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“I’m not a little girl anymore,” says Maisie Williams in the trailer for Two Weeks To Live, her first role since Game of Thrones wrapped last summer. Williams plays young adventurer Kim in the show, but for that line, it feels like she is speaking directly to the audience as she tries to move beyond the shadow of Ayra Stark – the character she spent nearly a decade playing. Luckily, the energetic comedy drama of Two Weeks To Live is the perfect medium to show there’s more to Williams than being a Stark.
Brought up by her mum in a woodland hut, Kim has more experience with catching her own dinner than ordering Deliveroo – but the 21-year-old desperately wants to join the modern world. One night, she sneaks off to civilisation where she bumps into recently heartbroken Nicky (Mawaan Rizwan) at the pub. They awkwardly hit it off and end up discussing what they’d do with only two weeks to live. “Sex and donuts,” is the agreed response, which gives Nicky’s fiercely loyal brother Ray (Taheen Modak) an idea to help this blossoming relationship. One fake doomsday news bulletin later and Kim, trusting every word of the lie (“I spent my whole life believing the world was going to blink in an eye and now it is!”) takes off. What follows is an absurd, cross-country romp featuring a ragtag bunch of misfits and a whole heap of laughs.
Of course, Kim’s over-protective mum Tina isn’t best please to find her daughter has run off. Played by Fleabag’s Sian Clifford, the Bear Grylls-style survivalist isn’t one for bullshit – “99 per cent of the world’s problems would be solved overnight if men admitted they liked three things: sweet drinks, musical theatre and a finger up the ass” –and her performance is a highlight of the series. Elsewhere, gangster Jimmy (Sean Pertwee) is an absolute joy, while his associates Brooks (Jason Flemyng) and Thompson (Thalissa Teixeira) act like a millennial version of the classic buddy-cop dynamic. In different circumstances, each would be deserving of the spotlight, but dorky badass Kim demands our attention throughout thanks to impeccable comic timing and a willingness to call out the nonsense of grown-up living. “This society that we’ve built is so incredibly flawed,” Williams told NME recently. “It’s OK to think that – and life doesn’t have to be taken so seriously because it’s all completely bonkers anyway.” It’s a mantra Two Weeks To Live holds dear.
One of 2020’s best new shows, Two Weeks To Live leans into the witty humour of classic British comedies like Hot Fuzz and Brassic. There’s attitude and the story rolls along with a real swagger, but it never does the expected or takes itself too seriously. Season one’s final episode leaves the door wide open for a second series and lays to rest the ghost of Arya Stark. Winter has been and gone for Maisie Williams – now it’s time to have some fun.
‘Two Weeks to Live’ is available to stream now on Sky One and NOW TV
The post ‘Two Weeks To Live’ review: Bear Grylls meets ‘Killing Eve’ in Maisie Williams’ post-‘Game Of Thrones’ debut appeared first on NME Music News, Reviews, Videos, Galleries, Tickets and Blogs | NME.COM.
