Infringements: Gillian Anderson steals every scene in this miracle TV series | television

IIt is trite to compare a love story to the story of Romeo and Juliet. It’s as if the detective reminds you of Sherlock Holmes. However, it’s hard to avoid watching the Channel 4 drama set in Northern Ireland in the 1970s. Trespasses revolves around Cushella Lafferty, a 24-year-old Catholic teacher who falls in love with the arrogant Protestant Michael Agnew. They begin seeing each other in secret, over Michael’s high-profile job: he is an outspoken lawyer, fighting for justice on behalf of young Catholic boys caught up in police bullying. This puts him and those close to him at risk of violent retaliation from both sides. Puts your commute into perspective, doesn’t it?

There is a lot to admire. Antique display board for one, dripping with sad browns and oranges. Was autumn always in the 70s? Michael and Cushella, played by Say Nothing’s Tom Cullen and Lola Petticrew, have chemistry. Then there’s Gillian Anderson, who plays Cushella’s widowed mother, Gina. She steals so many scenes I wonder if she’s hanging out in the Louvre.

Sometimes, when actors do an “accent,” it’s like someone wearing a fur coat in the supermarket: you can’t pay attention to anything else. And make no mistake, the Northern Irish accent is a frighteningly difficult accent, second only to Newcastle. (When I was learning it at drama school, I had to repeat certain phrases over and over, to get into its own music. “Sloppy Giuseppe” is the one that stuck with me.)

Anderson plays this role, the exact opposite of her frank and adventurous Jane Milburn in Sex Education. She’s also a long way from her role as Gillian Anderson, teasing women’s fantasies, after her brilliant book Want. Every woman I know is obsessed with Gillian Anderson. They have tattoos. They lose their minds when a new photo of her wearing the suit appears. For them, she represents an impeccable combination of intelligence, classic grace and liberated sexuality. Also, Scully from the X Files was the OG.

By contrast, Jenna is a sour black hole who turns the curtain, self-destructing through alcoholism. Anderson uses the supporting part to fatally demonstrate oppression, shame, and judgment: qualities of despair prevalent in that time and place. She orders her children to respect the status quo and appease the British. When she learns that her daughter-in-law Eamonn is five months pregnant, she leaves the dinner table in a jealous rage. “Maybe her mother was told the second Eamonn pulled out,” she spat.

Miraculously, she also brings a sense of humor to it. “Are you a love addict?” her daughter disdainfully demands after reading a quiz in a magazine. The show has an unexpected dryness, particularly in the character of Father Ted, Father Slattery – a hardline priest at Coachella School, who terrorizes children with inappropriate stories of sectarian violence. It brews a story that can get heavy.

Transgressions take on a heartbreaking moral force as they travel. It is an example of how political orthodoxy creeps in and hardens, infecting communities. It condemns the fact that in our world, love – and even simple acts of kindness – can be met with violence. She’s not sentimental about romance either. The handsome, crusader Michael is older and married. He likes the company of women very much. Does that change how we feel? It would be hard to say he’s still a good guy.

There is a hidden idea submerged in the transgressions: that obstacles provide oxygen to the fires of young love. Obstacles make lovers a team against the world. It’s uncomfortable to admit that sometimes we need injustice, bad timing, and an intrusive past. If our vision is unobstructed, we see more clearly how far from heroic, and perhaps not even good, our loved ones are often. Romeo and Juliet have similar wisdom deep down.

This is a beautiful drama, full of painful beauty. We can only root for Michael and Kushla, who cannot give up their hidden passion. They are looking for private, humane pleasure at a time when acts of betrayal between neighbors are as common as slices of soda bread. It is painful to remember that the real context is our recent history. If you liked The Celebrity Traitors, you won’t get anything in this set.