With IT'S A SIN, Russell T. Davies scores another all-round smash via his moving and joyous AIDS-hits-the-Brits series

 

Of course you'll expect to be greatly moved and saddened by any film or series exploring the effects of AIDS on the characters with whom you've come to be involved. What you may not initially expect from IT'S A SIN -- the latest first-rate entertainment and thought-provoker created and written by Russell T. Davies (Years and Years, A Very English Scandal, Banana, Torchwood, Doctor Who, and Queer as Folk, among so many others) -- is the out-and-out joy and delight you'll experience from being in the company of these lovely, funny, full-bodied folk.

Mr. Davies -- pictured center left, with his leading cast members, left to right, Lydia West, Olly Alexander, Nathaniel Curtis, Omari Douglas and series standout Callum Scott-Howells as Colin, whose character is the quietest, saddest (because he only just beginning to form) and whose halting, hopeful performance is very close to perfection --  has again done what he does so well: come up with a concept and characters who grab us from the outset and, for all their change, growth and bad decisions, never let us go and, in the process, give us not merely entertainment (in spades yet!) but the glorious and profound sense of life as it was and is.

No secret nor surprise that Davies' interests lie with the LGBT crowd, yet how he captures parents, straight friends, doctors, hospital workers, police and society at large is as filled with caring, anger and understanding -- as are his assessments of the gay community.  (That's Keeley Hawes, above, right, playing Alexander's character's mom, in a fraught scene toward the series' finale.)

Davies sees his people as never fully formed but still growing, learning and changing, even as they stumble, fall and rise again. Or sometimes not. In the large and splendid cast are luminaries such as Neil Patrick Harris (above, playing a mentor to young Colin) and the great Stephen Fry (below, left) as one in the country's subservient, bent-but-closeted, right-wing political class.

TrustMovies never imagined he would care to return to those awful years of AIDS deaths, yet films like the recent French César winner, Beats Per Minute, and now this British series, have thoroughly disabused him of that notion. God damn, but these characters can sure have a grand old time! And Davies, with the help of his sterling cast, makes sure that we -- despite all our caring and crying and recalling -- have a grand and memorable one, too. 

Now streaming via HBO Max in five episodes that you can view one after another, no waiting period between them, It's a Sin will certainly end up on a lot of Best-of-Year lists, I should think. 

Is Russell T. Davies' BANANA: EPISODE 2 TV's high point of compact beauty & enchantment?

I've seen this amazing little episode twice now (the BANANA series streams here in the USA via Amazon Prime), and I will probably watch it many times more over the years ahead. In just 23-1/2 minutes, it comes as close to perfection as I can recall -- in writing, directing, performance and particularly in its ability to tell such an all-encompassing tale so succinctly and well.

Banana, for those who don't know, is the very oddball addition to the Cucumber series, also penned by the great writer Russell T. Davies (he's done everything from Queer as Folk to Doctor Who, Torchwood, and A Very English Scandal), in which subsidiary characters from Cucumber are given their own short little tale, via which we get to know them better, as they shine quite brightly.

This is a lovely idea, and Mr. Davies, shown at right, brings it home with such joy, surprise, passion and delight that I should think you'll be immediately hooked. Best of all, you do not need to have seen Cucumber first. If you have, this will add to your enjoyment, but it is absolutely not necessary.

Cucumber, as it tracks the lives of some middle-aged gay men, as well as some much younger gays, proves funny, dark, moving and altogether special. It's like little else you'll have seen in the GLBT genre.

And while sex is the driving force at work in Cucumber, Banana concentrates on the need for connection.
Connections of many sorts are made here, some sexual, others not, yet all prove of equal importance.

The series offers eight episodes in all, with numbers two, six and seven TrustMovies' favorites (all are wonderful and very much worth seeing). That second episode stars two remarkable actresses -- Letitia Wright (above, left) and Rosie Cavaliero (above, right) -- and is a tale of love at first sight, in which both the huge and the tiny changes that occur prove absolutely understandable and believable.

How good to see Ms Cavaliero, who has been around now for decades and is always terrific, in a role this special, while Ms Wright (above and below), who has been around for a much shorter time (she's a nominee in this year's BAFTA Awards for Best "Rising Star") proves extraordinary in a role that should mark her in your memory for life. Here she gives "innocence" the kind of depth and glory you'll not have heretofore experienced.  Possessing a face you cannot help but fall in love with, Wright also offers in her roles -- so far, at least (Black Panther, Black Mirror and The Commuter, to name but three) -- versatility & maximum acting chops.

In those remarkable 23 minutes (directed very well by Lewis Arnold), Davies probes attraction, marriage, relationships, trust, the workplace and more with such specificity, nuance, charm and sheer fun and surprise that you'll keep alert and alive for every second. Don't miss Banana, and then maybe explore some of this wonderful writer's other work.