Worth: $15.00
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Cast:
William McKenna, Alexandra Jensen, Chris Alosio, Kartanya Maynard, Maggie Dence
Intro:
McKenna is an absolute find as Ed.
The first piece of music featured in ABC’s new drama series The Messenger, is by The Cure. That most emo of bands is a good indication of the character and dilemma of the series’ lead, young taxi driver and totally ordinary Ed Kennedy.
Produced by Jason Stephens and Elisa Argenzio, the 8-part show boasts a talented young cast with Helpmann winner William McKenna (Nowhere Boys) as Ed, and his three friends, played by Alexandra Jensen (Frayed, upcoming Talk to Me), Chris Alosio (Troppo, upcoming Talk to Me) and Kartanya Maynard.
The banality of Ed’s life is interrupted in the first scenes with a robbery in which he becomes an unlikely hero. The incident is underplayed, for comic deadpan effect, not quite believable. The laconic tone works because it reflects Ed’s bemused world view, backed by the ‘get over yourself’ attitude of his friends who witness the event.
A visit to a therapist’s office to help him with possible symptoms of OTSD underlines how uneventful and boring Ed’s life is. There is no trauma, in fact barely a spike in his bland reality. Later, his awkward reaction to Audrey (Ed’s unrequited crush) being kissed by a more confident and handsome friend is another reveal of Ed’s gaucheness and inexperience.
McKenna is an absolute find as Ed. With such a ‘blank page’ character, you need an actor who can convince and draw you into their confused, untapped inner life, as he tries to work out just what the hell is going on. One day he is living solo in a rundown suburban shack, with his coffee drinking dog, hosting occasional desultory card nights for his odd bunch of friends, when his accidental hero status catapults him into all kinds of jeopardy and strange encounters.
From his role as Ben in TV teen drama Nowhere Boys (2016-2018) to rave reviews for his performance as Scorpius Malfoy in the original Australian stage production Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (2018-2020), McKenna has been one to watch. His emotional and comedic range makes him an excellent vehicle for the huge story arc that Ed goes through in the course of the series.
The story is adapted from the book, originally titled I Am Messenger, by one of Australia’s most successful authors, Markus Zusak. He’s right behind this production, acting as Executive Producer. Zusak himself has something of an amazing story. Born in 1975 in Sydney, he was the youngest of four children of immigrant German and Austrian parents. Neither parent could read or write English when they first arrived in Australia, but they encouraged their children. Zusak began writing fiction at age 16 and published his first book The Underdog after many rejections at age 24.
His fourth novel, I Am Messenger, won him many accolades, but it was The Book Thief published when he was 30, that brought him critical and popular success around the world. Both The Book Thief and I Am Messenger are deeply moral stories that question our judgements and prejudices, and examine how small acts can have profound effects on people’s lives.
A key motif in The Messenger concerns playing cards. On one level, this illustrates the banal card games the group of friends play every Wednesday night, an empty ritual that opens to more significant layers of understanding as Ed’s awareness grows. The cards are also a plot device, delivering directions to Ed that send him on mysterious and life changing tangents. The playing cards also reflect notions of chance, fate, synchronicity and unexpected meanings.
Zusak wanted to explore how we impact each other as human beings, how small acts of courage and kindness can be life changing. We can judge each other as cliches on the surface, make assumptions, or open to life and a more compassionate awareness. McKenna does a great job of a fool’s journey to wisdom and all the nuances in between.
A shout out should go to Art Director Daniel Willis (The Wolverine, Star Wars VIII) and Production Designer Victoria Williams (Unbroken, Little Fish). The look of the series renders the suburban environments totally ordinary as befits the premise of Ed’s life, yet beautifully filmed to give the locations meaning. The set details underscore the story’s premise that every small detail counts. It’s a pleasure to see the Sydney and Lithgow locations for their Australian-ness and atmosphere.
