Conversations with Friends

I binged this whole series so that I could give an honest review. I wish I could get some of that time back. The story drags on and quite honestly after 12 episodes it is still not clear to me why the plot line even exists - I mean does anyone truly care for anyone else in this story? I kept waiting for these self-absorbed characters to have some level of depth as to why it made their choices and decisions worth it. The only reason I am giving it 6 stars is because the acting was good and it's not the actor's fault that they had to play self-absorbed people.

Wow this is a extremely well And good TV series It's very real and very relatable The cast were perfect for they're characters And it's also very faithful faithful to the source material I would recommend this TV series to anyone who has read the novel or if You did not I would just recommend this series To anyone who wants a Very good and funny TV Series I also thought that this show at times can get real and Makes you question your own love life I thought the ending Was very touching and and emotional They did a very good job adapting the novel into A TV series And I hope maybe it will get season 2.

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 eventually got around to watching "Normal People", like everyone else, a year to two ago and I enjoyed it. Conventional wisdom is, I think, that this adaptation of Sally Rooney's debut novel, from the same production team isn't quite as good - but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Frances (Alison Oliver) and Bobbi (Sasha Lane) are best friends, formally a couple, who are studying in Dublin. They meet Melissa (Jemima Kirke) a published author and are drawn into her social circle. Melissa introduces them to Nick (Joe Alwyn), her husband, and Frances begins an affair with him. The relationships between all four are complicated and are worsened when Bobbi learns about the relationship.

I don't think I can defend the show from the accusation that it's pretty slow going. Not an awful lot actually happens over its 12 thirty-minute episodes, but there's lots of quiet longing, passive aggressiveness and people not explaining themselves. That lack of talking is what drives the plot, as you might imagine, as it a couple of reveals across the shows length that threaten to drive wedges between the relationships involved. I didn't mind it, but I can understand if the lack of momentum shook people off.

The performances are unquestionable good though. I've seen three of the central quartet before, but this is Alison Oliver's debut, and she does really well in a role that requires quite a bit of her. There are sex scenes, but I mean more in the sense that she has to keep an emotionally taut character on the right side of likeable and he manages it perfectly. All three of the other leads also manage to bring a level of human complexity to their otherwise disagreeable characters.

I'm not sure if the lukewarm response to this one means that Rooney-Mania is over, and we're not likely to see the same creative team do "Beautiful World, Where Are You", but I thought this follow up was an enjoyable enough watch.

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.