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Leaving Game of Thrones behind her, the actor shines as a doomsday-prepper on a mission in this dark, sideways comedy with shades of Killing Eve
Two Weeks to Live (Sky One) stamps the words NORTH OF ENGLAND across the screen, in big, bold, sans serif capital letters. It drops us straight into the action in a roadside cafe that has a touch of the Edward Hoppers, then launches into a loud cover of Stayin’ Alive by the band Tropical Fuck Storm. Blink and you could be watching The End of the F**king World. Then Maisie Williams arrives, a seemingly naive young woman with a 1,000-yard stare and the surprising ability to pummel the life out of a burly bloke. Now you could be watching Killing Eve. Two Weeks to Live borrows liberally from the aesthetic of both, which means it’s about as 2020 as an argument about face masks in the baking aisle. Yet, despite such insta-familiarity, it manages to find a charm all of its own.
Williams updates her kill list from Game of Thrones to play Kim, who has been brought up in doomsday-prepper isolation in Scotland by her mother, Tina (Fleabag’s Sian Clifford, sporting an appropriately sensible outdoorsy haircut here). It’s a self-contained life; while most parents summon their children to eat with a simple “Dinnertime!”, Tina prefers: “It’s your turn to disembowel dinner, when you’ve got a sec.” Continue reading...