Thoughts on Ricky Gervais' After Life (Netflix)
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NOTE - THIS DOES CONTAIN SOME BASIC PLOT POINTS/MILD SPOILERS!! ALSO NOTE THIS, REFLECTING THE THEMES OF THE TV SHOW IN QUESTION, CONTAINS SOME MENTION OF DEPRESSION AND SUICIDE. JUST A WARNING FOR THOSE WHO MAY FIND THOSE SUBJECTS SENSITIVE OR UPSETTING.
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Ricky Gervais' work generally seems to divide people.
I have to admit, the first time I watched the office I just didn't get it. Was it a comedy? Was it a cringy documentary with a really embarrassing boss? It just felt a bit awkward.
But after I gave it a second chance, I began to understand it - then came to appreciate it.
I've liked pretty much every series he's done since and I have to say each of them have felt quite fresh by comparison to other TV content.
Not just because the humour is often thrillingly close to the line between funny and cringe worthy, but because they have interesting characters - usually Ricky Gervais' character in particular, but I'll come back to that.
His latest show on Netflix (called After Life) follows the exploits of a man named Tony, whose wife died following a battle with cancer. When we meet him, he's really struggling to move forward.
He seems to have been at rock bottom for a while and has pretty much decided that nothing has any consequence or purpose any more.
In fact to paraphrase a quote he says in the trailer, he has come to believe that he can now go around saying anything he likes to anyone and doing anything and he always has the option of suicide to fall back on - something he describes as a "superpower".
And in terms of his behaviour, he does just that. A lot of the time, he's a complete asshole to people.
But in a way, I couldn't help but root for him. I wanted him to find some happiness because he absolutely oozes misery and often references his willingness to kill himself throughout many of the six episodes.
He's a broken man who can't find any way past the wall of grief that has sprung up following his wife's death.
To really hammer home the loss he's experienced, throughout the series Tony watches clips his wife recorded for him before she died, as well as videos he himself has filmed in which they are happy and laughing - a complete contrast to the man he is now.
What makes the show so compelling to watch, for me at least, was seeing how his interactions with the people around him - friends, colleagues and even strangers - begin to gradually help him find a way to deal with his pain and move forward instead of digging in.
Back to my point earlier about the characters Ricky Gervais plays in his series, I have found some of them to generally be a bit unlikable on the surface.
To look at David Brent from The Office, or Andy Millman from Extras for example - they're both idiots in their own way and really quite selfish.
But by the end of their journey, Mr Gervais has found a way to strip away all of those superficial outer layers and show us the real people underneath - someone who is flawed, but ultimately human and infinitely more likable than when they started out.
His characters generally grow and better themselves in some way, often delivering quite touching moments along the way.
Without wanting to get into too much heavy plot spoiler territory, the same is true with After Life and there are many heartwarming, emotional and surprisingly very funny scenes as Tony comes to terms with his situation.
But of course these scenes work so well because he's surrounded by a fantastic cast, all of whom deliver really strong performances.
It was nice to see some familiar faces return from his previous projects too, as well as seeing some things pop up that I am sure I've heard on his podcasts with Karl Pilkington and Stephen Merchant.
All in all, After Life is a challenging but emotionally rewarding watch.
I imagine some of the dark subject matter won't be to everyone's taste but I really do think the show asks some important questions about bereavement, managing depression and mental health.
Have you watched After Life? Let me know what you thought of it below!
NOTE - THIS DOES CONTAIN SOME BASIC PLOT POINTS/MILD SPOILERS!! ALSO NOTE THIS, REFLECTING THE THEMES OF THE TV SHOW IN QUESTION, CONTAINS SOME MENTION OF DEPRESSION AND SUICIDE. JUST A WARNING FOR THOSE WHO MAY FIND THOSE SUBJECTS SENSITIVE OR UPSETTING.
-----
Ricky Gervais' work generally seems to divide people.
I have to admit, the first time I watched the office I just didn't get it. Was it a comedy? Was it a cringy documentary with a really embarrassing boss? It just felt a bit awkward.
But after I gave it a second chance, I began to understand it - then came to appreciate it.
I've liked pretty much every series he's done since and I have to say each of them have felt quite fresh by comparison to other TV content.
Not just because the humour is often thrillingly close to the line between funny and cringe worthy, but because they have interesting characters - usually Ricky Gervais' character in particular, but I'll come back to that.
His latest show on Netflix (called After Life) follows the exploits of a man named Tony, whose wife died following a battle with cancer. When we meet him, he's really struggling to move forward.
He seems to have been at rock bottom for a while and has pretty much decided that nothing has any consequence or purpose any more.
In fact to paraphrase a quote he says in the trailer, he has come to believe that he can now go around saying anything he likes to anyone and doing anything and he always has the option of suicide to fall back on - something he describes as a "superpower".
And in terms of his behaviour, he does just that. A lot of the time, he's a complete asshole to people.
But in a way, I couldn't help but root for him. I wanted him to find some happiness because he absolutely oozes misery and often references his willingness to kill himself throughout many of the six episodes.
He's a broken man who can't find any way past the wall of grief that has sprung up following his wife's death.
To really hammer home the loss he's experienced, throughout the series Tony watches clips his wife recorded for him before she died, as well as videos he himself has filmed in which they are happy and laughing - a complete contrast to the man he is now.
What makes the show so compelling to watch, for me at least, was seeing how his interactions with the people around him - friends, colleagues and even strangers - begin to gradually help him find a way to deal with his pain and move forward instead of digging in.
Back to my point earlier about the characters Ricky Gervais plays in his series, I have found some of them to generally be a bit unlikable on the surface.
To look at David Brent from The Office, or Andy Millman from Extras for example - they're both idiots in their own way and really quite selfish.
But by the end of their journey, Mr Gervais has found a way to strip away all of those superficial outer layers and show us the real people underneath - someone who is flawed, but ultimately human and infinitely more likable than when they started out.
His characters generally grow and better themselves in some way, often delivering quite touching moments along the way.
Without wanting to get into too much heavy plot spoiler territory, the same is true with After Life and there are many heartwarming, emotional and surprisingly very funny scenes as Tony comes to terms with his situation.
But of course these scenes work so well because he's surrounded by a fantastic cast, all of whom deliver really strong performances.
It was nice to see some familiar faces return from his previous projects too, as well as seeing some things pop up that I am sure I've heard on his podcasts with Karl Pilkington and Stephen Merchant.
All in all, After Life is a challenging but emotionally rewarding watch.
I imagine some of the dark subject matter won't be to everyone's taste but I really do think the show asks some important questions about bereavement, managing depression and mental health.
Have you watched After Life? Let me know what you thought of it below!
Loved every thing about it. Brings conversation after each show, laughs and sadness, unpredictable, and the Dog!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed it and think Gervais is to be congratulated for taking on two 'taboo topics' of grief and suicide. Hopefully this series is the road to being more open about these two dark issues that affect so many people. As far as I'm concerned, Ricky Gervais has done a service to humanity making this series.
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