13 out of 13 people found the following review helpful:
Outstanding performances in an intelligent examination of the aftermath of the war in Iraq.
Northernsky from ,
25th June, 2009
It was only a matter of time before the Invasion of Iraq was mined by British TV as the basis for a drama. The worry being that something of that ilk would be inaccurate and exploitative. Thankfully Occupation, shown on BBC1 over three consecutive nights , is well written and powerful , showing that the invasion was not all about TV pyrotechnics and dodgy dossiers but about real people doing unforgiving jobs in extreme circumstances. The narrative follows the vice like grip the country takes on three British soldiers after a tour of duty in Basra( It was shot in Morocco) following the initial allied invasion in 2003 . Mike ( James Nesbitt ) meets and falls in love with an Iraqi doctor-Aliyah (Lubna Azabal)- which would be fine if he was single but he is a married man with two children. Danny ( Stephen Graham ) is a pill popping alcohol swilling jack the lad. Iraq to him offers the chance to make money in cahoots with urbane American .Security work guarding potential developers of post-war Iraq leads to them bidding for construction work of new hospitals . Hibbs ( Warren Brown )genuinely wants to help the Iraqi people make a better life for themselves and feels driven to return to the country by altruism and his nagging conscience. The Iraqi conflict is shown to be devastating on numerous levels. As well as tearing Iraq apart ,economically , structurally and in societal terms the different agenda’s rends the three men apart psychologically with Mike especially paying a heavy price. At the end of the drama the three men clad in funeral suits sat staring with looks of almost abject shock seem to be a metaphor for the way the war tore the Iraq people into factions. Peter Bowkers drama highlights how Iraq became a cash cow for voracious Western businessmen .Indeed this was the hook for the drama that drove him to write it in the first place Whether providing security( for that see mercenaries) or re-building the infrastructure( only for it to be blown up again ) Iraq is shown to be awash with dollars .although none of it is going to help the indigenous people of the country. This is disaster capitalism ( see Naomi Klein’s book ) at it’s most insidious and rapacious . Although the script relies on a couple of contrivances -the romance between Mike and Aliya while beautifully done feels out of place and Mikes son joining the Army seems tacked on to bring the big emotional finale - it draws the parallel experiences of the three men together well. The choice of music jars occasionally as well though I did nod appreciatively at the use of Pink Floyds “The Gunners Dream “ ( from the brilliant final cit album ) for one scene. What really elevates Occupation is the monumentally emotional clout of the production whole aided it must be vigorously said by some outstanding performances. It’s rare to see something where all the cast absolutely nail their roles .James Nesbit is so good that I will have trouble accepting him as anyone other than the emotionally wrought Mike and Stephen Graham is a consummate mix of edgy and sympathetic as the complex and disturbed Danny while Warren Brown just bleeds pathos as the compassionate Hibbs. Mentions must go too to Nonso Anozie as Danny’s business partner Lester and Monica Dolanas Mikes wife Nicky .Both give tremendous supporting performances. I also loved Lubna Azabal as Aliyah who gives a superb nuanced performance radiating intelligence and vulnerability not to mention a certain smouldering sexiness. Her performance , as well as James Nesbitts gives their fledgling romance real much needed integrity. Occupation has an agenda but puts across the message with an intelligent character driven story rather than some hysterical piece of polemic. Anyone doubting Britain’s ability to produce high quality drama really should see this( Unforgiven shown earlier this year was excellent as well ) We just don’t do it often enough .Occupation , though deserves to sit with the stunning Warriors as a war drama concentrating on the impact of a horrible conflict on the ordinary men who have to fight them .Praise does not come any higher than that.
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