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adidasss · 12-29-2021, 11:49 PM

It's a sin (2021)

British AIDS drama. Covers a lot of territory done by other shows across the Atlantic (and recently France with 120 Beats per Minute) but it's rather new to see something like this from the UK. Always interesting to see and be reminded about how things developed in the early days of HIV, how much ignorance and prejudice helped to spread the virus and the shame involved.

Dramatically, it's not top class stuff, the actors are ok but not really excellent and I think you really need excellent actors in dramas where emotions are running high. This is the case with all Russel T Davies products I think. It has some humour which lightens the seriousness of the topic and it does manage to make you care for the characters (although maybe not as much as it should).

I had a big problem with some unnecessary dramatic choices in the last episode which really confuse things:

Spoiler for it's a sin:

But anyway, it was an emotional journey, as expected, but I would say there are far better AIDS dramas out there, from TV shows, to films to documentaries. In particular, I think once you've seen How to survive a plague, everything else pales in comparison.

12-29-2021, 11:49 PM	#6902 (permalink)
adidasss Slavic gay sauce Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Abu Dhabi Posts: 7,945	It's a sin (2021) British AIDS drama. Covers a lot of territory done by other shows across the Atlantic (and recently France with 120 Beats per Minute) but it's rather new to see something like this from the UK. Always interesting to see and be reminded about how things developed in the early days of HIV, how much ignorance and prejudice helped to spread the virus and the shame involved. Dramatically, it's not top class stuff, the actors are ok but not really excellent and I think you really need excellent actors in dramas where emotions are running high. This is the case with all Russel T Davies products I think. It has some humour which lightens the seriousness of the topic and it does manage to make you care for the characters (although maybe not as much as it should). I had a big problem with some unnecessary dramatic choices in the last episode which really confuse things: Spoiler for it's a sin: turning Ritchie into a serial and purposeful HIV spreader but then kind of shrugging it off as if it was some kind of mildly naughty thing he did and not something massively horrible at a time when there was no medication available and contracting HIV was more or less a death sentence (making Ritchie potentially a serial killer?). I've read some interviews with Davies and I guess the motivation for that is that he likes to make his gay characters "complicated" and his resistance to them having to be "likeable". The problem is that for the preceding 4 episodes he went out of his way to make this character likeable and uncomplicated. An about turn at the last moment is totally incongruous with the rest of the show and doesn't just make the character complicated, it puts under question everything that went before it. Definitely left a sour taste in my mouth. Also, I'm not sure what they were doing with Ritchie's mother. Is she a cold hearted bitch or does she have emotions and cares for her son? Couldn't tell which to be honest. But anyway, it was an emotional journey, as expected, but I would say there are far better AIDS dramas out there, from TV shows, to films to documentaries. In particular, I think once you've seen How to survive a plague, everything else pales in comparison. __________________ “Think of what a paradise this world would be if men were kind and wise.” - Kurt Vonnegut, Cat's Cradle. Last.fm