'Southcliffe', and John Martyn's 'May You Never'

Compelling

I have just watched the fourth and final episode of Southcliffe, an extremely bleak tale ostensibly about a serial killer but more crucially portraying the grief of those affected by his shooting spree. That grief was painfully palpable throughout the four episodes, obviously because of the powerful empathetic acting, and because of the context for it. The telling was also mesmerising, though equally frustrating: a narrative full of time shifts and the gradual revelation of both information and misinformation. Perhaps this was meant to reflect the complexity of finding any sense to such a situation, but it was also purely stylistic, and many will I suspect criticise it for the latter. I found it compelling.

I was intrigued tonight by the way John Martyn’s classic song May You Never featured heavily in two separate but sustained plays whilst the mother spent time in her murdered daughter’s bedroom. Stepping away from commenting on the programme, this was an interesting choice, and I trust the estate of John Martyn received a worthy royalty for its use. I was surprised there wasn’t an acknowledgement during the end credits, as one gets with films. I was also disappointed there wasn’t a credit and mention of the singer who closed the episode, singing to the gathered community in the final emotive vignette [*].

[*] With thanks to 'Anonymous' in Comments I now know this is TE Morris Love Can Do All But Raise the Dead - so most apt in title as well as beautiful. Apparently TE Morris is from the band Her Name is Calla, so as ever, and this makes ignorance bliss, there is now another musical discovery to pursue. His solo work can be heard here.