Review: Hit And Miss 1.1

Mia (Chloe Sevigny) has a double life - in more ways than one.

"I don't know about the dick in your pants, but you've definitely got a dick in your brain - you're fucked in the head."

In anyone else's hands, the premise of this new Sky Atlantic drama would sound rather ridiculous. Big Love's Chloe Sevigny plays Mia, a transsexual hitwoman who discovers that she has a son and an entire family of kids left to her by her late girlfriend Wendy. Written by Shameless' Paul Abbot, the first episode of the series managed to escape any possible connotations of being a freak-show or a gimmick, which a witty script that combined powerful characterisations (especially from Sevigny) with humour and drama. Importantly enough for me, it was filmed in the city where I live, and so I got a lot of enjoyment from musing over the locations used.
     One of the things I loved was how easily it mixed a sort of Wild-West theme with a great deal of realism. At one point we see Mia undress for a shower, and we see some full-frontal nudity using a prothetic penis. Now while this is what every reviewer is going to be talking about, it speaks volumes that Mia's transsexuality is so realistically shown, and it doesn't form the entirety of her character. It helps that Sevigny is somewhat androgynous, and there have been some clever wardrobe decisions that highlight the character's former form. There's also a considerable lack of Northern stereotyping, although this is probably due to Paul Abbot's background. I was glad that it had humour; the premise is so stuffed that the series risked taking itself too seriously, and the Shameless-style humour highlights the characters' humanity.
     Sevigny is perfect for the role, and despite the actresses' controvertial comments about Manchester itself, she does a bloody good job here. I loved her in Big Love and she's even stronger here, as the broken woman who recognises what taking care of the family could do for her life. She insists that she used to love Wendy, and you can tell simply by the way that she acts around her kids and her bedroom. It was a performance that never reminded me of her American heritage, or of the actress' other works. It was a strange, strange casting decision, but it's had a great result.

Leonie, Levi (Reece Noi), Mia, Riley (Karla Crome) and Ryan.

  The children are a good selection of promising actors. Karla Crome (future Misfits star) is great as the abrasive Riley, who wants the kids to remain self-sufficient, as was Reece Noi (Waterloo Road) as troublesome Levi. Especially impressive were Mia's son Ryan and the youngest child, Leonie, both of whom managed to express their grief at their mother's death in several touching scenes - one where Mia teaches Ryan how to fight a local bully, or another where Leonie is left on her own and cuts the hair off of a Barbie doll to resemble her mother. It was a lot more raw and domestic than the advertising suggested, but that's really all for the better.
     Hit And Miss was almost nothing like I expected. It didn't use its unorthodox premise as an excuse but as a driving device and when mixed with the Shameless-style humour it was a fulfilling and empowering experience. As one of my friends commented, the series is, "Shameless, given emotional depth." Hit and Miss is like nothing on British TV at the moment and deserves to be seen as the start of something beautiful for Sky Atlantic's homegrown productions.

Thanks.