Leaving

This is an intriguing drama about an affair between a 44 year old married deputy manager, Julie and unemployed 25 year old Aaron.

Following the typical set up we see Julie, whose marriage has lost its spark and seeks for fun and to be young again, fall for Aaron in what I found felt like a natural progression and not at all sordid. It's also very interesting how the relationship develops and how in the final episode the consequences made me feel great sympathy for mainly Julie as she can't walk away from her family as easily as she thought. Also the use of Aaron's parents as an unhappy couple in which you would expect this situation would arise showed that the situation isn't just black and white.

I found it interesting how they had the contrasting sub-plot of Julie's husband Michael engaging in a harmless flirtatous that resulted in him being suspended and later convicted of threatening behaviour but you can see that this situation was blown out of proportion. I found myself routing for both couples, which is very interesting to try and work out how I want it to end, but I was quite surprised by Michael's violent reaction to finding out about the affair which I'm not sure was necesary.

The final scenes gave me mixed feelings as I wanted both Julie's relationships to work and we're left unsure as to what her future will be. Meanwhile, I thought Helen McCrory did a great job as Julie especially in the last episode. Callum Turner also gave a good performance as Aaron and his chemistry with McCrory worked well to communicate the character's developing relationship.