Upper Ground Production
  • Home
  • About
  • Links
    • Film East
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • LetterBoxd
  • Home
  • About
  • Links
    • Film East
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • LetterBoxd
Search by typing & pressing enter

YOUR CART

31/1/2018 1 Comment

Kiri | Review

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Kiri 
Channel 4
Miriam (Sarah Lancashire), a veteran social worker, lives by her illness-prone dog and her children. Left without much in life, this isolated, yet highly caring, women only wants to do what's best for the kids. But when a poorly made decision leads to young Kiri's (Felicia Mukasa), a black girl about to be adopted by a white family, death, Miriam, Kiri's foster family, and her birth family must all come to terms with how this happened and the social and political implications of one fateful decision.    

Jack Thorne, who penned 2016's affecting and challenging National Treasure, has created yet another compelling and introspective drama about the heartbreak and mistreatment of social services. Thorne finely grapples with the sensitivity, and at times unjustness, of the foster care system, yet he pairs the heavy commentary perfectly with dark humor. The essence of Kiri extends to topics of race, trauma, loss, forgiveness, and, essentially, the bond of family.

The lifeblood of Kiri is Miriam, the stubborn, passionate, and deeply effective social worker caring for Kiri's case. Thorne has taken a character, that is rarely focused on, and highlights the grossly undervalued and underappreciated work of social workers. By making Miriam the moral compass of his program (villainizing the social service's management and the media-hungry Warner family), he reminds us that politics isn't what drives fostering - it's the children. Miriam, who always remained faithful to do what was best for her children, may not be the perfect person, but her diligence to her job and doing what was right for her children is admirable.

What drives the emotional core of Kiri is its phenomenal collection of affecting and passionate actors. The always superb Sarah Lancashire is a powerhouse as the darkly humorous, suffering, isolated Miriam. She faultlessly captures the millions of emotions flooding Miriam in a single expression, yet is still able to make you simile, which equally breaks your heart, with her persistent resilience. She is never overly sappy nor does she pry for your emotions, rather her organic strength and respect makes you deeply sympathetic towards her.

​Rounding out the cast includes a harrowing performance from Lucian Msamati as a defeated yet caring father, who wants to do good by his family despite the distressing circumstances. And a personal favorite addition to the cast was Paapa Essiedu, who at first glance appears too handsome and kind to play the darkly distributed Nate, yet his unlikely physical traits actually bring deep layers to his character that otherwise would have been lost.           

The four-part drama continues on Channel 4 Wednesdays at 9
1 Comment
ninjaessays link
30/8/2019 22:34:32

Unfortunately, I haven’t gotten the chance to watch “Kiri” yet, that is why there is no insight that I can share right now. But based on your review, it seems like the movie pleased you well, and there is nothing more that you can ask. Perhaps, one of the biggest factor why it became appealing to you is the fact that the movie have good character actors with a good rhythm. There are hundreds of good actors, but once they act together, you cannot see the chemistry. In Kiri, the lines were effortlessly and carefully delivered and we can see it!

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Click the images below to read each article

    Features

    Feasting on Females: Consuming the Female Body in Mimi Cave’s Fresh
    Marmalade and Masculinity: Combating Toxic Masculinity with Paddington Bear
    The Delicious World of Miyazaki: Subverting Western Food Standards in Studio Ghibli
    Ugly, Delicious and Political: Politicising Cultural Dishes
    Representing Oslovian Women, starring ‘The Worst Person in the World’
    Culinary Temptations: Italian Cuisine in Luca Guadagnino’s ‘Desire Trilogy’
    David Bowie is... The Englishman Who Fell to Earth
    Kris Marshall | Love, Actually
    ‘Choose a name; something simple’: Names and Identities in ‘Money Heist’
    The Sad Eyes of Punk: Subverting the Rock Star in Anton Corbijn's Control
    The Ghost of David Bowie: Capturing Bowie's Cultural Legacy in Todd Haynes' Velvet Goldmine
    Re-assimilating the Other: Zombies, Mental Illness and Homosexuality in BBC Three’s In the Flesh
    Global Strangers: Existing Between Borders Film Collection
    Animation Artistry in Cartoon Saloon’s Wolfwalkers
    Riz Ahmed’s Goodbye to Britain: Confronting Identity and Self in ‘The Long Goodbye’
    Young Film Programmers and the Pandemic
    The Hugh Grant Archetype: Stereotyping British Identity
    “America’s Sweetheart”: White Female Privilege In ‘Gone Girl’
    Why a David Bowie biopic will always be doomed to fail
    Film Oddity: David Bowie and the Screen
    "Did you feel emotional the first time you drove in Sacramento?" Driving with Emotion in Greta Gerwig's Lady Bird
    A [Not-so-Distant] Dystopian Future... The Dystopian Landscape of Ridley Scott's Blade Runner
    Politics, Class and the British Home: British Class Represented in High-Rise and Brazil
    The New New Wave of British Cinema: Joanna Hogg and the Middle-Class Social Realist Film
    “I’m Irish.” – Paul Mescal Vs The British Empire
    "Karen, are you crazy?" The Women of Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas
    Crafting Insanity: Experiencing madness in Sherlock: The Lying Detective
    The Modern Greek Tragedy: Examining Yorgos Lanthimos's The Killing of a Sacred Deer through Aristotle's Poetics
    "But Wales is Britain. And Britain is Wales." Exploring British national identity in Netflix's The Crown
    David Bowie is the Englishman from Mars: An Examination of Englishness through Stardom
    Supporting the Black Lives Matters movement through cinematic education
    “Maybe That’s Normal”: The Normality of Mental Illness in Normal People
    Dance, Woman, Dance: Revisiting Jim Henson's Labyrinth
    How Social Realism Contributes to the Fetishisation of Britain’s Working Class
    Slut! The Sexual Liberation of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Women
    Time, Illness And Melancholia
    Patrick Melrose And The Trauma Of The Aristocracy
    Is A Most Popular Film Category Good For The Oscars?

    Reviews

    Toronto International Film Festival '22 | Reviews
    BFI London Film Festival 2021 | Reviews
    BFI Flare Festival 2021 | Reviews
    Norwich Film Festival 2020 | Reviews
    Raindance Film Festival 2020 | Reviews
    London Film Festival 2020 | Reviews
    Lie Low | Review
    Review: Macbeth At The Norwich Theatre Royal
    Review: La Traviata At The Norwich Theatre Royal
    A Feminist Day Out At The BFI | Woman With A Movie Camera Summit 2018

    Interviews

    Red Carpet Interviews 
    Toronto International Film Festival 2022
    Interview with Bassam Tarqi
    ​London Film Festival 2020
    Picture
    Interview with Jonathan Blagrove
    Norwich Film Festival 2020
    Interview with Jamie Weston
    Norwich Film Festival 2020
    Picture
    Interview with Stuart Laws
    Grave New World Premiere 2021

    Film East Chats Podcast on BBC Radio Norfolk

    This is a small section of episodes from the Film East podcast. Click here to listen to all episodes. 

      Contact Me! 

    Submit
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.