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Each episode of Half Man begins with a mesmerizing look at Niall’s (played by Jamie Bell) wedding, setting the stage for an intense showdown between the groom and an unexpected guest, Ruben (played by Richard Gadd). This choice is intentional, according to director Alexandra Brodski.
Brodski uses the wedding scene to illustrate the life Niall is on the brink of achieving, should he manage to escape his turbulent past with Ruben. “Even amidst dark events, it doesn’t mean that the entire world is bleak,” Brodski explained in an interview with DECIDER. “I don’t believe that’s a true representation of life, nor is it a compelling way to draw in an audience.”
Having directed the initial trio of episodes for Gadd’s new HBO series before handing over the reins to Eshref Reybrouck, Brodski delved into the intricate “contrasts and contradictions” defining Niall and Ruben’s complex relationship. This dynamic becomes even more tense in Episodes 2 and 3.
The show’s first three installments chart Niall and Ruben’s journey from adolescence to university, where a pivotal moment occurs: Ruben’s assault on Niall’s classmate and love interest, Alby, alters their fates. In this week’s episode, Ruben’s character reveals both admirable and troubling facets. After the attack leaves Alby in a six-month coma, he presses charges, forcing Ruben to face potential prison time. Desperate, Ruben asks Niall to testify falsely, claiming the assault was provoked by Alby groping him. Niall finds himself torn, grappling with the weight of his first significant adult decision, as Brodski describes it. Though Ruben appears to have reformed by volunteering with children, Niall must decide whether to support his ‘brother’ or stand by Alby, who has only ever shown him kindness.
Brodski aims for audiences to experience the same moral quandary as Niall does, hoping they find themselves conflicted while watching this week’s gripping episode.
“We talked a lot with Mitchell [Robertson] about him having a slightly different feel at the beginning of each episode. Because we’re jumping in time, but we’re also jumping in his development and understanding of the situation,” Brodski shared. “He obviously deserves to go to prison, but it’s more complicated than that emotionally, because by this time, hopefully you care for the relationship and you’re kind of longing for them to make it work. So you end up, hopefully, having a similar dilemma as Niall has.”
Keep reading to learn more about Brodski’s unique approach to directing the first three episodes of Half Man.
DECIDER: I’d love to hear about your approach going into this project. After looking at the scripts, what was on your mind?
ALEXANDRA BRODSKI: When I first started pitching for this project, I read the first two episodes and I absolutely loved them. I just felt like – it was selfish to say, but it felt as if somebody wrote them for me. I felt like I have to direct with these scripts. […] I love the physicality of it. I love actually how dark it goes, but also that there’s always an empathy and a tenderness in it. And I laugh at the moments of humor which it also has, and just this connection between these two brothers […] Like for me, it was really important that your experience watching it feels emotional and physical, like it’s not an intellectual observation of these two people figuring it out, but it should feel immersive.
How was it working with Richard Gadd? This project was very personal to him, especially as the writer, star and one of the executive producers. Could you talk a little bit about that?
I think it was great. I think that because I pitched my visual deck to Richard and I felt very connected with him creatively. I think he responded exactly to the things which I felt were important. I felt we had very similar goals. Obviously we had a great debate about stuff, which I love. I think we made each other better, I hope we did. I always felt that we have a similar taste for what we’re looking for and that this rawness is important to us.
Specifically in Episode 1 and 2, there’s a lot of color in the production design, as much as it’s humanly possible without starting to be unrealistic. I want to heighten it, but I also wanted to feel grounded and real and not direct attention to itself, to not distract from the characters. I think we very much had a similar idea of what’s important, which is great, to be honest, for a collaboration. So I found very it rewarding and I really, really do love his writing. I think it’s great to work with somebody who you really respect. And I also felt very respected by him, and I felt he was very collaborative with me.
I definitely noticed that about the first few episodes, especially the wedding. The wedding is so colorful and spring-forward. Was that on purpose?
Yeah, very much, because I think just because dark things are happening, it doesn’t mean that the world they live in, everything’s depressive. First of all, I don’t think that’s how the world is. And second of all, I don’t think that that’s a very seductive way to engage an audience. So I think you have to put some effort into like putting them in environments where you want to be. If Ruben wouldn’t turn up, the wedding could have been so fun. I didn’t want it to be, like, a boring flick. It’s kind of emotional, but I wanted it to feel like Niall nearly got the life he wanted, but Ruben turns up. But the life he wants should be fun-looking, to some degree.
Could you talk a little bit about your approach going into this week’s episode?
It’s kind of Niall really growing up. […] He kind of failed being by himself and it all went horribly wrong. And then episode three, it’s him also grappling with his own morality and making his first very difficult, grown-up decisions. We talked a lot with Mitchell, also, about him having a slightly different feel at the beginning of each episode. Because we do. We’re jumping in time, but we’re also jumping in his development and understanding of the situation. And then the other thing, which was important to us, is that the audience truly wonders if Ruben is changed or not, that there’s definitely a feeling of hope. As much as he obviously deserves to go to prison, it’s more complicated than that emotionally, because by this time, hopefully you care for the relationship and you’re kind of longing for them to make it work, so you end up hopefully having a similar dilemma as Niall has. He obviously shouldn’t lie, but I really hope we could make it work that it feels tragic nevertheless, that he then decides to say the truth, though it’s the right thing to do.
When I interviewed Mitchell, he said the scene when he’s walking into the courtroom and you finally see all these injuries for what they are was one of the most heartbreaking scenes of the series for him.
I think for me as well, just because there’s something about Alby. And Bilal also added so much, it’s like he is so inherently decent and there’s something so immense because we spent this whole episode trying to make people hope maybe Ruben changed. But then you see, you have this reminder. Yeah, but he did that. It really puts this again up to the soft surface and I think helps Niall’s dilemma between picking between the right thing to do, which is to give justice to Alby, and the difficult thing to do, which is to kind of sentence his brother to prison.
I’ve been seeing a lot of discourse online about last week’s episode, specifically the wedding scene where Niall says, “I do.” But before he says, “I do,” he looks to Ruben first. Some people think it was for permission.Could you talk a little bit about directing those wedding scenes and share your perspective on that scene?
I absolutely love this discussion about it. I think sometimes there’s a fine line sometimes between making things so big ambiguous that you just never saying anything or giving people choice, quite clear choices in what they could believe. I think literally everybody inside would have a different interpretation.
Obviously, last week’s episode also featured that shocking scene with Ruben and Alby. Could you talk about directing that scene? What was that like, especially with the added action?
We had the stunt coordinator. We also had the double for Alby in case he wants to have a break and do something. I think we did quite a few rehearsals with them just for them to obviously feel safe, but then also for me to work out because obviously it’s all fake. So, I need to figure out how to shoot it, to not expose the tricks to which make it work without anybody getting hurt. And I think for me, it was really important that it feels real and it doesn’t feel like a staged stunt fight scene where people fight much better than they should be able to fight. We actually don’t even show very much, like we show his face when he’s being punched, and then we show Stuart pretending to stomp on his face. But it’s then all from Niall’s, but we lose perspective. So it’s a lot about sound, and it’s a lot about anticipation and imagination.
I personally think we showed the right amount to be extremely shocking, because I think it has to be extremely shocking because that’s what we are exploring. We are exploring the how far this violence and the reasons for this violence can go. And I think it’s important to show the effects of that. But also, at some point it could tip over into something where if you were exploiting this topic.
Were the time jumps always part of the scripts? Was that always how the show is written, or is this something that kind of developed in your collaboration?
I’m definitely absolutely happy with just the overall feel of it. I think that for me, I really don’t see my job that at me as a director. I don’t think I’m a producer of images. I think I’m a producer of feelings. So I’m trying to capture the feeling and hopefully engage the audience in having this feeling which I feel reading it. And to me, it does feel very visceral. I think it feels immersive and physical, and that was literally my main goal.
This interview was edited for clarity and brevity.