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Mayflies begins with a ‘thought for the day’ that sounds thoughtful, but then is quickly forgotten about…
- “They say you know nothing at 18, but there are things you know at 18, that you will never know again.”
Jimmy (Martin Compston – Line Of Duty) and Tully (Tony Curran) are best friends, but 30 years after they met in their Glasgow home town, Tully has a confession: He has terminal cancer and has been given just four months to live, yet doesn’t want to undergo chemotherapy.
Along the way, Tully he talks about his mother, Barbara (Elaine C Smith), having to sell her house to pay for her nursing home care, instead of being able to leave it to them, he starts making a list about what to do with his life, while Jimmy – now a successful writer who emigrated to that there London – tries to suggest he still goes for chemo, giving himself “extra time”, to which Tully dryly responds, “I was always shit at penalities”(!)
They also keep having flashbacks to the lads in the ’80s – yes, they were best friends. We get it.
The main problem with the first episode of Mayflies – a type of fly that lives just for one day – is that the telling of this sad tale is so flat and pedestrian, despite the tragic storyline. The second episode is an improvement, however.
Mayflies begins tonight on BBC Scotland at 10pm over two consecutive nights, while everywhere else on regular BBC1, it’s from tomorrow night at 9pm. However, both episodes are now available to watch on the BBC iPlayer.
It’s not yet available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD, but you can buy the book on Paperback, Hardback and Kindle.
Director: Peter Mackie Burns
Producer: Brian Kaczynski
Writer: Andrea Gibb
Novel: Andrew O’Hagan
Music: Lorne Balfe, Joseph Stevenson
Cast:
Jimmy: Martin Compston
Tully: Tony Curran
Young Jimmy: Rian Gordon
Young Tully: Tom Glynn-Carney
Anna: Ashley Jensen
Young Tibbs: Mitchell Robertson
Limbo: Matt Littleson
Young Hogg: Paul Gorman
Barbara: Elaine C Smith
Angela: Natali McCleary
Young Barbara: Charlene Boyd
Young Fiona: Brier Jem Easton
Woodbine: Stephen McCole
Mrs O’Connor: Anita Vettesse
Waitress: Abbi Stevenson
Iona: Tracy Ifeachor
Oncologist: Adura Onashile
Tibba: Cal Macaninch
Scott: Colin McCredie
Fiona: Shauna Macdonald
Hogg: Mark Cox
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.