Anthony Review

Anthony was a TV movie made for the BBC and released on Peacock in the US. This story tells of Anthony Walker, a man who was murdered during a racist attack in 2005 and showed the life he could have lived.

Anthony follows the title character (Toheeb Jimoh) from the ages of 18 to 25. He’s a man who develops a relationship with a woman called Katherine (Julia Brown), aspires to become a civil rights lawyer in America, and has a civil mindset. But this was a life he never had.

Anthony was a British TV version of Memento and Irréversible because all these films told their story backward. It started with a man thanking Anthony after he received a reward and ends with that fateful day in 2005. It took a while for me to realise this because it started with Mick (Bobby Schofield) getting the award than with Anthony and Katherine finding Mick living on the streets of Liverpool. It was only when I saw the age counter going backward and the film showed Katherine being pregnant.

Due to the method of storytelling, Anthony had a dream-like quality. Anthony was a fantasy because the main character was living a perfect life. He got a work experience placement at a prestigious law firm, proposed on a national TV show, and started a family. But the film also had an ominous tone because it started by telling the audience that Anthony was murdered. The theme of racism became more prominent as the film progressed. Examples of this were when Anthony and Katherine were confronted by a racist thug in a nightclub and Anthony talking about how he would react to racism during his job interview.

The makers of Anthony wanted to stand out from the competitions. There have been plenty of dramatisations about real crimes on British TV. Murdered for Being Different, Murdered by My Boyfriend, and Little Boy Blue are examples of this. The idea of Anthony was to show the potential of the young man and the waste of life this murder caused. However, Anthony did fall into formulaic territory during the final act because it showed the attack and the aftermath.

Anthony had a terrific cast who got to shine in their roles. Jimoh, Brown, and Schofield are raising stars and give worthy performances. Schofield really impressed because his character had a stutter and he goes into a dark place. Rakie Ayola as Anthony’s mother offered a lot of experience and she got to shine during the final act. The film even had recognisable actors in supporting roles like Stephanie Hyam (The Pilot in Doctor Who) and Siobhan McSweeney (Sister Michael from Derry Girls).

Anthony was a noble endeavour to twist the true-crime dramatisation. It was a great showcase for the young actors, and it worked as a dream-like what-if.