Sky Atlantic's latest drama The Death of Bunny Munro presents a devastating exploration of masculinity through the lens of a father-son road trip that will leave viewers emotionally shattered. Adapted from musician Nick Cave's 2009 novel by Pete Jackson, this six-part series maintains all the bleak tenderness and unforgiving brutality of the original work.
A Tragic Portrait of Modern Masculinity
Matt Smith delivers what may be the performance of his career as Bunny Munro, a cosmetics salesman whose relentless pursuit of sexual conquests masks a deep-seated emptiness. The brilliant but still underrated actor, widely recognised as one of the best modern Doctors in Doctor Who, embodies this complex character with stunning authenticity.
The story begins with Bunny sampling another young woman's wares while ignoring a desperate phone call from his wife Libby, played by the perfectly cast Sarah Greene. When Bunny returns home the next day, he discovers his wife has taken her own life, leaving behind their nine-year-old son Bunny Junior.
A Heartbreaking Father-Son Journey
Rafael Mathé delivers an absolutely wonderful, heartbreaking performance as Bunny Junior, a boy treading the thinnest of lines between understanding everything and nothing about his father and his own likely future. After Libby's mother, portrayed by Lindsay Duncan, refuses to take the boy in during a harrowing post-funeral scene, Bunny's pride or conscience is pricked when social services arrive.
The pair escape through a window and embark on a road trip along England's south coast, beginning what should be a traditional father-son bonding experience. But as Cave fans would expect, this is no traditional tale.
When Bunny successfully charms customers into buying his unguents and promises, life appears good. His simple needs - a bit of money and a lot of sex - seem sufficient. Junior watches in nervous awe, his father's antics providing a distraction from his motherless grief. The child even tells strangers his mother must have wanted to die, suggesting that's why it's not so sad.
Unravelling Lives and Inherited Trauma
Gradually, things fall apart as Bunny's centre cannot hold. His unassuageable appetites lead him deeper into trouble, with guilt relentlessly trying to catch up. The narrative is interspersed with flashbacks to Bunny's youth, watching his own father - another Bunny - neglect him in favour of finding women, and to happier moments with Libby before her depression set in.
The series format demonstrates remarkable confidence and quality, with episodes varying between 30 and 50 minutes without any padding or desperate compressions. Each act receives precisely the time it needs, showcasing the advantage modern broadcasting provides by freeing creators from rigid time frames.
As a study in masculinity and the inheritance of misery from father to son, The Death of Bunny Munro remains strikingly timely despite the source material being over a decade old. The script and Smith's performance perfectly convey the latent violence underlying Bunny's interactions with women, while asking for understanding rather than sympathy for a man trapped by the lack of substance beneath his style.
The central question pulling viewers through this darkening tale concerns Junior's future - will this sensitive, clever boy with an interest in the wider world follow his father's destructive path now that there's no mother to shelter him? The only hopeful note comes from the story being set before smartphones, leaving the question unsettled as they drive toward their inevitable doom.
The Death of Bunny Munro aired on Sky Atlantic and is available to stream on Now.
