Almost Strangers

This BBC miniseries centers on the large weekend reunion of a prosperous Anglo-Jewish family that has drifted apart in the current generation at a luxurious West End hotel. Writer-Director Stephen Poliakoff does not adhere to a conventional story structure, and this wandering tale is full of unexpected and rewarding narrative dips and turns.
Two family clusters are followed most closely in the story, although we are given glimpses, through flashback, of other compelling characters’ intricate wartime histories. One branch of the family is made up of Daniel (Matthew Macfadyen) and his parents, Raymond and Esther Symon (Michael Gambon and Jill Baker). Raymond's father pulled away from the family center as a young man, and Raymond's family have grown ever more distant from the larger family circle following a well-intentioned but failed business venture that cost Raymond his share of the family wealth. Daniel, intrigued by his glamorous relatives, is drawn more and more deeply into a relationship with his seductive and mysterious cousin Rebecca (Claire Skinner) and her dashing brother Charles (Toby Stephens). In the course of the weekend, crusty but endearing Raymond suffers a minor stroke, and we learn of the recent death of Rebecca and Charles’ eldest brother, Richard, following his descent into mental illness.
The family has not talked about this death and it has served to separate them. Daniel is hopeful that he can broker a peace agreement and find a special place for himself in all their hearts. I think this is a fairly common American way for dealing with a difficult death, and it engenders psychopathology as a result, so while the benefits of bringing it into the open, what should we have done differently, are not well-articulated here, the detriment of this approach is. Additionally, much like in 'Shooting the Past', the significant role that photographs can play in healing and remembering is brilliantly shown, and at the end of this production, you will want to go to your grnadmother's house and have her explain all about the pictures in boxes in the attic, so you, too, can save the past.