The North Water - iplayer

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 wilkie14c 20 Sep 2021

Had a lazy Sunday and binged all 5 episodes. Brilliant drama about the harsh life aboard an arctic whaler. Stephen Graham & Jack O’Connell both consistent as ever but Colin Farrell as Henry Drax was superb.

Highly recommend 

 graeme jackson 20 Sep 2021
In reply to wilkie14c:

I've found it really depressing. Got to the end of ep 3 and I'm tempted to leave them there. 

 graeme jackson 21 Sep 2021
In reply to graeme jackson:

>  tempted to leave them there

Nope. Mrs J made me watch the last two episodes last night. Wasn't impressed. IMO (and I know opinions are like arseholes etc) there just wasn't a feeling of jeopardy throughout. Everything that happened to Sumner was telegraphed and seemed very contrived. I felt like the last episode was rushed through just to tie up every loose end.  Glad it's all over. 

If this seems vague it's because I don't want to risk any spoilers. So many specifics I could winge about

 Siward 21 Sep 2021
In reply to graeme jackson:

I must say I got that feeling after the end of episode 1 and have, indeed, left it there. Normally I'm a sucker for a bit of seafaring derring do but this one just left me cold. 

 Iamgregp 21 Sep 2021
In reply to wilkie14c:

I'm two episodes in and am really enjoying it.

OP wilkie14c 21 Sep 2021
In reply to Iamgregp:

Glad to hear, i know i’m not a weirdo now

 Iamgregp 21 Sep 2021
In reply to wilkie14c:

The performances alone make it a worthwhile watch. Stephen Graham is excellent as ever, O’Connell very convincing, but like you say… Farrell as Drax is absolutely outstanding. Almost unrecognisable isn’t he? Completely absorbed into the character…

Has he spent all of lockdown eating and lifting weights, or did they use prosthetics and camera tricks? He looks enormous!?

 graeme jackson 21 Sep 2021
In reply to Iamgregp:

> Has he spent all of lockdown eating and lifting weights, or did they use prosthetics and camera tricks? He looks enormous!?

according to his wiki entry for the Batman...

Colin Farrell as Oswald "Oz" Cobblepot / Penguin:
A disfigured crime lord, he is not yet the crime kingpin from the comic books and dislikes being referred to as the Penguin.[4][11][16][27] Farrell wore prosthetics and a fat suit created by makeup artist Mike Marino,[28][29] choosing to use the fat suit after having a negative experience gaining weight for the television series The North Water.

In reply to wilkie14c:

I have to say it as rather hard going a very poor advert for the human race. Picked up toward the end. Overall a reasonable watch that I would recommend with any enthusiasm.

Farrell may well have played his role well but his character, to my mind, was uninteresting as he lacked any depth. I just found it depressing to think that people like that exist.

Post edited at 18:23
 Sean Kelly 21 Sep 2021
In reply to wilkie14c:

The graphic depictions of slaying of seals and then a whale was quite stomach turning.  Like Graeme, think I might abandon it after episode 3!

 Iamgregp 21 Sep 2021
In reply to Sean Kelly:

I once had a job where I managed the video archives of a charity who monitored the seal hunt. I’ve probably watched hundreds of hours of actual seal clubbing, and the reality is way, way worse than what they recreated there so it wasn’t too bad for me…

I’ll not go into details, but I saw things I’ll never forget in that job.

 Robert Durran 22 Sep 2021
In reply to Sean Kelly:

> The graphic depictions of slaying of seals and then a whale was quite stomach turning.  

I only caught a little bit of the episode with the whale hunt. Superb. Might watch the whole thing.

 felt 22 Sep 2021
In reply to graeme jackson:

> there just wasn't a feeling of jeopardy throughout. 

Mrs F keeps on spoiling Vigil for me by saying isn't the mock-up of the inside of a nuclear sub great (from what I know I think the galley is way too big, but there you go). I need about another ten minutes to get back into the swing of make-believe.

 wercat 22 Sep 2021
In reply to Sean Kelly:

I think i'll stick to Aubrey and Maturin, far better humoured.

 coldfell 22 Sep 2021
In reply to wilkie14c:

Oh yes, totally brilliant filming - I read the book a few years ago and forgotten how dark it was. First two episodes caught up on and can't wait for the rest. Cavendish is the wicked one for me, after the captain of course! what a grim existence.

 Offwidth 23 Sep 2021
In reply to coldfell:

I'm at the end of episode two. The cinematography is good, the direction is a bit too slow and artificialy moody and the acting a bit melodramatic for me. There is also a tendancy to play to the audience"s modern sensibilities, in particular on hunting and homophobia, which is a bit cheap.  I do wonder if the book avoids those pitfalls. 

Worse than the initial episodes of The Terror, which had some similar issues:

https://www.ukhillwalking.com/forums/culture_bunker/the_terror_-_iplayer-73243...

 JMarkW 24 Sep 2021
In reply to wercat:

> I think i'll stick to Aubrey and Maturin, far better humoured.

easily the lesser of two evils

 Iamgregp 24 Sep 2021
In reply to wilkie14c:

Finished the series the other night, thought it was excellent.

 Forest Dump 24 Sep 2021
In reply to wilkie14c:

When men were men and ice was ice..

2 episodes to go.

 Toby_W 24 Sep 2021
In reply to wercat:

I'm just reading them all again, I felt the most profound sense of loss when I finished them last time and my wife bought me a special edition set (really nice) with an extra book in the set!

I love the language and am constantly trying to think of ways to work some of the sailing/naval insults into everyday use again.

A hard life at sea.

Cheers

Toby

 broken spectre 25 Sep 2021
In reply to wilkie14c:

I'd really like to see this but have lost my remote control!

Edit: Found it in an old pizza box!

Post edited at 19:07
 Robert Durran 25 Sep 2021
In reply to Offwidth:

> Worse than the initial episodes of The Terror, which had some similar issues:

I thought the initial episodes of The Terror were excellent.

But please, someone tell me that The North Water does not descend into silly supernatural nonsense before I start watching it. 

OP wilkie14c 25 Sep 2021
In reply to Robert Durran:

Nope, no supernatural high jinks at all

OP wilkie14c 25 Sep 2021
In reply to wilkie14c:

I convinced myself that the giant bear/monster in the terror was in a fact a normal bear but the crew were suffering lead poisoning from their tinned goods and hallucinating, only was I could explain it away


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