Somewhere Boy is a small wonder
A slow burn series that packs a powerful emotional punch.
Kia ora and welcome back to Rec Room, The Spinoff’s pop culture and entertainment newsletter, brought to you by Panasonic. Last week I spent a few days in Kaikōura (great town!) which cut into my precious couch time at home in Christchurch somewhat. My drive there and back was soundtracked by the horrifying new podcast Hoaxed, about a satanic panic in a wealthy London neighbourhood, and the sparkly new Carly Rae Jepsen album The Loneliest Time – quite a contrast. Here’s what else I’ve been consuming over recent days.
- Catherine McGregor
Somewhere Boy is a small wonder
Lewis Gribben as Danny in Somewhere Boy (Photo: Channel 4/Supplied)
The lowdown
When his mentally disturbed father Steve dies, 18-year-old Danny is freed from the remote house where he’d been held in isolation and is forced to face life in the outside world. Steve had prevented Danny from leaving the house by convincing him it was surrounded by “monsters” that only Steve could defeat, going so far as regularly smearing himself with animal blood to support the charade. That his beloved father was a liar is just one of the hard truths Danny must confront when he’s propelled out beyond their four walls.
Written and directed by first-time TV showrunner Pete Jackson, Somewhere Boy was shown on consecutive nights on the UK’s Channel 4 a few weeks back and is now streaming in full on TVNZ+.
What’s good
What a strange and lovely series Somewhere Boy is. Despite its dark subject matter and emotional intensity – especially in the first and last episodes, which centre on the suicide of Danny’s father Steve (Rory Keenan) – Somewhere Boy counts among the most uplifting viewing experiences of the year.
It’s a slow build, to be sure. When Steve’s big-hearted sister Sue (Lisa McGrillis) brings Danny (a brilliant Lewis Gribben) back home to join a family he’s never met, things get off to a rocky start. After 18 years of isolation, Danny is painfully awkward – hunched over, monosyllabic, lacking basic social skills and with a stubborn streak a mile wide – and the chances of him integrating into this new family of strangers seem slim.
Samuel Bottomley as Aaron and Lewis Gribben as Danny in Somewhere Boy (Photo: Channel 4/Supplied)
Things are trickiest with Sue’s teenage son Aaron. He’s actively resentful of this odd kid who doesn’t know what porn is and can’t grasp the appeal of social media, or as Danny puts it, “sitting here looking at photos of cunts”. Worse, Danny’s arrival is one more hurdle in his struggle to be popular, or at least not a social outcast. Mooching around the house, icing out his mother and bragging about the masses of sex he isn’t actually having, Aaron has all the makings of a classic horrible teenager. And yet, for my money, he’s the show’s most affecting character, played with remarkable sensitivity by young actor Samuel Bottomley. The burgeoning friendship between the cousins – two lonely, uncool teenagers, both desperate for human connection – is one of the show’s major emotional throughlines.
The other is the far more complicated relationship between Danny and his father, a story told in flashbacks scattered through the eight episodes. Steve’s psychological manipulation of Danny is monstrous, but his love for his young son is genuine and powerful – overwhelmingly so. Steve is clearly mentally unwell (there’s a strong suggestion he has manic depression) but he’s not mad, and he’s not a tyrant. In fact, in many ways he’s an ideal dad: hands on, supportive, creative, affectionate. He imprisons his son not to terrorise him, but to protect him; in his warped way, it’s the ultimate act of love.
What’s not so good
It’s a small nitpick, but I spent much of the eight-episode run wondering how Danny and his father had so easily avoided welfare services, or any expectation that the child attend school.
The verdict
Somewhere Boy takes a familiar idea (the movie Room covered similar ground) and fashions from it something wholly original. Episodes of Somewhere Boy are short; watch at least a couple and there’s a good chance you’ll be hooked on this quietly wonderful series. (TVNZ+)
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Documentary rec: Vatican Girl
On a swelteringly hot summer’s day in 1983, 15-year-old Emanuela Orlandi, the daughter of a Vatican employee and one of the city-state’s few hundred “civilian” residents, left home for a music lesson in Rome and was never seen again. The case is the subject of Netflix’s latest true crime series Vatican Girl, tracing the decades-long hunt for Emanuela, and the wider questions of who took her and how the Vatican was involved. It’s tempting to reach for the obvious Dan Brown comparison, but to do so not only insults the real suffering of the Orlandi family, it underestimates the scope of this fascinating story, encompassing Cold War politics, the mafia, bank fraud, blackmail and, yes, secrets and lies within the Catholic Church. (Netflix)
Comedy rec: Abbott Elementary
The cast of Abbott Elementary, with creator/star Quinta Brunson front and centre (Photo: ABC/Supplied)
It doesn’t seem right that Abbott Elementary, a primetime network hit in the US, has been relegated to Disney+ here in New Zealand. The show, about a group of elementary (primary) school teachers at a Black school in Philadelphia, is a workplace comedy that fired on all cylinders from the get-go, a huge achievement given that most half-hour comedies take half a season or more to find their groove (looking at you, Veep and Parks and Rec). Even more impressive: the show is the creation of uber-talented newcomer Quinta Brunson, who also stars. She’s great as idealistic young teacher Jeanine, but so is the entire cast – including Everybody Hates Chris alum Tyler James Williams, recent Emmy winner Sheryl Lee Ralph, and the scene-stealing Janelle James as incompetent principal Ava. Season one is streaming in full now; season two drops weekly, a few episodes behind the US. (Disney+)
Written by Chris Schulz, The Spinoff’s business newsletter Stocktake is business news that isn’t boring. From a Hokitika adventurer who takes American CEOs bush to a guy who picks sea cucumbers off rocks and exports them to China, Chris finds fascinating stories of local entrepreneurial success (and sometimes failure), and bundles them up with the most interesting business news from here and overseas. Want Stocktake in your inbox every Tuesday? Sign up here.
Movie rec: The Good Nurse
I know, I know, another true crime recommendation – what can I say, I’m a sucker for stranger-than-fiction tales. The story of Charlie Cullen is one I didn’t know, but from the moment he appears on screen in this new film about his crimes it’s clear something dark lies behind his nice-guy facade. The Good Nurse takes its time, exploring the hard work of nursing, the indignities of the US healthcare system, and the deep connection that develops between Amy (Jessica Chastain), a single mother secretly battling a heart condition, and Charlie (Eddie Redmayne), who turns himself into her one-man support system. That their friendship is so genuine makes the revelation of Charlie’s true nature, when it comes, all the more devastating. (Netflix)
Random links
I’ve been enjoying Welcome to Wrexham, the Disney+ show about a Welsh football club saved by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. GQ spoke to them about the journey so far.
The Witcher is back, and this time he’s an Aussie?
Why does Taylor Swift hold her pen weird, and should we be worried for her writing hand?
More Taylor: our own Shanti Mathias attends a poetry seminar where the subject under discussion is the musician’s new album Midnights.
The Real Pod team preview this week’s Celebrity Treasure Island final, and talk – what else? – Midnights.
What was Brangelina, and why did it matter?
Yeezy shoe collectors are ‘panic selling’ following Kanye West’s antisemitic rants
Oscar Kightley on how he recreated 1984’s infamous Aotea Square riot for his new show Duckrockers, which starts this week.
Promising Star Wars news! Damon Lindelof (Lost, The Watchmen) is developing a new movie with assists from Patrick Somerville (Station 11) and Briarpatch creator Andy Greenwald, aka the co-host of great podcast The Watch.
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