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10 out of 11 people found the following review useful: Urgent, essential and though-provoking TV, 19 December 2006 Author: keysersoze13 from Edinburgh, UK
'Born Equal' is honest, challenging TV that poses lots of questions without really giving easy answers. But then, with the difficult subject matter, it wouldn't be easy to. This one-off, 85-minute long drama, shown recently on BBC1, followed the stories of ordinary British people affected in different ways by homelessness and poverty. It has been compared to 'Cathy Come Home', a landmark TV film from the 60s focusing on, near enough, the same problems. The film is also of particular interest because the actors improvised their own dialogue, from ideas developed by director Dominic Savage, who has frequently worked in this method.This film involves the sometimes intertwining tales of a City banker, a Nigerian immigrant family, a released Scottish convict and a pregnant young woman and her daughter,escaping from troubles at home. The latter three of these stories mostly take place in the hostel where the characters are temporarily living.The actors rise to the challenge of improvisation and still deliver subtle, intense and honest performances. Every cast member is magnificent, with popular and rising British actors filling the roles. Colin Firth is terrific as the rich banker racked with guilt over the poverty he sees every day, and is matched by rising star Nichola Burley and Emilia Fox in his segment. David Oyelewo and Nikki Amuka-Bird are particularly affecting as the Nigerian couple striving to bring a relative from Nigeria to London. The other two stories intertwine more than the others do, and a tale both sweet and tragic unfolds, featuring Robert Carlyle as the ex-con and Anne Marie Duff as the young mother. Both are excellent, with Carlyle balancing the violent and reformed sides of his character in a searing performance. A delightful performance also comes from the young girl playing Duff's daughter.This piece is perhaps not as gritty as it could have been, but has an uncompromising and suitable ending. The entire piece successfully captures contemporary Britain, with a distinct feeling of the present in its social and political relevance and is a truly moving and challenging experience that can be taken as both excellent TV and something designed to raise awareness of the problems plaguing our country.
8 out of 9 people found the following review useful: Richard Curtis attempts Mike Leigh, 17 December 2006 Author: goldfish_23 from Lancaster, UK
Richard Curtis attempts Mike Leigh! It isn't actually written by Richard Curtis but at points it felt like it could have been! This is a one off BBC Drama focusing on the lives of several characters in central London. It is a feature length drama dealing with social inequality. There's the Banker with the impossibly large bonus, the pregnant wife and the overly large house, who's conscience is tweaked by a beggar in the subway. There's the Nigerian journalist fearing for his father's safety, and the opulent house cleaned by his partner. There's Robert Carlyle's character recently released from prison and staying in a hostel. There's Anne-Marie Duff's heavily pregnant character and her daughter also staying at the hostel. All of their stories interweave with explosive consequences.It was very watchable, and the acting from the star studded cast was wonderful. It wasn't as gritty as it could have been. Scars by Leo Regan gives us a better insight into violence, and High Hopes by Mike Leigh or anything by Ken Loach might give more gritty realism and bleak humour.
9 out of 12 people found the following review useful: A great show, great acting, lacklustre ending!, 18 December 2006 Author: antj999 from Manchester, United Kingdom
When initially seeing the advert for this in BBC I was so excited to see such a cast in a TV production which looked like it was going to be amazing.......did it disappoint? Not really....The acting was superb by all, I honestly can't pick a flaw in the acting from anyone. The concept was great and the story - just as good.So what's with a 6/10? There is NOTHING I can fault about this show, NOTHING.....other than the end. The whole thing was fantastic, it looked like it was building up to such an amazing end. The 3 different stories all going on at once, all taking place based around these people living in a single hostel. I was expecting these people and their lives to come together, to all affect one another climaxing the plot.....this is where it went wrong. Thi just didn't happen. 1 of the 3 sub-plots (the Nigerian one, starring David Oyelowo) remained completely isolated from the rest. The other 2 sub-plots (Firth's and Carlyle's) come together right at the end.....but too quickly and not in enough depth to please.Overall it was an entertaining 85 minutes, but it left me feeling.....let down!
2 out of 2 people found the following review useful: Well acted, gritty portrayal of social inequalities in modern Britain, 19 December 2006 Author: Thomas Smith from United Kingdom
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Savage attempts to highlight social inequalities in Britain through following the lives of a number of characters in vastly different social standings. A banker with a million pound bonus (Colin Firth), a pregnant woman fleeing from her violent boyfriend with her young daughter (Anne-Marie Duff), a Nigerian journalist (David Oyelowo), fleeing from militia in his home country, his wife (Nikki Amuka-Bird) who cleans for an obscenely rich American and a recently released prisoner (Robert Carlyle). Their lives are followed over a brief period of time, with some interweaving of story lines.The banker is struck by homeless people at tube stations and tries to help, first by giving money, then by volunteering. However, he goes about this the wrong way (throwing money at the homeless, making promises he cannot keep) and ultimately returns to his high society life.The pregnant woman successfully ignores her violent partner's pleas to return and begins a relationship with the ex-prisoner, himself searching for his only family, his mother. Unfortunately, upon hearing of her death, he breaks down with dire consequences.After failing to raise £5000 to pay for his father's visa, the Nigerian journalist learns of his father's death and denounces his strong religion. The love for his wife is maybe the only happiness an audience can draw from an otherwise very depressing ending.This drama was hard to back away from, largely thanks to very good acting from all of the cast which compelled me to see it out. At times this felt like a lecture from Savage, however, it may well be a lecture that some needed to hear.
2 out of 2 people found the following review useful: Great BBC Drama, 18 December 2006 Author: aidan-29 from Tyrone, Ireland
Spoilers ahead.This had me glued from the beginning. Although I found the Nigerian couple's input a bit confusing and disjointed. Colin Firth, Ann Marie Duff and Robert Carlyle were all brilliant. I liked the sense of hope/ pending menace created by the Robert Carlyle and Ann Marie Duff relationship, although I found the fact that a battered woman would link up with another man who'd been in jail so easily a bit far fetched. Colin Firth's character was very believable and his guilt understandable. Nice scenes with the young vulnerable girl who sticks to him like a limpet. Did anyone else feel the ending a wee bit predictable? Bit of trivia Robert Carlyle and the girl in the hotel were previously man and ex wife in The Full Monty. Colin Firth and Emilia Fox (his wife) were previously brother and sister in Pride and Prejudice
0 out of 1 people found the following review useful: A Murder Picture, 18 January 2009 Author: blacknorth from Ireland
There is very little that can decently said about this disgusting piece of class propaganda from the BBC.To improvise on themes of poverty and homelessness seems careless in the extreme - in the end the cast improvised themselves into dramaturgy's's solution to everything - a juicy knife murder and all social considerations are abandoned.The real criminal act is the maker's attempt to portray the homeless and luckless as 'others' - that charity is repaid in blood, that the homeless and the poor are sociopaths or psychopaths just waiting for a trigger moment to exact some form of vengeance or retribution on the well off.One could write thousands of words and still not find a construct of disgust and dismay to describe this tripe.I hope the BBC have learned a valuable lesson - never let actors, writers or directors improvise on important issues - they are too accustomed to the easy solutions of fiction. Everything is turned into a murder picture for the purposes of easy dramatic art and easy ratings.1/10.
0 out of 2 people found the following review useful: not bad, 30 December 2006 Author: no-speech-girl from Lisbon, Portugal
I just watched the movie and i'm not quite sure if i like it.The movie focus on the life of several people, kind of a portrait of social variety in London. It turns around a rich guy (Colin Firth) who's seeking for meaning in his life and starts helping people in need. Starting by giving money to some homeless in the subway, he then joins an association that seeks a shelter to people in desperate situations. At some point in the movie, it gives us hope. That happiness can appear even in worst times. But then...I didn't expect such huge drama, and i'm not very keen with such pessimist views..I think the big message is that all people suffer, no matter what they have or how rich o poor they are.It's not a bad movie. And Colin Firth is worth to be seen :)
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