First Review: Sinchronicity

Manchester is again home to more horny young Brits in SBS’ new six-part drama Sinchronicity.

The snappy title promises a hot-bed of racy ideas and volatile emotions.

The central character in this drama by Julian Jones (As If) is Nathan (Paul Chequer), a guy who writes porn for a living. While helping his pal Jason (Daniel Percival) to drive a van, the pair have a minor encounter with Fi (Jemima Rooper), leading to Jason asking her out on a date.

But we quickly learn that it’s Nathan who really desires Fi, despite the fact that Jason got there first.

The three nonetheless become inseparable friends, partying and boozing. Sure enough, Nathan and Fi get it on behind Jason’s back. The real kicker is kept for the scene when Jason admits to a moment of weakness when he was hit on by a gay guy.

Manchester was also the backdrop to the original Queer As Folk, and now it’s home to more horny young Brits in the six-part drama Sinchronicity. But if gay was groundbreaking in 1999, now it’s metrosexuals, wandering straight men and bisexuals who push the envelope.

Not everything in Sinchronicity is perfect politically, however. As Jason confesses his secret, Nathan feigns understanding while screaming inside. And a minor transgender character writing for the porn mag is, so far, little more than a man in a bad dress.

Sinchronicity cleverly re-tells some of its key moments from varying points of view, a device first seen in Kurosawa’s film Rashomon, and exploited by Tarantino and films like Sliding Doors. Interlocking like a Rubik’s Cube, this non-linear style of storytelling is one of Sinchronicity’s real strengths.

In watching the first episode it may be Nathan who is narrator but it’s Fi who is the more captivating character. With a plot that sees her torn between two men, and a performance by an actress who’s not readily cover-girl material, it only makes her all the more engaging.

By the episode’s end I was ‘dead keen’ to see how this trio will work their way through what’s bound to become a minefield of shagging, confessing, compromising, screaming, partying, lying and loving.

Sinchronicity premieres 10pm Monday on SBS.