Review of Brighton

A lot of reviews centre of the negative aspects of the main characters' 'archaic' attitudes, beliefs, actions and language. Do they display attitudes of narrow-mindedness? Yes. Sexism? Yes. Racism? Yes. Misogyny? Yes. Homophobia? Yes. Sizeism? Yep. It's all in here folks, you won't be disappointed! But if you fail to drop into the world of these older generation 'East Enders' due to perceptions of the use of 'isms' in modern day drama, then you're missing an opportunity to peek into the world of people who did and still do exist. Not all of the 4 main characters are 'stuck in the nasty past'. Doreen (Lesley Sharp) shows that she's been willing to break free from the restrictive social structure that she and her husband/friends were brought up in. She indicates that people can and do change their perceptions and attitudes, despite their upbringing. The assumption is that her life experiences have subtly moved her in a different direction. And the film's events also show that through exposure, interaction and willingness, people can change their attitudes at any stage in life. And surely that's a good thing? At the end, we hope that these people aren't monstrous dinosaurs beyond redemption. Perhaps their weekend in Brighton gave them more than cold burgers, achy ankles and a fractured pinky finger?

Sometimes, just sometimes, it's a good thing not to see a piece of drama through the lens of tropes, micro-aggressions, 'isms' etc and simply go along with the flow. I did and I had a good laugh, not just at the absurdity of the attitudes displayed, but at the truly amazing acting and line delivery. These actors aren't idiots. They didn't do this in order to simply earn a few quid. They understood the main message, and the nuances underpinning the writing. They got it. I hope that you do to.