Small Prophets review

 

In his more recent work as both a writer and director Mackenzie Crook has drawn vivid portraits set within rural surroundings. His latest project relocates to the more urban locales of Manchester with equal success. The story may be surrounded by semi detached houses, alleyways and large shops but the focus of Crook’s lens and scripts remains intricate and hopeful. He combines the rich character work and easy conversation of Detectorists with the whimsical fantasy of Worzel Gummidge to create something both unique yet strangely familiar.

Michael Sleep is a fifty something man trudging through life capably yet without really being bothered about his ramshackle house full of boxes or his job at a DIY superstore; in the latter he passes the time winding up customers. He visits his elderly father each day perhaps grateful for the less than clear conversations they are able to have. Or perhaps just to be amused by the Heath Robinson type machines the old man builds in the surprisingly spacious care home where he resides. Michael’s world came to an emotional halt seven years ago when girlfriend  Clea vanished without explanation on Xmas Eve, her abandoned car later found on the Severn Bridge. Why she left he does not know yet he pins his hopes on the chance that she will return.

In outline this may seem as if it could be a somewhat bleak offering, full of middle aged remorse and regret yet instead Crook has created a deft comedic scenario. We don’t really learn too much about Michael’s past (his claim to have been an underwater welder is soon debunked!) yet through interactions with fellow shop worker Kacey, a bored early twenty something always “on a break” we find out more about both of them. When Michael’s father tells him how to summon  homunculi; mystical creatures who always tell the truth- he sees an opportunity to find out whether Clea will ever come back.

The introduction of the fantastical side of the story is gently ushered in- episode one has the hue of a modern comedy drama with some scenes in the DIY shop being outright funny especially one involving buckets that made me laugh heartily.  As the series progresses the drama is threaded through yet still leaving space for laugh out loud moments- one involving Shreddies is a classic. Even with some of what is ostensibly more serious material is sometimes turned on its head; one sequence in which it seems Michael will be mugged turns on a sixpence into something wholly different. This unpredictability helps the show easily fill its six episodes with a sense of fun and you suspect a second watch would reveal even more detail.

Small Prophets never falls into the old cliché of showing older people as totally miserable and hostile towards younger generations; as well as building the friendship between Michael and Kacey it draws parallels between two different generations’ as[orations meeting somewhere n the middle to share each other’s curiosity and mischievousness. Eager to find out if the tale of these creatures is true, Kacey becomes a willing participant in the bizarre rituals required to summon them involving a lot of dung!

In a way it’s a shame that the promotion (even the trailers) revealed the Homunculi as they can be a bit off putting at first sight and they never become cute while keeping to their purpose of truthfully answering questions. Stop motion effects create the unexpected creatures to impressive effect. In the jars they are weird with contorted faces. The scenario is not without jump scares; a moment when a spindly hand opens the lid of a jar could be taken from any horror movie. Both Michael and Kacey have different sorts of key questions for them though- while he is seeking answers about Clea, Kacey wants to know if she will ever be in Neighbours!

Both writing and directing, Mackenzie Crook finds an enviable method which coalesces what is  a strange brew into something rewarding and very entertaining. Should anyone have trouble believing in magical spirits then the story also includes strands relating to family issues, valuable books and nosy neighbours all featuring characters who are just a little bit eccentric in their own way.

Having played a supporting role in Detectorists, Pearce Quigley gets the lead this time, his bushy white beard and long hair giving him the look of a wild man yet the script makes Michael identifiable, a particular type of thwarted middle age drift that he plays so well. Michael is not a character we are ever supposed to feel sorry for. He isn’t crazy, he just lives life differently to the norm which is personified by his twitchy neighbour Clive, amusingly played by Jon Pointing almost like a young, modern version of the befuddled Basil Fawlty . Lauren Patel is excellent as Kacey interpreting Crook’s script which takes her from the archetypal surly teenager to someone with real depth. The chemistry with Quigley is exquisite, full of laughs and attitude. Michael Palin makes a rare acting foray to give Michael’s father Brian just the right level of eccentricity required. Paul Kaye is on hand too initially it seems to play another wholly unpleasant character in the form of Clea’s weasley brother Roy yet there’s more to him than it seems. Mackenzie Crook writes himself the unsympathetic goading manager of the DIY store complete with overlong pony tail.

It’s a real binge watch sort of show that never settles too long, the only slight criticism I would make is that to create a climax, the carefully calibrated tone speeds up a bit too much in the last episode. Some may find the plot too far fetched yet it shows that even without the bucolic countryside Mackenzie Crook can conjure up fascinating, funny magic.