With some talented names involved and a very interesting subject matter, 'Freefall' had the potential from the get go to be good. Luckily for 'Freefall', although there are a few flaws, it handles the story intriguingly and was clearly made with accomplishment and passion.
Starting with 'Freefall's' flaws, a couple of the dialogue exchanges lack nuance and rather have the subtlety of an axe and also sounding on the awkward side, the exchange between Dave and Sam did have me cringing a bit. It's also short on character development, the characters are certainly interesting, and judging from personal experience the portrayals of bankers and mortgage salespeople is reasonably accurate (no sugar-coating here), but very black and white making the drama in places a touch too on the grim side, the writing of Aidan Gillen's character Gus particularly. 'Freefall' is very well acted on the whole, but there is one exception and that is Sarah Harding as Sam, over-acting so irritatingly that it's a relief that her appearance here is brief.
'Freefall' has however many strengths. With the stylish editing, austere but atmospheric colours that go perfectly with the tone of the drama and the documentary-style camera work, 'Freefall' is very well-made. The music really adds to the emotional impact and intensity, and never felt over-bearing, obtrusive, annoying, one-note or out-of-kilter. Apart from a couple of unsubtle exchanges, the script is very astute, thought-provoking and refreshingly realistic for a one-off drama taking on a social-commentary/documentary-style approach, remarkable for a drama that apparently was ad-libbed a lot of the time.
The story is very absorbing and zips along very assuredly thanks to the atmosphere and Dominic Savage's focused direction. While not the most informative of drama content-wise, it is delivered very insightfully. The characters, while not particularly well-developed, are interesting, with Dave being the most compelling and Jim and Mandy being the ones that a tinge of empathy is felt for. With the sole exception of Harding, the cast are very good to wonderful, with swaggering Dominic Cooper, cautious Anna Maxwell Martin and particularly vulnerable Joseph Mawle faring especially strongly. Aidan Gillen has a great brooding intensity too and Rosamund Pike is charming and poised.
All in all, not perfect but very intriguing and well-made. 7/10 Bethany Cox
Starting with 'Freefall's' flaws, a couple of the dialogue exchanges lack nuance and rather have the subtlety of an axe and also sounding on the awkward side, the exchange between Dave and Sam did have me cringing a bit. It's also short on character development, the characters are certainly interesting, and judging from personal experience the portrayals of bankers and mortgage salespeople is reasonably accurate (no sugar-coating here), but very black and white making the drama in places a touch too on the grim side, the writing of Aidan Gillen's character Gus particularly. 'Freefall' is very well acted on the whole, but there is one exception and that is Sarah Harding as Sam, over-acting so irritatingly that it's a relief that her appearance here is brief.
'Freefall' has however many strengths. With the stylish editing, austere but atmospheric colours that go perfectly with the tone of the drama and the documentary-style camera work, 'Freefall' is very well-made. The music really adds to the emotional impact and intensity, and never felt over-bearing, obtrusive, annoying, one-note or out-of-kilter. Apart from a couple of unsubtle exchanges, the script is very astute, thought-provoking and refreshingly realistic for a one-off drama taking on a social-commentary/documentary-style approach, remarkable for a drama that apparently was ad-libbed a lot of the time.
The story is very absorbing and zips along very assuredly thanks to the atmosphere and Dominic Savage's focused direction. While not the most informative of drama content-wise, it is delivered very insightfully. The characters, while not particularly well-developed, are interesting, with Dave being the most compelling and Jim and Mandy being the ones that a tinge of empathy is felt for. With the sole exception of Harding, the cast are very good to wonderful, with swaggering Dominic Cooper, cautious Anna Maxwell Martin and particularly vulnerable Joseph Mawle faring especially strongly. Aidan Gillen has a great brooding intensity too and Rosamund Pike is charming and poised.
All in all, not perfect but very intriguing and well-made. 7/10 Bethany Cox