Fleabag Review: Funny, Furious and Heartbreaking
9.5/10 — Fleabag (2016)
Pros
- Phoebe Waller-Bridge's performance
- Inventive use of the fourth wall
- Andrew Scott and Olivia Colman
Cons
- Explicit and abrasive
Phoebe Waller-Bridge plays Fleabag, a young Londoner dealing with grief and guilt, who talks directly to the camera. Based on her stage play, it ran for two six-episode seasons on BBC Three.
What works
The writing is incredibly sharp, and the fourth-wall breaks are used with inventive precision. Waller-Bridge is magnetic, and Andrew Scott’s Hot Priest gives season two an electric romance. Olivia Colman is brilliantly passive-aggressive as the Godmother.
Where it falters
The humour is explicit and abrasive, and some viewers may find Fleabag’s self-destruction too much.
Verdict
A perfect, small-scale masterpiece.
