Rent Roadkill (2020)

Some great performances cannot disguise the many improbable events which "conveniently" happen - Roadkill review by Timmy B

In 2005, The Thick Of It was dreamed up by Armando Iannucci. It's impact on not only the way satire approached UK politics, but also the fact that any drama or comedy-related entertainment which looked at political machinations was measured against it, was seismic and will probably never be superceded. During the final months of Boris Johnson's shambolic time as PM, I remember hearing from pretty much all political sides of the news media some version of "Even The Thick Of It couldn't have created situations as crazy/dysfunctional/horrific as this."

And whilst Roadkill is a serious political drama, The Thick Of It's influence can be felt subconsciously all over it, not only in the shady backroom deals between people, but also the brutal manipulations of the media by either helpless or deeply immoral people. But despite some excellent acting as well as interesting scenarios, it also at points feels seriously undercooked as well as improbable.

Peter Laurence is a machiavellian Tory politician. Immediately as the series starts, we meet him walking out of court where he has just won a substantial libel victory against a newspaper which alleged he was being illegally paid vast sums of American money to lobby & stealthy privatise the NHS. Despite the win, it is made pretty clear that not only was he guilty, but he also has multiple other skeletons in the closet, lining up to potentially bring him down...

It is obvious from the first few minutes who Laurence is primarily based on, but thankfully it is not only Farage who the writers have plundered ideas from. There is a mix of New Labour as well as Liberal Democrat in his character, as well as some interesting playing about with stereotypes and assumptions. For example, Laurence is emphatically anti-racist as well as having a totally different position on justice than his colleagues. And whilst he is loathsome in many ways, there is also a level of nuance that makes him the kind of politician that people like, if nothing more than because he embraces his flaws.

But when it comes to the other elements of the 4-parter, it is really hit and miss. There are multiple clichés which the series doesn't really do much with (everyone sleeping with everyone, irrelevant of their position in the law or politics; Laurence making no effort to hide what he is doing, skulking around with his bright red cabinet briefcase in dodgy parts of London ect.)

I also didn't like how the storyline seemed to run out of steam in the last 20 minutes. Whether it was due to budget limits or simply that they did not have enough ideas or story to stretch out to 5 parts, everything was conveniently wrapped up. This was despite the narrative teeing-up a potentially shocking demise/bringing down to earth of not just Laurence but the other storylines as well.

I did however really like the storyline regarding a surprise addition to his family. Those scenes are some of the strongest & Laurie is great at balancing Laurence's drive with his own remorse. It was also a series filled with poignancy as this was the last performance from the late, great Helen McCrory before her tragic death from cancer. She dominates the screen as the embattled Prime Minister, knowing that the walls were closing around her whilst still trying to maintain dignity & control. There are very few people who exude the kind of razor-sharp presence on screen as her and she will be sorely missed.