Breathless (2013)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Breathless is a historical drama in six parts which premiered on British television (itv) in 2013.

 

The main characters are doctors and nurses who work at a hospital in London in 1961.

 

Here is some basic information about this drama:

 

** Directors: Philippa Langdale (2 episodes), Marek Losey (2 episodes) & Paul Unwin (2 episodes)

** Writers and creators: Paul Grimsdale & Paul Unwin

** Run time: 6 x ca. 50 minutes = ca. 300 minutes

 

The cast includes the following:

 

The first group

** Jack Davenport as Dr. Otto Powell

** Natasha Little as Elizabeth Powell – Otto’s wife

** Rudi Goodman as Thomas Powell – son of Otto and Elizabeth

 

The second group

** Shaun Dingwall as Dr. Charlie Enderbury

** Joanna Page as Lily Enderbury – Charlie’s wife

** Oliver Chris as Dr Richard Truscott

** Zoe Boyle as Jean Meecher // Truscott – Richard’s fiancée // his wife

 

The third group

** Catherine Steadman as Nurse Angela Wilson – Jean’s sister

** Ronny Jhutti as Dr. Omprakash Mehta

** Iain Glen as Inspector Ronald Mulligan

** Diane Fletcher as Matron Vosper

 

As stated above, this is a historical drama, a fictional story which is placed in a historical context. In this case, the historical context is a hospital in London – the capital of the UK - in 1961.

 

I do not wish to spoil the viewing for anyone. I am not going to say much about what happens in this drama. I will merely offer some basic information.

 

The historical setting is quite successful:

 

(1) Look at the actors: their hair and their clothes.

(2) Look at their surroundings: the furniture, the cars, and the music that plays in the background.

(3) Look at the technology: modern technology is totally absent. There are no computers, no smart phones and no internet. What a world!

(4) All doctors are male; there are no female doctors here. All nurses are female; there are no male nurses here. 

(5) Rules and regulations favour men. This is hardly surprising, since they were written by men.

(6) For many nurses, the biggest dream, the biggest hope, is to catch a doctor and marry him. But if you are a nurse, and if you get married, you are no longer allowed to work as a nurse. Obviously, such a rule does not apply to doctors, who are all male.

 

Back in 1961, abortion was illegal in the UK. If a young and unmarried woman got pregnant, there were three ways out:

 

(1) You could marry the father of the child and have the baby.

(2) You could have the baby and give it up for adoption. 

(3) You could get an illegal abortion.

 

Social conventions favoured men, who declared that an unwed mother was a social disgrace. They said little or nothing about the man who was the father of this unborn child!

 

In this drama, we follow the lives of some doctors and some nurses. We see them in their professional lives and in their private lives. Some characters have a dark secret, but in the beginning, it is merely hinted at. It is not clear what it is.

 

Here is a clue: the dark secret refers to something that happened in another country nine years earlier, in 1952, on the island of Cyprus (which was at the time a British colony). But I cannot say more than this without revealing too much.

 

What do reviewers say about this historical drama?

 

Here are some results:

 

** 68 per cent = IMDb

** 86 per cent = Rotten Tomatoes (the critics)

** 92 per cent = Rotten Tomatoes (the audience)

 

If you ask me, the rating on IMDb is a bit too low, while the ratings on Rotten Tomatoes are a bit too high.

 

This drama is good, but not great. This is why I want to offer a rating of four stars (80 percent).

 

PS # 1. There is a lot of smoking in this drama: patients smoke, nurses smoke, even doctors smoke. 

 

Not only outside, but also inside the hospital. Nobody objects to this.

 

It is horrible to watch so much smoking! But we have to remember that this story is set in 1961. 

 

Perhaps it is not unrealistic. It took many years to get smoking banned from public places like hospitals and offices.

 

PS # 2. The title Breathless is odd and mysterious. Who is breathless? No character in this drama can be described as breathless. 

 

Is it meant to be about the audience? I do not think so. I do not think any viewer is breathless while watching this drama. In short: the person who chose this title made a poor decision!

 

PS # 3. Some reviewers, who liked this drama, were waiting and hoping for a second season.

 

I understand. Many things are left unresolved at the end of the final episode. But they were hoping in vain.

 

This is a miniseries with six episodes. No more than that. The owners of itv did not want to give this historical drama a second chance.

 

*****