Written by Asad Moghal and Daniel Mannheim, and directed by Rex Gensy, Patterns, streaming on Dekkoo, offers eight interlinked short stories exploring universal yet diverse life patterns. Patterns is available to stream on Dekkoo and rent or buy on Prime Video.
Our lives are full of complex, intersecting patterns; some are problematic, while others are joyous or new as we weave the tapestry of our lives. These patterns make us who we are and often define our daily lives, but they also help us connect with others, build new relationships, and find stability in a world that can feel uncertain.
Written by Asad Moghal and Daniel Mannheim and directed by Rex Gensy, Patterns offers eight interlinked short stories that explore universal yet diverse life patterns. Our stories take us from unrequited love to coming out, middle-age disappointment and a lockdown relationship from hell in a delightful, if at times uneven, anthology series that celebrates new British talent behind and in front of the camera.
Elements of Moghal and Mannheim’s screenplay are a delight as they dip and dive into their characters’ lives before delivering a final episode that subverts all expectations, exploring the process of creative writing, character development, and the need to say goodbye eventually. Throughout the series, Moghal and Mannheim examine the foundations of the human condition, from our need to be ourselves despite our fear of rejection to the unspoken words and feelings that often surround our friendships and the difference between love and lust.
Comedy threads through each story, with occasional echoes of shows ranging from Inside Number 9 to Queer as Folk and Friday Night Dinner, and while some episodes stand head and shoulders above others, there is a hell of a lot to love in the show’s celebration of new and emerging talent. The performances of Rufus Shaljean, Jake Watkins, Rufus Gleave, MJ Lee, Tayler Marshall, Rebecca Norton, Jack Armstrong and Nina Senicar are truly delightful among a strong ensemble cast, including a beautifully delivered cameo from rugby legend Ben Cohen.
As with any shoestring-budget series, Patterns stumbles in several areas, from a score that often feels out of place and disconnected from the on-screen comedy to the pacing of several episodes. However, despite these weaknesses, Patterns is crafted with love and, as a result, remains engaging, funny and tender in its exploration of relationships, family life and friendships from our early teens to our twenties and beyond.
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