Contains plot details that you may not want to know before watching Unforgivable.
The acclaimed screenwriter, long drawn to stories of ordinary people — from his early Brookside days to the powerful prison drama Time – once again spotlights an everyday sort of family, based in Liverpool, who are living in the shadow of an everyday sort of transgression – an estimated 500,000 children are sexually abused every year – that was inflicted upon them by one of their own.
He then moves into a halfway house run by former nun Katherine (Anna Maxwell Martin), who has committed her life to doing the work that prisons predominantly haven't: addressing the underlying causes of offending to prevent future harm to others.
"Could you fix me?" he asks her as tears form in his eyes, one of many questions raised that cannot possibly be answered in a 90-minute drama.
Will Joe ever be capable of change if he can't learn to discard his self-loathing?
But it's in that moment, when Joe asks Katherine if he can be cured – because that is how his sexual attraction to boys is presented here, as a malady – that you might feel something for him, a loose form of sympathy, perhaps, as you consider what it might feel like to be someone who has done such a terrible thing, the weight of which he can only escape when sleep finally takes him.
"Even though we're talking about child abusers, I still think there's a need for compassion," he said. "Caution, yes, punishment, yes, justice, yes. These are enormous crimes, they must be punished, you must go to prison.
It's provocative subject matter, but it's explored without provocation – a style mastered by McGovern, who has always favoured grounded, lived-in writing over sensationalism.
"This is not a film that goes easy on child abusers at all," added McGovern, who doesn't use that piece of information to excuse what Joe has done, or guilt the audience into parting with their sympathy – although it might shift your perception of him.
Yet, it is one of the variables that McGovern, who has very clearly approached this many-stranded, barbed issue with sincerity, and with a view to moving beyond straight condemnation so as to be of some use, felt necessary to include.
"I always say to people, 'Why write about things that do not matter?'"
But the scale and nature of the problem should demand that we are talking about it – and a writer such as McGovern, who is somehow able to take something that is so ugly and cradle it, almost, can help us to move past our quiet despair and actually engage with the subject matter, however painful and confronting.
It's a piece of writing that'll sit with you for quite some time, with certain moments racing to to the fore, such as when Tom asks his mum if she wants a cup of tea, the only words he's spoken to her, other than yes or no, since his uncle sexually assaulted him.
You'll also be left with more questions.
How many other Pauls are there?
How many other Toms are there?
View Green Video on the source websiteBut none of that lessens its power. No, if anything, Unforgivable has the capacity to echo beyond the screen, in ways big and small – a hallmark of McGovern's writing, which continues to be one of our greatest cultural contributions.
Anyone affected by this story can find support via the NSPCC website. You can also call the helpline on 0808 800 5000.
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