Trying Triumphs

 Imelda Staunton‘s character in the Netflix series Trying has got more than a bee in her bonnet, she has got a beehive in it. 

She buzzes with such force when she walks into a scene in Trying that to call her a scene stealer is to call Picasso a paint-by numbers-copycat. 

Staunton brings such animation and dimension to the nearly burned-out social worker she plays that I feel sorry for the other actors in the scene, fine and capable though they are. 

A friend recommended the series and compared it to Ted Lasso. She was right. 

I would add Trying is even more compelling because it is not about the power-elite  owners, coaches and superstar players that lead a soccer team. 

Trying’s people are the sweaty fans crowded in the cheap seats cheering their hearts out. 

There are the same intelligent writing,  character deep-dives and storylines that reel you in and slowly peel back in struggles and triumphs of the characters we thought we knew, but didn’t. 

They work at non glamorous, everyday jobs. They, their friends and family are flawed, often funny and, like the rest of us, sometimes clueless. They hang, climb and swing perilously on the relationship-jungle-jim of life. They may or may not be fully prepared, but they aim high anyway. What else is life for, anyhow? 

I stand on the sidelines holding my breath for the characters in Trying, that is when I ‘m not laughing out loud or wiping away tears of painful recognition.