F*L*O*W*E*R*S

Content warning: suicide, mental illness

One of my favorite tv shows of all time is Will Sharpe’s Flowers.If you recall one of my first posts, I like shows and movies that are sad or melancholic. Joyfully sad. Flowers has a wide range of emotions-- dark humor, true sadness, and joy mixed in between the two. As a review by the Guardian says, it is “Bold and grotesque, it had the feel of a grownup fairytale, a strange, sad and often very funny story of depression and family dysfunction." Sharpe explores mental illness with an empathetic eye, informed no doubt by his own diagnosis of being bipolar (type two). He never makes any character’s struggle with mental illness something to laugh at-- although there are many humorous moments in the show.

On the surface, the show is about a dark and dysfunctional British family living in a cozy cottage in the country. Maurice, a children’s author, struggles with depression and suicidal tendencies. His wife, Deborah, is painfully optimistic and at times deeply in denial about her family. Twins Amy and Donald (artist and inventor respectively) engage in childish rivalries despite being adults. And in the midst of it all is Shun, the Japanese illustrator collaborating with Maurice and played by Sharpe. 

Season one sees the family unravel around the tragic death of Maurice’s mother and the realization that their familial facade is just that-- a facade. Season two sees the family attempt to come back together in the wake of Maurice getting help and Amy spiraling. Amy’s growing obsession with Maurice’s absent father (who was a magician) leads to her having a complete breakdown. A recording of Maurice’s father plays as an ominous voiceover in one of the final episodes: “I have dedicated my life to illusion… Happiness is life’s cruelest trick.” In the midst of the Flowers’ struggles, Shun’s own trauma also comes to light (in both seasons), showing how suffering can be masked by optimism or an overwhelming care for others.

Episode 5 of season 2 is one of my absolute favorites for several reasons. The past and present blend together in a cathartic way as Amy and her band play her magnum opus “Blooms” in an old stone church. Scenes of her singing and dancing in ecstasy are juxtaposed with a procession of an alternate Flowers family (one from the past) in 17^thcentury clothes and wigs bearing baskets of flowers. These Flowers dance and leap about the body of other-Amy, as if burning off the pain of the past to benefit those in the present. Happiness is not necessarily a trick-- it's simply hard to come by at times. But there are moments when it emerges unexpectedly.

I don't want to give away the absolute beauty of the show but it's worth noting that it's at times very hard to watch. The reality of life, trauma, and mental illness can be hard to watch but Sharpe tempers it with the beauty of love, empathy, humor, and optimism.

I can't find the right video on Youtube, so here's the link to Spotify to listen to "Blooms."