series that’s turning everything upside down! A 100% Irish show, broadcast in the spring of 2020 and an unprecedented success not only in Ireland, but also in the USA and Europe! Available since July 16 on the Starzplay streaming platform, Normal People is first and foremost an adaptation of Sally Rooney’s novel. It tells the love story of 2 Irish teenagers. It all started in high school, and continued at Trinity College Dublin. Between passionate love, break-ups and friendships, the duo will experience intense moments, crossed by trials and lighter moments.
Normal People
Marianne and Connell live in Carricklea, County Sligo, Ireland. She’s a lonely schoolgirl, a bit of a rebel.
He’s a cool, friendly jock whose mother is Marianne’s cleaning lady.
Both live a life marked by inner conflicts, the desire to realize and find themselves…
In phase, both like to see each other away from the glare and pressure of high school.
Love is not far away. But so are conflicts.
The first season follows their romance through to the end of their studies at Trinity College Dublin.
Normal People
The story may seem a little facile… Maybe even banal. But don’t stand still in front of this pitch. Normal People is a series of remarkable and disarming intensity. Here, it’s not the story that counts, but the way it’s told.
Every episode is scathingly true. We discover moments of emotion and self-discovery. A series that goes much further than a teenage movie, and delivers a painful and realistic portrait of millenials, the young people born after 2000.
We discover their discomfort, their quest for truth and intensity. Their way of coping with a society whose values are crumbling, but which nonetheless crushes them under its own weight.
Every moment, every dialogue seems ready to erupt in all its shattering aggression. Sally Rooney delivers a harsh, bitter-sweet vision of Ireland and its young people today.
Everything is thought out, considered and calculated. We can feel the weight of the social straitjacket weighing on Connell’s shoulders. His link with the working class, his need to be loved and appreciated, even if it means disguising his true identity to his friends… His masculinity is also portrayed with finesse and pain.
We also feel Marianne’s omnipresent malaise, her discrepancy with others, her conflicts with her own family, her deep inner wars, despite her financial comfort… Money isn’t a problem, but everything else seems to be. Between self-denial and the need to connect with a loved one, Marianne’s sincerity and suffering are disarming.
The series is brilliantly supported by the acting of two actors (Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones), unknown before Normal People, who literally burst onto the screen. The intensity of their performances is captivating. We fall in love with the characters, we feel their emotions… all without modesty or make-up. We recognize ourselves in them and share their doubts.
Special mention should be made of the absolutely magnificent sex scenes, which break away from clichés and demonstrate love in all its intensity and simplicity. Extraordinary scenes that magnify the presumed banality of a story between two people… A fabulous exercise, to be discovered in these first 12 episodes of 30 minutes each…
One thing’s for sure: we’ll be back for a second season…
3.75/5 (4 votes)
