Film Reviews & Movie Analysis

Created by Abi Morgan

Broadcast: BBC One
Concluded: 17/03/2020
Synopsis: The Split follows family lawyer Hannah Stern, her marriage and her close knit family. Despite being surrounded by the consequences of certain actions through their clients, everyone has their own secrets that will effect the family unit as a whole.
Cast: Nicola Walker, Stephen Mangan, Annabel Scholey, Barry Atsma, Donna Air.
Episodes: Six

Note: I really suggest you watch the first series, or at least read my review before going any further as this will be littered with spoilers.

Directly following on from the conclusion of series one, which saw Hannah Stern (née Dafoe) give into temptation, series two deals with the fall out from her actions and the slow and eventual destruction of her marriage. While Hannah’s own family life is crumbling, her younger sisters, Nina and Rose are both struggling as they begin building their own families in two different ways. Situations change, and people may leave but your family is always there for you to lean on when it counts.

Can I start by saying that my heart is still beating after the whirlwind of this series! I should mention that I watched the six episode series over the course of three days but I was rationing and could have very easily done it in one.

Though it has been almost two years since the first series ended, they did a great job of picking up right where it left off in such a way that I never felt that confusion of; ‘wait what happened last time again?!’ that you sometimes get if it’s been a while.

The progression of the story worked incredibly well as we watched the balance shift in morality both protagonist Hannah (Nicola Walker) and for us as viewers, in our opinions, and whose side we were on, which was highly effective. The case in the background of Fi Hansen (Donna Air) wanting to divorce her emotionally abusive and intimidating husband didn’t overpower, but held enough of an interest that you wanted to make sure it ended with him getting what he deserved.

What makes the show stand out to me, is the use of music. Modern, quiet but full of emotion and wholly being in sync with Hannah’s entire personality. Also the level of depth for the characters. We don’t feel as if their problems started in episode one as events over the course of more than twenty years are referenced. It strengthens our believability in their lives, and makes everything feel more realistic.

Admittedly the story of Hannah’s affair with Christie (Barry Atsma) and whether she would be found out by husband Nathan (Stephen Mangan) took up the bulk of our interest and emotional investment, which was very fortunate in some ways as the secondary story lines involving her siblings where very weak in comparison.

I was honestly never quite sure what Nina’s (Annabel Scholey) problems were, and what exactly triggered her kleptomania and alcoholism. As for listless Rose (Fiona Button) and her new marriage, it would have been nice to spend more time exploring this instead of her random plight to find out whether she was adopted, which sort of circled the drain and ended without so much as a pin drop.

In terms of another series, I’m a little bias as I have a general love of female lawyers and liked how bad ass these characters looked walking across Millennium Bridge with their coats billowing. The ending was at a point of significant change – one where you could just as well imagine for yourself what came next without needing to see it play out on screen. However yes I would love a third series – however I unfortunately see another two year wait in my future.

Trailer below…