WOMAN ON THE VERGE (I AM VICTORIA)

Sometimes a drama is so impressively intense it just grabs you from the off.

Channel 4's 'I Am Victoria' begins with Suranne Jones' Victoria frantically polishing spoons in her pristine white house.

She is dressed impeccably in a red and white polka dot blouse.

But while it may look like an image straight out of an ideal home magazine, it is very obvious everything is far from okay.

Victoria's face is wound tight with tension and eventually it gives way to a desperate sob.

The next sequence sees her up early to do her morning exercise which is rigorous.

Soon she is fretting over which blouse to wear - changing it three times while posing in the mirror with a forced smile.

Involved in a property deal, she is planning to work on a Saturday and insists on getting the family up early so they can have breakfast together.

Her husband Ashley Walters' Chris and two daughters, Amelie and Isabelle Lewis' Hayley and Mia reluctantly go along with the plan - dragging themselves out of their beds.

However even breakfast is riddled with tension, with Hayley observing her mum is fussing around the kitchen and not actually eating with them.

Later, as she prepares for a Zoom call about the property deal she is involved in, Victoria explodes at her laid-back husband because he is distracting her.

She takes exception to a remark he makes that she does not seem to have time for any affection.

As with the first series of 'I Am' in 2019, which featured one-off dramas fashioned around the predicaments of women played by Vicki McClure, Samantha Morton and Gemma Chan, writer and director Dominic Savage concocts with his lead actress a disturbing portrait of a woman in crisis and eventually they bring matters to a head.

It is a distressing but important watch, with a compelling and committed lead performance at its core.

Brilliantly filmed mostly in close-up by cinematographer Stuart Bentley whose camera roams around Jones, 'I Am Victoria' is an intense experience as her character clashes with Alice Feetham's arrogant sister Deborah over her demands for £3,000 in cash.

It is clear Deborah is using her and she insists on £3,000 on the basis that Victoria can simply afford it.

Preparations for a dinner party with Alisha Bailey's Grace and Leemore Marrett Jr's Sam are almost unbearable to watch, as Victoria strives for almost restaurant levels of perfection.

Inevitably a meltdown ensues.

Forged out of a conversation with his lead just like 'I Am Nicola,' 'I Am Kitsty' and 'I Am Hannah' were, Savage and Jones' 'I Am Victoria' explores whether it really is possible or realistic to have it all.

Their drama poses the question whether a woman can really be the perfect wife and mother, the perfect professional with the perfect family, the perfect car and the perfect house?

They ask should a woman aspire to consistently high levels of perfection or is it just a recipe for disaster?

What happens to women who feel the pressure to be perfect all the time and to those around her when her expectations of perfection are not met?

The resulting drama, which combines scripted and improvised dialogue, never falters and is absolutely on the mark.

There are no false steps by Jones in what is unquestionably the bravest and best performance of her career.

Victoria's self-flagellation is utterly heartbreaking to watch and totally believable.

While Jones understandably dominates proceedings, she is ably assisted by Walters as a loving but increasingly concerned husband.

Feltham, Bailey, Marrett Jr, Amelie and Isabelle Lewis gel perfectly too with her.

Savage also walks away with kudos, delivering once again a compelling tale and providing vital voice for women in a one-off drama.

'I Am Victoria' is public service drama at its best, appealing to everyone watching it to just step back and consider why so many people right now are in the same trap as Victoria and why they feel compelled to be like her.

Jones and Savage's collaboration deserves a massive audience because at its heart is one of the most stunning performances from a lead actor or actress you will see on television all year.

But it is also one of the most thought provoking and is all the more remarkable for it.

('I Am Victoria' was broadcast on Channel 4 on August 5, 2021)

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