I was a huge fan of the original British television show Shameless, so I was really excited when I heard that Showtime was doing an American take on it. Shameless tells the story of a tragically, and hysterically, dysfunctional family and the friends that weave in and out of their lives; providing equal parts mayhem and support.
For the first few seasons of the British series the show revolved around the relationship between the characters Steve and Fiona. When I first heard of an American version being made, I wondered how it could ever compare to the original. After all, Steve and Fiona were played by James McAvoy and his future real-life wife, Anne-Marie Duff. The two just had to look at one another to make the story move forward. I don’t know of any other onscreen, or offscreen couple, that could wield that level of intensity.
And maybe Showtime realized this, because while the story line of Steve and Fiona’s relationship is a driving force of the show’s narrative, unlike the British version, it is not the heart of the show. The heart of the show lays firmly with Fiona herself.
Played by the stunning, even without makeup, Emmy Rossum, the American Fiona is a force to be reckoned with on her own, with or without Steve. Even in the worst of times (brothers in jail, boyfriend on the run, father kidnapped to another country) she shows a strength that is unwavering. And yet, Fiona’s still just a young woman trying to make it in the world with no money, little education and a moral code so high that she herself often can’t live up to it. But she tries.
Every episode she tries: to be a good person, to care for her family, to provide more for her family, to protect her family. She’s not perfect, nowhere near. And after watching her for one and half seasons, it’s easy to believe that Fiona wouldn’t really want to be perfect, that would be far too boring. But she’ll always try to be better so she can give the ones she loves more than she could before.
Nothing, not even her will, is more powerful than Fiona’s love. It’s this love that motivates her, that pushes her to the limit each day, that makes her more than willing to be the sacrificial lamb for her family, without being a victim. And it’s that love that makes her a hero to her brothers and her sister.
Fiona has strength, courage and more passion than most female characters are given the chance to convey, but it’s her love that makes Shameless the gripping show that it is and, dare I say, even better than the British version.
defydemure 