TV Review: Wild Abandon

By Luke Frostick 

“What construction?”

“A prison.”
“‘Is that so? Why though?”

“The biggest in Europe.”

“Wild Abandon” (Uysallar) is a new TV series that takes aim at and blasts at the elite professional class in Turkey. It rails against the narcissism and disconnection of modernity and has some sharp political observations snuck in there. It is funny and dark in equal measure. 

It starts when Oktay Uysal (Öner Erkan) attempts to abandon his life, his job at an architectural practice and his family. He is prevented by a cloud of fog (or pollution depending on which pundit you ask) that stops all flights. Back in Istanbul, he decides to re-embrace a punk ascetic and lifestyle in secret to try and fill the void that has grown in his life. At the same time, his wife Nil (Songül Öden), feeling equally trapped in her role as a housewife, masquerades as a successful business woman, attending after work parties and dinners with yuppy professionals pretending to have their lives. 

The malaise that effects Oktay and Nil is not limited to them. Everybody in the show is trapped in their own drama, loneliness and listlessness, going to absurd lengths to break out, but having no real idea how to do that. While the show merrily takes the piss out of the Turkish upper middle class, it can't help but show a bit of sympathy towards the people who have scrambled to the top and found success there to be hollow. 

While the plot is centred on a social critique, the show is heavy on the political as well to an extent that wouldn’t get released on general Turkish TV. There is a running gag about government-friendly talking heads on TV describing the pollution choking Istanbul as fog and accusing scientists of attempting to “divide the nation.” Moreover, there is a subplot about one of the characters who sent a tweet while drunk and is now convinced that he’ll be sent to jail, perhaps even the one that Oktay is building. While the narrative is a critique of Turkey's professional class, it and the imagery around it is a bit heavy-handed. Oktay is literally designing a prison, and is constantly seen watching videos of buildings being demolished.

The show also attempts to tackle domestic violence and sexual assault, unfortunately perennial issues in Turkey. The screenwriter Hakan Gunday has engaged with this topic before in his novels. In those books, the issues were not handled with any great sensitivity, with instances of abuse and rape and the way that they were depicted were included leaning towards cruel shocks rather than a thoughtful exploration. “Wild Abandon” handles it much better. Quite possibly because the levels of depravity reached in his novel “The Few” wouldn’t get made into a Netflix show. By toning it down, the show conveys the horror of abuse far more effectively and generates probably its darkest moment. It makes for effective swerves when, for instance Yagmur, a character initially played for laughs, is reviled to have a tragic backstory and a lot of her previous behaviour is recast as a cry for help. 

That being said Yagmur is one of the two characters caught in abusive relationships who don’t get any sort of resolution to their stories. A happy ending or closure for these character is not a requirement of course. However, it is a shame that their stories are just dropped.

With that being said, these unresolved threads do serve a point, however. For all the family's drama, their narcissism is what keeps them alone.  When Yagmur resolves to get out of her abusive situation and confides in Nil she is too preoccupied with her skincare than her friend. It is the same for Oktay. He constantly thinks about his troubled relationship with his father and how empty his life is, while completely neglecting his relationship with his son. The show is all about this breakdown of communication due to narcissism. If any of the characters looked up from their own problems and spoke honestly to each other they might be able to find the meaning that they are  so desperately searching for.

The show depends on the performances of Erkan and Öden’s as the anchor, but the cast around them is also excellent. Umut Yesildag plays Ece the family’s teenage son dealing with serious mental health issues. Ugur Yücel as the father trying to reconcile his own past and Haluk Bilginer stealing every scene as Berhudar the manic civil servant making Oktay’s work hell. 

tThe show has a fantastic eye for Istanbul. It captures ennui of the modern parts of the city. Oktay’s building is the Torun Center, a particularly soulless edifies to nothing which is prefect for his empty life. I also appreciated the late night punk scenes on the back streets of Beyoglu. It’s always nice to see the place you live depicted on film by somebody who understands it and can see the beauty in its dilapidation.   

It’s also got a banging soundtrack. 

This show is funny where it needs to be, biting with its satire and full of dark twists and turns. It is great to see such a writing, direction and cast being given the resources and freedom of Netflix. It is probably the best Turkish TV show to come out on Netflix thus far.