Small Screen Reviews
Claire Cao Small Screens Editor @clairexinwen
CAT CAFE MANAGER | NINTENDO SWITCH + WINDOWS PC
THE ESSEX SERPENT
| 16 MAY ON PRIME VIDEO
| 27 MAY ON APPLE TV+
Sally Rooney maniacs assemble – the latest instalment in the Irish author’s TV universe is here. Following Normal People’s global success, this adaptation of Rooney’s debut novel centres on 21-year-old Dublin college student, Frances (newcomer Alison Oliver), her ex-girlfriend/BFF Bobbi (Sasha Lane), and their complicated romantic entanglements with posh married couple, Nick (Joe Alwyn) and Melissa Conway (Jemima Kirke). Produced by Normal People’s creative team, the episodes are perfectly paced, tonally subtle and beautifully shot. Directors Lenny Abrahamson (Room) and Leanne Welham imbue the show with understated intimacy and leave us enraptured by Frances and Nick’s quietly captivating affair. Their tension bubbles through lingering glances, flirtatious texts and exquisitely gentle sex scenes. Book loyalists may miss the psychologically messy themes found in Rooney’s introspective style but, with the novelist writing on the series, there’s plenty of repressed vulnerability to mull over inside the mind of her alluring, introverted lead. DEBBIE ZHOU
Steeped in symbolic gestures but lacking in corporeal bite, The Essex Serpent only manages to wade in the shallows of its gothic drama. Set between gaslit London and a coastal Essex village, the miniseries (adapted from Sarah Perry’s bestseller) navigates the rift between industrial modernity and traditional superstition. The story centres on Cora Seaborne (Claire Danes, Homeland), a wealthy widow and amateur palaeontologist who investigates rumours of a bloodthirsty sea serpent in “witch-burning country” while unexpectedly befriending the swoony local vicar (Tom Hiddleston, Loki). In the tradition of Andrew Scott and Jean-Paul Belmondo, Hiddleston handily effuses an ecclesiastical sex appeal; he’s first seen drenched, bloodied and writhing while rescuing a drowning lamb. Yet the show finds little else to sink its teeth into, its characters weighed down by its philosophical ambitions, and its big ideas handled clumsily. For a show about the terrors of mass hysteria and groupthink (more so than a literal aquatic monster), it has little imagination of its own. JAMIE TRAM
R
ecent years have seen greater openness about mental health – something almost half of Australians struggle with in their lifetime. Even so, the subject has been misunderstood for decades, leaving many adults reluctant to engage in the often nebulous process of treatment. The new ABC docuseries Space 22 focuses on the specific method of art therapy, led by psychotherapist Noula Diamantopoulos. Hosted by singer Natalie Bassingthwaighte – who opens up about her own struggles – the series is a sensitive look at the transformative power of art. The perceived inaccessibility of art therapy is acknowledged, with some participants initially considering it “wanky” and tailored for the upper class. But by featuring a range of guest artists and insight into the breadth of Australian lives, the tone is refreshingly frank and grounded. Creativity cannot be a cure-all, but it can be a gateway – to feelings long buried and to the hope for human connection. Space 22 airs 17 May. One of the grandest arenas for artistic expression is the annual Eurovision Song Contest, which is on this month in Turin, Italy. Everything we seek from Eurovision – the earth-shaking power ballads, transportive lightshows and avant-garde style – seem crystallised in Australia’s pick this year, Sheldon Riley. The Filipino Australian singer was crowned the winner of Eurovision Australia Decides and will now compete in Semi-final 2 then, hopefully, the Grand Final. Watch Riley live his dream from 11-15 May, broadcast live on SBS. CC
13 MAY 2022
CONVERSATIONS WITH FRIENDS
NATALIE BASSINGTHWAIGHTE OPENS UP
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In Cat Cafe Manager, you have escaped the hustle and bustle of the big smoke and taken over your grandmother’s cat cafe in the village of Caterwaul Way, home to eclectic townsfolk like fishermen, artists and witches. The game re-imagines the cottagecore escapism of Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley in a Diner Dash-esque restaurant management game. With the earnings from your business, you expand your cafe with cuter decorations, a wider menu of herbal brews and sandwiches, and of course, more cats. Both story and gameplay are simple – no wiki guide needed – and players hoping for deeper strategy or lore should look elsewhere. Manoeuvring around the world can also be finicky on the Switch, and the game’s many character and currency types could benefit from a less erratic tutorial. But simplicity and charm are all that’s required for an enjoyable time: Cat Cafe Manager slots neatly into the anti-corporate aesthetics of the cosy games genre and presents an easy reprieve from the stresses of the day. LENA WANG
