‘Normal People’ Is The Most Accurate Portrayal Of Modern, Young Love We Have Seen In Years – Review

During the Covid-19 lockdown, BBC Three gave us ‘Normal People’ - the new, heart wrenching series adapted from Sally Rooney’s best-selling novel of the same title. I began watching the series after hearing about it none stop on social media, having no idea it was based on a book. After looking at the trailer and the endless comments floating around Twitter, I couldn’t help but feel this series would be a predictable, cringey, teen love-fest, but I was completely wrong as after just one episode, my stubborn, cold and anti-romantic heart was melted by the soft, indie aesthetics and charming Irish accents. 

The series follows the love story of Marianne (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and Connell (Paul Mescal), who go to school together but fit into vastly different social groups. Marianne is seen as a loner, she is feisty and moody, coming from a complicated background of a family who are rich yet dysfunctional. Connell is from a single parent household, his mother Lorraine (Sarah Greene) is the cleaner at Marianne’s home, and the two teens form a bond talking after school at her house, waiting for Lorraine to finish her jobs for the day. After establishing they have an attraction they can’t ignore they decide to see each other secretly, due to Connell’s fear of being teased for their relationship at school. We follow their journey of first love as it twists and turns with the challenges of young adult life and finding your feet at university. 

The series has hooked so many people as unlike most romance-based series, films or books it feels so personal. The camera angles are intimate and the portrayal or their relationship is realistic and honest. It is rare we see male mental health being shown in a raw and open way, yet this series tackles the issue so healthily. Seeing Connell in therapy and his battles with anxiety despite his popularity, is refreshing and gives hope that this issue will continually be explored more often.  As the audience, we feel every emotion with them and it seems there are elements to both characters as imperfect human beings that so many of us relate to. There is a part in all of us that has dreamt of what they have; the idea of a first love that you just can't seem to escape, that continues to creep up on you and grab you once again year after year.

Not only has the series got the nation obsessed and wanting more, but also given us a new heartthrob as people everywhere have fallen in love with the Connell, with there even being an Instagram account dedicated entirely to the neck chain he wears in every episode. It also appears Lorraine has a fan club of her own too, being the mother that everyone would want to have, as she isn’t afraid to tell Connell when he’s in the wrong as well as being supportive and caring, as she takes Marianne in due to her turbulent family life. It seems no series before has shown single parenthood in this light and how precious it actually is. Connell often refers to his mother by her first name, and whilst traditionally this may seem like teenage boy cheek, we see it’s due to their tight bond. ‘Normal People’ shows us a mother and son relationship that is healthy and honest, with both characters openly talking about sex and relationships, with no glossing over difficult topics and no turning a blind eye to Connell’s mistakes. 

Accompanying the romanticised, gloomy colourisation is a soundtrack of sad and delicate indie songs, which bring the ever-twisting emotions of the series to the surface, it’s almost as if it holds a magnifying glass to the inner monologues of each character, with the music conveying what isn’t said out loud.

‘Normal People’ is heart-warming yet beautifully tragic, with incredible aesthetics and the perfect accompanying soundtrack. It is the most effective and powerful romance story we have seen since ‘The Fault in Our Stars’, showing realistic, nervous, sweaty sex and a soul-baring love story that delves into the issues of bullying, social class, consent, abuse and toxic relationships. This series gives us the hopeful message of ‘if it’s meant to be, it will find a way’, telling a teenage love story that doesn’t feel teenage, as it cuts through the cliches and doesn’t over dramatise. We do not look down at their relationship and personal struggles as silly, meaningless, puppy love but remember how it felt exactly when we were fumbling our way through relationships and life during adolescence. It’s real, painful and bittersweet.