The Ice Creams is based on the bestselling book by Dorothy Koomson about two girls who, one brief summer, find themselves involved with an abusive, controlling man. The situation spirals out of control and they are trial for his murder; ultimately Poppy gets sent to prison.
Flash forward 17 years; Serena is married with a daughter in a seemingly comfortable life, returns to Brighton (although it was actually filmed in Ireland) to take care of her dying mother. Poppy has been released and she wants answers....she claims not to have killed Marcus, but if she didn't and Serena didn't....then who did? This three part drama based on the book; a book which worked very well and was beautifully crafted. Instead of embracing the story and being loyal to th characters, this adaptation has systematically destroyed the very essence of what made the novel a bestseller...its elegance, the vulnerability of the characters, the ongoing mystery, the likability of both girls and ultimately the twist, Burroughs was very rigid in her performance as the mother in denial, there was nothing likable about her (unlike the Serena in the book). May's delivery as Poppy was plausible but nothing special; her moping got tiresome after a whole; in the book Poppy had zest and personality who loved her father very much....Poppy in this drama was a wet blanket with a seemingly torrid stepfather, to further highlight her hopeless situation. The only credible actor was Martin Compston who played the ill fated maths teacher, even though his screen time was limited.
The ending change was a let down and I cannot imagine any Dorothy Koomson fan being happy about it. The acting/characters are forgettable, the whole drama was not very thrilling and overall it was a big disappointment.
Don't waste your time....read the book and appreciate it for the masterpiece it is and be done with it. I hope they do another remake one day, one will do justice to the book, the author and all the fans who were mesmerised and gripped by the novel form start to finish.
