The
lowdown: Alan Hamilton is a project manager on a building site,
happily married to his wife Tricia and
with two children, with
the oldest about to leave home for university. Alan is content with his
lot in life, until
he is hit by a car and his
life changes forever. Alan survives, but loses his short-term memory, while
his
personality changes and
he faces the threat of losing his wife. This is the basic plot of 'Recovery',
a telemovie
starring David Tennant as
Alan and Sarah Parish as Tricia. It was broadcast on BBC1 on 25 February
2007.
'Recovery' is a poignant
and touching look at the effects of brain injury on a normal family life.
When Alan
comes out of his coma, Tricia
is just glad to have him back. But this is not the Alan that she knew and
loved
- he is forgetful, prone
to sudden bursts of anger and rage, makes lecherous advances toward other
women
and has difficulty grasping
basic things such as using water when having a shower. However, Alan makes
a
rapid physical recovery,
and signs of his old self begin to emerge, although he is not the man Tricia
married,
and she begins to accept
that that man may be gone forever. Alan returns to work on light duties,
but this
proves too much for him
and he loses his job. Alan is denied compensation for the accident; the
Hamiltons
are forced to sell their
home and move to a smaller one, while Tricia is unable to cope with the
new Alan and
has a one-night stand. Alan
realises that he might lose Tricia and tries to be become a better husband
and
father, and the telemovie
has an upbeat ending which gives the couple some hope for a brighter future.
The
verdict: 'Recovery' is an outstanding production with superb
acting by both Tennant and Parish, and it is
perhaps Tennant's best performance
of his career to date. The use of hand-held cameras and close-up shots
provide a sense of intimacy,
while flashbacks are used to good effect to show what the Hamiltons' life
was like
before the accident. 'Recovery'
is not always easy viewing, and the new Alan is not very likeable at times,
but
he is a person whom the
viewer can empathise with simply because he is an ordinary person thrust
into a
difficult situation. The
overall message of this drama is that people with accident-induced brain
damage are
not freaks to be pitied
but ordinary people. That person acting strangely who you saw down the
street last
week might not be crazy
at all, but just one of the many Alan Hamiltons of this world, and they
deserve our
understanding and support.
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