Milly Rothwell- Wood
The recent ITV series ‘Playing Nice’ creates a compelling moral conundrum and offers a harrowing interrogation of domestic relationships and motherhood. The baby-swap thriller, adapted by Grace Ofori-Attah, from the book by JP Delaney, forms every parent’s worst nightmare as the child they have raised turns out to not be biologically theirs and thus threatened to be taken away by the court.
The two sets of parents involved in the swap act as complete oppositions to each other – The Riley’s, Maddie and Pete, ooze down-to-earth familiar joy whereas The Lamberts, Lucy and Miles, use their wealth as a facade to Miles’ controlling personality. The title ‘Playing Nice’ indicates the control which Miles takes over the whole plot due to his show of nicety and manipulation of Pete’s initial trustworthiness. Miles’ narcissistic intentions cause him to be relentless in his pursuit of power and the boys, therefore making both sets of parents battle in court for full custody of Theo and David.
…such dangerous settings forces a constant feeling of unease.
Arguably, the series being set along the coast of Cornwall is one of the main things which causes it to be so nauseating and intensely compelling. This is a change from the original 2020 novel which is set in London and means the frequent clips of Cornwall’s sharp cliff edges and unsettled seas only add to the gripping twists of the series. The presence of such emotionally unstable characters and children around such dangerous settings forces a constant feeling of unease.
This is only heightened as the series begins with a chaotic scene of Pete losing Theo along the coast as he frantically searches for him on the cliff top and in the sea. The viewers have no context of this moment and are instantly submerged into the dread and immense worry of losing a child in such a vast and dangerous place. This physical loss of Theo reflects the emotional loss of him to come as the Lamberts gain custody of both boys, thus emphasizing the equal pain and anxiety caused by both experiences. The presence of this opening scene only enhances the anticipation felt throughout the episodes as viewers are constantly on edge about when Theo will get lost and if it will affect the custody case and reflect badly on Pete and Maddie. The moment is finally repeated in episode 4, the final episode, as Miles goes to sickening lengths to make Pete feel the distress of losing a child and steals Theo.
The presentation of motherhood is at the core of the series …
Outside of this dynamic between the contrastingly loving and controlling fathers is the relationship between Maddie and Lucy. The presentation of motherhood is at the core of the series as they are both united through their experiences of having a premature baby in the NICU. There are regular flashbacks to Maddie and Lucy’s blurred memories of the boy’s birth, Maddie’s experience with postnatal depression, and their interactions with each other at the time. Specifically, there is a repeated clip of Lucy supporting Maddie through her depression as she helps her clean the baby bottles in the hospital. This moment is then reflected in the final episode after Miles’ death as Maddie helps Lucy to wash the blood off her hands and the clips are placed in parallel to one another. This sense of mirroring illustrates their unspoken unity in supporting each other at the time, and ultimately the bond of motherhood which gives Lucy the courage to be honest with the court about Miles.
… a gripping thriller which pairs deeply emotional themes with a nauseating plot and unsettling setting.
Overall, ‘Playing Nice’ is a gripping thriller which pairs deeply emotional themes with a nauseating plot and unsettling setting. The combination of these things causes it to be an easy watch which compels the viewer due to a want for answers and dread for the ending.
Milly Rothwell-Wood
Featured image courtesy of Alex Watkin. Permission to use granted to Impact. No changes were made to this image.
In-article images courtesy of @wgmatlantictalent via Instagram. No changes were made to these images.
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