User reviews

Another show lifted from the Guardian's Best of 2020 list was "Normal People", a show I'd seen hyped quite a lot, but evidently missed when it aired. I'm glad I took a little bit of time to watch the show slowly over the Christmas break, as, despite not being as salacious as I thought it might be, it has some truly wonderful performances.

In a small town in Ireland, two students, Marianne (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and Connell (Paul Mescal) begin a relationship, which they keep secret from their school friends. The connection seems to end though when both regret Connell's decision to take a different girl to the debs ball. Months later, the pair reconnect as both attend Trinity college, in Dublin. Though the dynamics of their relationship has changed, their connection remains tangible.

What I liked is that I felt both Marianne and Connell were well rounded characters that didn't fall into stereotypes. Connell is the school star Gaelic footballer, but he isn't a "jock" cliché - in that he's bright, bashful and soft spoken. Though it is a stretch to see Marianne as the "ugly duckling" at any point, she's spiky and damaged but that mostly comes from her family, rather than her schoolmates. I knew nothing about the story going in, so was really pleased when we got to the secret relationship coming to a head in the first few episodes. The show then resets, jumping forward to them both at University for a few months and the ability that gave for the characters to reinvent themselves.

I don't want to raise one to knock the other, as Daisy Edgar-Jones is excellent too, but I've seen her in other things. Paul Mescal is revelatory. So vulnerable and open to showing that Connell is as broken as Marianne, even if he has been able to mask it more.

That it pierced the heart of this wretched old soul speaks volumes to the quality of the series. I'll have to come to the next Sally Rooney adaptation a bit sooner.

Brilliant, heartbreaking viewing experience. Give yourself over to this wonderful story and be ready for a genuine rollercoaster. Graphic intimacy in many movies and tv series often seems gratuitous and difficult to watch. I was immediately and pleasantly surprised, therefore, by this story which explores the sexual awakening and the ultimate love story between two young people. The scenes of their lovemaking are both graphic and beautifully choreographed.

It felt almost like reading a book where you envision the characters so vividly, you can almost touch them. The chemistry the two leads have, their acting, the cinematography, are all so well blended together, so seamless, it's palpable. A melancholy trip worth taking, if only to remind the ones past teenage years how vulnerable and all-engulfing a young love is.

I lost so much sleep when I discovered this heart-warming, heart-wrenching, and heart-breaking masterpiece. It's uncanny how I can relate to such genuine and unexplainable attraction and emotion. Everybody should be so lucky to find a love like this once in a lifetime.

I started watching this show, thinking it'd be another high school drama with pretty twenty-somethings acting out a middle-aged dude's regurgitation of every other high school drama. I figured that if it didn't suck too bad, it'd be good to have on in the background while I did other things. Instead, I found myself just stopping to watch. Everything about the show, the writing, acting, cinematography, design, etc. captures the tiny moments they way they feel instead of what they look like. It's like life. Beautiful, bland, and, oh, so painful.

One of the most beautiful tv shows I've ever had the pleasure of watching. Incredible chemistry. Incredible written. beautifully heartbreaking

This series is fantastic. It's pace, the acting and the soundtrack all add to a beautiful simple story.

Having spent lots of time in Ireland with my partners family I know that this is an important social subject. Men/boys in the country struggle massively to express emotions and this does such a great job of showing how this effects life.

Amazing watch

Beautifully written characters and amazing acting. I LOVED this! I hadn't read the book this was adapted from but now want to and couldn't imagine anyone else being Marianne & Connell. Daisy Edgar-Jones' beautiful doe eyes and Paul Mescal's soulful gaze. I was mesmerised by the chemistry between these two. Very few love stories make my heart actually ache! I cried my way through 6 hours of this brilliance!

I suppose, the freshness is the main virtue of this series about life. The freshness of story and storytelling and acting. An old fashion film, like one of the most profound useful refuges in the circle of eccentric or political correct projects. A story easy to perceive as a personal one. A great exploration of high school and college years. And lovely, precise, wise, splendid crafted definition of friendship. Using naturalism tools.

In short, a great series of the last decade.

And admirable example of storytelling and acting.

Outspoken student Marianne Sheridan (Daisy Edgar-Jones) is an outcast at school. Connell Waldron (Paul Mescal) is the quiet popular jock. His mother works as a cleaning lady in the Sheridan's large family home. The two Irish teens have a secret sexual relationship but he refuses to acknowledge her in public. Their lives and loves would intertwine over the years.

I have to be really honest. I was a little unconvinced at first. The actors are too old to play teens. Both characters have issues that put me off. Marianne is too bitter. Connell is too quiet and his treatment of her is emotionally brutal. By the fourth episode, the age thing stops mattering. Quite frankly if I knew they would be aging up in the show, I wouldn't sweat that issue. As for these characters, they really grow on me, both as roles and the actors. These young new faces are truly engaging and they are beautiful to boot. As characters, there are emotions beneath that are really worthwhile to explore. They become more and more fully formed people and that's the brilliance of this limited series. These are great characters performed by compelling new faces.

Each to their own obviously, but the 8-10 star reviews seems a bit inflated to me. The first half of this series starts off fantastically; the story is nothing original but it's executed beautifully in pretty much every aspect. As others seem to have similarly felt, things start to tank about mid way through. The story drags, the choices made and communication between the two leads was annoying/unjustified and by the last few episodes I was really only watching to see how they ended it.

This is not 'normal'. So much passive agressive converstions, lack of honest and direct communication, covering up and witholding emotions, list is never ending. Dear youngsters, listen to me - this is not a healthy relationship, don't idolize this on screen love and please, don't indentify with this characters. Do better in you relationship!

This was an incredibly moving drama. One of the most tender and sad love stories I've watched (warning: nudity and sexual situations). The two primary characters are so complicated and vulnerable, I couldn't help loving and suffering with them, myself. This is beautifully performed, written and directed. Based on a book, of the same title (which I just downloaded on Audible), nominated for 44 media awards (Emmys, BAFTAs, etc.) and winner of 17. I give this limited series a 9 (superb) out of 10. {Drama, Love Story}

Just finished the show, and oh my was it every bit as good as I had hoped it would be and so much more. The book is pretty divisive and I expect the show to be as well, but every aspect of it is perfect, and I don't say this easily. The direction, cinematography, editing, writing, soundtrack, acting. The last three episodes hit you with a wave of emotions and made me tear up several times and I don't tear up easily. In a perfect world, this would be in conversation for Emmy noms and potentially even a win for Paul Mescal and who is imo pitch perfect as Connell, can't believe this is his first gig. Lenny Abraham also deserves strong praise for his direction here, Hattie MacDonald beautifully takes over from him, but he sets the tone and pace wonderfully. It's only April, but I doubt anything else will top this as my favorite show of the year.

2020 has been a strange and awful year even for cinema and tv but that's when Normal People enters the scene. It's arguably one of the best tv shows of the year. First of all I'd like to say that the sex/nude scenes aren't gratuitous. They're there for a reason, to convey emotions, a real and meaningful connection or in other cases a more superficial and frivolous one. The intimacy scenes are so well done and are nothing like Fifty Shades of Grey, like I've seen people write about. This tv show portraits growth so well, going back and forth, turning the tables ever so smoothly you can't help but to be with them, to relate and understand them. One of the things I enjoyed the most is the subtlety with which it lets the viewer get a sense of what they're feeling. The cinematography is so beautifull it's a feast for the eyes, playing with colors, upside-downs, light, every shot made with intention and so beautifully put. The cast was very good but Paul and Daisy are on a whole new level. Their chemistry, their capability of portraying so much with a simple look or nod, it's truly amazing and a delight to watch them on scene. They both have a great future in the industry if they desire and I hope the 2nd season comes out and fast! Really recommend you go see it, you won't regret it.

This absolute stunner of a TV series crept up on me in the way only the best stories do. Initially it seemed like an honest but moderate enough coming of age story, however soon the sweep of time takes us further along in these people's lives. We watch them grow as their world around them evolves. The melancholy atmosphere, yearning soundtrack, Misty Irish setting and expansive time span lends the whole experience an epic quality, like a modern War and Peace. It feels incredibly rich for a series only 6 hours long and at times left me as an emotional jelly. Let it wash over you and enjoy.

But when the perfect pallet of directing, writing, cinematography and chemistry creates the perfect colourful vision, you are left in awe and swept up into the unknown. Normal People is just that, the perfect concoction. You ache when they ache and feel everything they feel, you believe Marianne and Connell belong together quite simply because the chemistry between Edgar-Jones and Mescal exists, which is rare and it creates an emotional ride that most people can relate to...

I watched this series in two days, it completely pulled me in and mesmerised me. I don't know what more a person could want from a love story, it really has everything. It's not an easy-breezy story either, there are parts actually quite difficult to watch and a rawness not many shows/films of a similar nature manage to capture, in my opinion.

Paul Mescal's performance of Connell was really quite remarkable. I empathised so much with his character and he handled the intense characteristics of his role so well, whilst also being extremely loveable and warm. Similarly, Daisy Edgar-Jones captured Marianne's unhinged nature heartbreakingly well, whilst also portraying a character whom I cared for greatly. I just wanted her to be okay so badly.

The series on the surface is unremarkable in terms of story; it's quite a standard 'love story'. However, something about the chemistry between the Mescal and Edgar-Jones, alongside the beautifully peaceful cinematography and music really sets it apart as something to experience and dive in to. It's so immersive.

I'm 18 years old and have never experienced a love and relationship like Connell and Marianne's, maybe I wont, as it seems like a real one-off, but it's something that I think I would like in my life, even if it comes with the less beautiful side. It seems like the purest thing a person can experience.

Gosh, really great show.

I was really invested in the first couple of episodes but it went downhill from there. The lack of communication between the two leads made me want to rip my hair out. I also found it hard to believe they were meant to be so unusually intelligent when they could barely string a sentence together to express themselves. It was, however, well acted and beautifully shot with some poignant reminders about the importance of mental health support. Could have worked better condensed into 5 episodes or so.

It can be hard to capture the words and feeling of a book into a visual and emotional piece of film, and this show does it. Sensual, tender, and intimate, it gently clutches your heart and makes you remember what it means to feel the complexities of love. Quiet, beautiful, and subtle, just a beautiful piece told perfectly by two absolute stars in the making.