Watching a nostalgia-fest with plenty of popular tunes and cobbled streets is, frankly, about as ITV as you can get.
And so it is with Cilla, a three-part biopic all about – Surprise, Surprise (come on, it’s best we get that joke out of the way sooner rather than later) – Cilla Black, starring Sheridan Smith. Yes, there are other people in the drama, and yes, they’re excellent, and yes, Smith isn’t onscreen for as much as you’d expect in a series all about her character. But she truly does star as Cilla.
It’s not just the red wig or the Cilla dentures that Smith sports. And while she’s swiftly becoming the in-demand actress of the moment, she’s not exactly the obvious fit for Cilla Black. But she really is inspired casting. This has a great deal to do with a particular aspect that Sheridan shares with Cilla; this ‘get it done’ attitude.
Most of us were probably first aware of Smith via that never-ending BBC Three sitcom that seemingly no-one admitted to watching. The one that is so rarely mentioned in interviews and reviews nowadays, you’re led to suspect that there’s been some kind of press embargo (there hasn’t). It’s the sort of programme that could well have been many actress’ career highlight. Ultimately, Two Pints will likely not even garner a footnote.
For the last few years, Smith has been doing an astonishing amount of compelling (and crucially, varied) work to ensure that she isn’t just thought of as Ralf Little’s onscreen partner. And the roles have been remarkable, including a fragile yet fearsome Hedda Gabler two years ago, tiny and delicate on a huge stage, yet managing to dominate it.
That’s as good a line as any to apply to Cilla – Smith owns the screen, even in the scenes that she’s not in.
Cilla Black’s life story is cut up and blended into easily digestible chunks in Jeff Pope’s script – a drama about a light entertainment artist served up as light entertainment, although occasionally as fond of exaggerating as Cilla’s manager/soon to be husband Bobby (I haven’t yet found any evidence that she really did sing with The Beatles, but it is true that the Fab Four’s manager snapped her up and launched her into stardom), and it’s Sheridan’s class that gives this brass its shine.
There are some great CGI-enabled shots that throw us into early ‘60s Liverpool, and via multiple visits to the legendary Cavern Club, there are many walk-on guest appearances from rising (and falling) stars of the era.
One telling element of the script in this first episode is that, ironically for a programme with her name on the title, Cilla doesn’t really have the most interesting story.
That’s not precisely a criticism: we’ve already discussed just how watchable and luminous Smith is in the role. More, it’s a note of the times: the girls’ contributions to even their own lives are entirely arbitrary – all the major decisions are being made by the men in cigarette smoke-fogged cafes, boys acting like major record label managers, even if in reality they merely lug loafs at the local bakery.
Since we know that Cilla will go on to be the most highly paid female British artist of all time, it’s fascinating to see from what humble beginnings it all came from. Truth massaged for ITV drama, undeniably. But anyone who had a heart will be able to forgive this and see the genuine charm shining through.
Aired at 9pm on Monday 15 September 2014 on ITV.
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