A young boy comes downstairs one morning to find that his living room is covered in tinsel and stocked with presents. He is nine years old and, having grown up in poverty and with parents who were either physically or mentally absent, he has never before had the opportunity to celebrate Christmas. Touchingly, his glee is equalled by his gratitude towards his foster carer. It may only be the beginning of June, but My Name is Leon, a heartfelt, affirming new BBC2 drama, has the distinct feel of a festive period special.
The standalone feature-length show is an adaptation of Kit de Waal’s 2016 novel. Set in Birmingham in the early 1980s, it follows a tumultuous time in the life of Leon (newcomer Cole Martin) as he’s cleaved from his catatonically depressed mother (Poppy Lee Friar) and baby brother Jake, who he has been looking after almost single-handedly.
Leon’s cheery disposition belies the responsibility that has been thrust on him before he’s even reached double figures. He never complains as his childhood ebbs away. It’s not until a concerned neighbour witnesses how the three are living — with empty cupboards and full diapers strewn on the floor — that social services ensure the two boys are rehoused.
Initially withdrawn, Leon soon takes to the tender, solicitous Maureen (Monica Dolan, a lovely performance) and relishes the stability (and biscuits) that she offers. But then Jake is picked up for adoption and his brother-turned-parent is left feeling bereft and rejected. One tragedy follows another as Maureen is suddenly hospitalised and Leon is forced to live with her sister, Sylvia (Olivia Williams), a coarse, tobacco-stained woman.
But this is a story of hardship told with a lightness of touch that spares us from manipulative misery. Sylvia isn’t the expected wicked aunt and she even shares a couple of affecting moments with her new ward. Leon himself begins to grow and flourish when he starts spending time in the nearby allotments where the local Caribbean community congregates. Here he’s taken under the wing of Tufty (Malachi Kirby), a protester in the Handsworth riots, who introduces the mixed-race Leon to his black heritage and prepares him for the persecution he’s bound to face in later life.
Occasionally the two strands of the film — the political and the domestic — feel awkwardly stitched together. And though it is frequently stirring, there’s a perfunctoriness to direction and scripting which underserves some of the secondary characters, such as those played by the prominently-billed Christopher Eccleston and Lenny Henry. Still, it’s worth a watch — if not now then maybe in December.
★★★☆☆
On BBC Two on June 10 at 9pm and available on BBC iPlayer thereafter
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