Roush Review: Doing ‘Time’ in a British Women’s Prison

Matt Roush March 25, 2024, 3:30 pm

Time

Matt's Rating:

“Some of the nicest people you’ll ever meet are in prison,” promises Marie-Louise (Happy Valley’s wonderful Siobhan Finneran), the empathetic chaplain of a British women’s prison where first impressions give off a decidedly more dangerous vibe. Marie-Louise is the connecting element between the first two seasons of Time, creator Jimmy McGovern’s gripping behind-bars anthology. She appeared in the first season as a voice of calm at a men’s prison, with Sean Bean and Stephen Graham as stars, and explains: “Nine of out of 10 men won’t talk. Nine out of 10 women won’t shut up—so I thought I’d have a bit of that.”

The second season is at its best when its female inmates open up, venting after grueling and grisly encounters that make Orange Is the New Black look like a trip to Disneyland. Just as impressively cast as the first, this new round of doing Time ultimately conveys a hopeful message of redemption and reconciliation, though it’s a harrowing journey for the three women who share a grim cell.

The first-rate players include the remarkable young actress Bella Ramsey (The Last of Us) as Kelsey, a desperate addict whose unexpected pregnancy provides a lifeline, with former Doctor Who star Jodie Whittaker riveting as Orla, a single mom whose seemingly minor transgression (cheating on her electricity bill) plunges her into a downward spiral of debt and family estrangement. The lesser-known and equally impressive Tamara Lawrance (Masterpiece‘s The Long Song) plays Abi, who becomes a pariah within their living quarters once the tragedy of her inexplicable crime is revealed to her fellow inmates.

In a forbidding environment where showing any sign of weakness can be a liability, these women somehow still hold out hope for a better future. For Kelsey, it means cleaning up her act in hopes of qualifying to transfer to the safer mother-and-baby unit. For Orla, the goal is to get back on her feet and regain custody of her confused kids. Abi has the longest road, urged by Marie-Louise to tell her story and in so doing earn the compassion she deserves. It often feels like the dramatic deck is stacked against these victims of society, but justice can be elusive for those trapped in the system.