What to make it a piece of security and where to digest it, if on its altar every trace of freedom has been sacrificed? For without a doubt it is safer to live in the safety of a prison, than in the heights of a difficult, free flight.
The story of “Somewhere Boy”, shown on Cinobo, centers on Danny (Lewis Gribben) who loses his mother in a car accident. His father Steve (Rory Keenan) in grief and despair, suffered a nervous breakdown. He made it his goal to remove his boy from the influences of the world which he considered horrible. He bought a house in the middle of nowhere and created a beautiful world inside the house where his son might grow up.
Steve meticulously creates a sheltered environment, full of love, peace and beauty, to raise his young son away from the rampant horrors of society. When Danny gets old enough to start asking questions, Steve has to develop a series of themes and create reasons why Danny can’t go outside and he crafts a story of monsters roaming the outside world. When Danny turns 18, his father dies and Danny is forced out of the house into a world he never knew existed. He lives in the home of his closest relatives, along with his troubled and anxious aunt Sue (Lisa McGrillis) and his cousin Aaron (Samuel Bottomley), who is the same age but has grown up in a completely different world to that of the hero us. The two boys take their first hesitant steps into the world together.
Steve’s ruse involves concocting a narrative regarding monstrous creatures roaming beyond the confines of their home, ensuring Danny remains inside. But this world, though idyllic in its simplicity and safety, is basically a prison. As the child grows, his curiosity intensifies, but Steve’s stories and the love they share keep him confined within their small, perfect universe. But Steve’s sudden death leaves Danny alone and unprepared for the real world, which he has learned to fear all his life. His transition into society is abrupt and jarring, like a newborn experiencing the world for the first time. We follow Danny’s challenging journey as he struggles to make sense of a reality that contradicts everything he has been taught and experienced.
Somewhere Boy meticulously explores themes of isolation, psychological trauma, and the human spirit’s capacity for adaptation and survival. The show doesn’t shy away from depicting the dark ramifications of Steve’s actions. While his intentions were rooted in love and protection, the psychological impact on Danny is profound. The series sensitively handles the father’s mental illness, presenting him not as a villain, but as a deeply troubled man who truly believed he was protecting his son.
Danny’s journey into the real world is a central theme of the series, reflecting the wider human experience of stepping out of one’s comfort zone and facing the unknown. Danny’s interactions with Aaron serve as a narrative device to explore the conflict between innocence and experience. Through their tentative steps into the world together, the show highlights the universal process of growing up and finding one’s place in a world that can be both wonderful and terrifying.
The visual narrative of “Somewhere Boy” is interesting with the cinematography capturing the stark contrast between the cozy interior of Danny’s childhood home and the vast, intimidating world outside. The use of lighting, color palettes and close-ups effectively conveys Danny’s emotional state.
“Somewhere Boy” in conclusion is an emotional drama series, which deals with the psychological and social consequences of extreme isolation and delves into the complexity of human relationships, the impact of trauma and the journey to self-awareness. With good performances and a story that resonates on multiple levels, the series is a reminder of the resilience of the human spirit and the constant search for freedom and identity. As the two young children navigate their new reality they are forced to reflect on the delicate balance between protection and freedom and the intricate web of love, fear and hope that binds families and small societies together.
It is well before a man erects a fence to know that what he wants to achieve cannot be done in any other way, and to know that the freedom he will deprive or will be deprived of will forever be sunk in the spikes of the stakes he erects for the fence of.
#Boy #net #fear #hope
