'Alice & Jack' Premiere: A Rocky Start to a Rough Relationship Saga
Angsty, depressing, and full of itself, Alice & Jack is a six-episode miniseries from Masterpiece billed as a momentous modern love epic. The first episode attempts gravitas by opening with voiceover narration waxing philosophic; there’s nothing groundbreaking there, but it’s delivered with the conviction of profundity. One of the first things we see upon meeting the titular couple is Jack (Domhnall Gleeson) looking at Alice (Andrea Riseborough) with a mixture of love and desperate longing. This will be a theme, and if it’s one you find irritating, bail now.
Jack: “Love is the best thing we have. Maybe after we strip away all the bullsh*t, it’s the only thing we have.”
We go back to when Alice and Jack first met. They found each other through a dating app, naturally. Jack joins Alice at a bar they’ve prearranged, and she immediately begins peppering him with questions. She’s direct, confident, intimidating, and sometimes condescending. Jack is confused and nervous; this feels more like an interview than a date. She aims to determine what type of person Jack is, and after a few minutes, she decides to deem him worthy, so she invites him back to her apartment. He’s astonished at the sudden escalation but doesn’t decline.
