Dear Life: A Haunting Performance in a Clunky Drama
A Haunting Performance in a Clunky Drama
In the new six-part drama, Dear Life, Brooke Satchwell delivers a hauntingly good performance as Lillian, a distraught widow whose life has been thrown off balance by the death of her fiancé. Satchwell skillfully draws us into Lillian's world, making us feel her anguish and the unfairness of a world that never follows a just moral rhythm. Her performance is authentic, even when the scripting falters and the staging wobbles; she is clearly the standout performer.
The series opens with a New Year's Eve party at a rowing club, where Lillian's boyfriend, Ash, proposes to her. The moment is almost cheesy, but it sets the tone for the series, which often teeters on the edge of cloyingness and implausibility. After this prologue, the timeline jumps to a down-and-out Lillian, struggling with grief and addiction, and trying to keep her job as an actor at a gold rush museum.
The screenwriters, Robyn Butler and Wayne Hope, are measured and tactful in revealing the details of Ash's death, using naturalistic dialogue to paint a picture. However, once the details are established, the series begins to lose its subtlety, focusing on Lillian's interactions with people who received Ash's organs. This could have been an interesting focus, but it feels disconnected from the rest of the drama.
There are various other threads to the drama, but most feel tangential. Lillian's best friend, Mary, is traumatized by Ash's death but conceals her anguish for Lillian's sake. This plotline feels a little too 'everything is connected', and the thread involving Ash's killer is less effective, as he is depicted as an irredeemable person with no morality. Other threads are introduced deep into the run time and feel only tangentially related.
The feeling that the writers are struggling to find the heart of the drama ramps up as the series progresses, peaking in the final episode, which begins in another country and feels like part of an entirely different production. The one truly solidifying element is Satchwell, who is hauntingly good and by far outshines the series surrounding her.
Controversy & Comment Hooks:
Dear Life raises questions about the complex relationship between justice and grief, and the role of anonymity in organ donation. It also explores the impact of trauma on individuals and the way it can be concealed for the sake of others. These themes could spark differing opinions and encourage discussion among viewers.
All episodes of Dear Life premiere on Stan on 1 January
