So i remember watching the same monologe a while ago performed by the amazing Julie Walters, and i remeber that even if i loved her acting , the script wasnt that good (for me). The same happened here, loved the acting by J. Comer but the script still is a little bit of letdown. I liked how Comer showed us a Lesley more vurnerable, that noticed way earlier the situation of abuse she is living but still tried to go trought it and become an actress. Loved the balance between comedy and drama, seriously those last moments of the monologue really hurt, a really fantastic job by Comer and crew. My only complain really is that there is a moment where the camera is doing a close up and it clearly destavilized, it was really random. But in general i really liked it and the 40 and something minutes past fliying.
4 Reviews
Jodie Comer in Her Big Chance
safenoe23 October 2020
Warning: Spoilers
I'm enjoying watching this revival of Talking Heads. Her Big Chance runs for over 40 minutes, which makes it one of the longest of the the episodes. Jodie's acting was sublime, but the script could have been tighter. Still, worth watching especially in this era of metoo.
Jodie Comer is very good, but it's a bit sad
aethomson5 March 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Irony and self-deception fit so well together - and they can provide the writer with scope for gratuitous cruelty. Remember Noel Coward's advice to Mrs Worthington about not putting her daughter on the stage: "The width of her seat would surely defeat her chances of success." (In the polite version "seat" becomes "feet".)
Alan Bennett's Lesley (Comer) must have quite a shapely seat, because the male film-makers that she desperately wants to impress try to manoeuvre her into taking off her bikini bottom for this scene on a yacht. Lesley is portraying "Travis", who may or may not be a good-time party girl. Lesley is trying to "develop" the character. Good luck with that, darling.
One thing we learn from this episode "Her Big Chance": writers hate the movie business. Writers sweat their souls, trying to assemble coherent emotional structures; then they sweat their minds, hoping to discover some interesting ideas; then they sweat the language, eventually resorting to a thesaurus to find some words that are not already debased into drivel. At last, on paper or screen, a "script" appears. Writers love their scripts, as parents can love difficult children. The script is handed over to the movie business... and then complete idiots muck it all about! The film people that Lesley encounters - what a bunch of dopes and frauds.
Young female actors are the raw material at the very bottom of the food chain. But Alan Bennett seems to have made Lesley unnecessarily pathetic. We must assume that the director, Josie Rourke, is well aware of the ambiguities. Yes, we the audience are tricked into condescending to Lesley and laughing at her foibles and naïveté - and then perhaps we realise that we should be ashamed of ourselves.
Alan Bennett's Lesley (Comer) must have quite a shapely seat, because the male film-makers that she desperately wants to impress try to manoeuvre her into taking off her bikini bottom for this scene on a yacht. Lesley is portraying "Travis", who may or may not be a good-time party girl. Lesley is trying to "develop" the character. Good luck with that, darling.
One thing we learn from this episode "Her Big Chance": writers hate the movie business. Writers sweat their souls, trying to assemble coherent emotional structures; then they sweat their minds, hoping to discover some interesting ideas; then they sweat the language, eventually resorting to a thesaurus to find some words that are not already debased into drivel. At last, on paper or screen, a "script" appears. Writers love their scripts, as parents can love difficult children. The script is handed over to the movie business... and then complete idiots muck it all about! The film people that Lesley encounters - what a bunch of dopes and frauds.
Young female actors are the raw material at the very bottom of the food chain. But Alan Bennett seems to have made Lesley unnecessarily pathetic. We must assume that the director, Josie Rourke, is well aware of the ambiguities. Yes, we the audience are tricked into condescending to Lesley and laughing at her foibles and naïveté - and then perhaps we realise that we should be ashamed of ourselves.
Jodie Comer is fascinating.
IvonaaK15 December 2020
This lady....So genuine and humble and such incredible talent. Her star is rising fast and she deserves every bit of the credit that goes with it. She's just my absolute favorite stranger. The script was not that good, but Jodie made it special. She is completely amazing and I would watch anything she is in.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
