”I would say being love is the most exciting thing that can happen to you,” says Domhnall Gleeson.
He’s says this as he’s talking about his new series Alice & Jack, a love story told over the course of 15 years of two people who fall in love, then come in and out of each other’s lives, bound by a powerful connection.
Gleeson stars in the six-part series with Andrea Riseborough. Both are also executive producers on the series.
Victor Levin, series creator, executive producer, and writer, explains the narrative, saying, “With this, think of the story as a ribbon and one end of the ribbon is the beginning and the other end is the end. Most stories start at the beginning and run through to the end, but here, we took the scissors and we cut the ribbon into some pieces, and then we rearranged them just a bit. We thought that it added something to the weight of the emotions as we went.”
He says that he was inspired by the film 500 Days of Summer. “[That has a] different sensibility, yes, it’s much more of a comedy, but still there is some drama there, and they played a little bit with the timeline.”
Keeping track of that shifting timeline while shooting was a bit taxing, says Riseborough. “There was a definite sense of trying to keep track of exactly where we were emotionally. That’s always difficult, but actually Domhnall and I have known each other for the same amount of time that Alice and Jack know in the series [so that helped].”
Gleeson agrees, adding, “Yeah, it’s tricky going back and forth a little bit, but that’s part of the fun of it. And you’re always playing the same person, just in different circumstances. But that’s a challenge to be embraced.”
But, even given this, Riseborough says that she and Gleeson were all in from the beginning. “There was something about what Vic created that represented love in such a delicate, beautiful way, with all of its imperfections that I so rarely see on screen, that that compelled both Domhnall and I to want to be part of developing this and bringing it to life.”
While the series isn’t ‘action-packed’ in terms of the characters’ careers and lives outside of their relationship, Levin says that, “They’re living lives of internal adventure — adventures of the heart and the mind.”
Clarifying a bit, Gleeson says, “You know, being in love makes you feel like you’re going through something incredibly unique and extraordinary. So, I would say that’s the thing makes their lives interesting.”
Riseborough feels that, “I think it’s wonderful to see a version of life on screen where love looks very, very difficult, but these people still deserve to [have] love, whether it looks conventional or not.”
She goes on to say, “I know I feel heartened when I see characters who aren’t held to unattainable moral standards that I can actually identity with in a love story.”
Levin believes that the timing for Alice & Jack is spot on, saying, “I think the world is desperately in need of stories about love in all its forms right now, and stories in which love is held up as a value to fight for. I don’t have any of the answers, you know, but I’m pretty sure these are the right questions. Shouldn’t you come out fully in favor of love in all its forms?”
‘Alice & Jack’ airs Sundays on PBS
PBS
beginning March 17th, and is available for streaming after broadcast on the PBS app.
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