I May Destroy You (2020)

Michaela Coel is undeniably brilliant. She is uncompromising in her bold vision. Her characters say and do things that no one else would get away with. She creates complex, imperfect, messy characters. Arabella is a promising if unproductive writer. Terry is her sometimes overbearing ride-or-die. Kwame is an unassuming sex addict. Coel is indeed so uncompromising that it is sometimes hard to sympathize. Even when they do the right thing, when Terry unflinchingly supports her friend's self-care routine for instance, they do it in such a way that may actually be harmful.  She resists clear answers, preferring to explore the ambiguities for moral righteousness that perhaps doesn't exist. This makes I May Destroy You a challenging watch. It is not immediately accessible but it is ultimately rewarding. Coel probes several variations on the theme of consent, as well as others. The themes are both universal and culturally specific to the black British experience. She loses me a bit in the middle episodes, but she absolutely nails the landing. The last two episodes are excellent. The finale puts the title I May Destroy You into perspective. I hadn't given that qualifier a second thought until it became clear what it meant. Arabella plays through several different scenarios in her head, some of which involve her destroying her rapist (raper in British English). But in a fitting ending, she learns how to move on.