If you do decide to watch It’s A Sin, prepare for floods of tears – but it’s an essential watch.
After binge watching Russell T Davies’ It’s A Sin on All 4, I can easily say it’s taught me so much more about the AIDS crisis in the 1980s that was silently killing boys everywhere, whilst those who spoke up about it were harshly silenced. The disease is still prominent today, but so much more has been discovered about it – and that’s a key takeaway from the show.
It’s A Sin follows a group of friends in the 1980s, four gay men and their best friend, Jill, who you will undoubtedly fall in love with from the first episode.
Jill – loosely based on a real-life person – is the first to truly become self-aware of the disease, and at first she is extremely wary about even being near her friend who has tested positive. However, she cares so much about what is affecting people like her best friends, that she does whatever she can to help, including volunteering at a call in centre and help stage a protest.
Years and Years singer, Olly Alexander, brought his ever lively tone to the show alongside an amazing cast, whilst still remaining realistic and educational, exactly what is needed for a new generation to see. It shows how far the world has come in developments for treating HIV but also the devastating affects it has had.
The show is brilliantly written, yet the seriousness hits you from the very first episode – it is not a slow burner. It’s A Sin illustrates how the disease took the most innocent of lives, no matter how vibrant or how quiet you were.
Of course the show does have its brighter moments, starting in the beginning of the decade, you see ‘La!’ become a catchphrase of the group, used to lighten up the darkest moments, serving as a heart-warming reminder of the closeness of these friends.
It was strange watching It’s A Sin during the midst of another pandemic, it’s hard not to make comparisons – like the late responses from the Government – but there are differences, like the way misinformation about the two illnesses spread.
With COVID, you can use the internet to search anything you want about the virus, whereas during the 1980s, every tidbit of information came from word of mouth or a small paragraph in a newspaper.
The group grow up in front of your eyes, finishing university and beginning promising careers, yet constantly sticking together, and that’s what Davies has done so well to make this such a tearjerker. Five innocent lives change forever in one decade because of one illness, and It’s A Sin is a beautiful tribute to all those lives lost.
It’s a story that will move you as you watch a fabulous group of friends have the best times of their lives that lead to their most darkest days.
By Charlotte Tomlinson
Feature image: Deadline