Chris Morris makes absurdity sound like an official announcement, using the force of his delivery to discourage questions. We rate the precision of his acting highly, though the aggression can become exhausting.
Fi1m perspective
As Ted Maul in Brass Eye (1997), Chris Morris speaks as though doubting him would be a failure of judgement. He gives nonsense the assurance of a report whose facts have already been checked. We found him funny and oddly intimidating, because the force of his delivery made us briefly reluctant to question him. That severity makes him a fine comic actor: it becomes harder to dismiss Maul as merely ridiculous.
The Day Today (1994), developed from On the Hour (1991–92) with Armando Iannucci, had already established his news-presenter manner. By Brass Eye, the performance is precise enough to remain convincing even when the writing becomes extravagantly absurd. Morris writes the series as well as playing its presenters, so the phrasing and the delivery work closely together. The pleasure is in hearing how much conviction he can give to words that deserve none.
Director Michael Cumming helps by keeping the whole cast committed to their characters rather than competing for attention. Mark Heap’s restraint as Simon Hottrin and Dr. Zeus Spofforth gives Morris’s forcefulness something quieter to work against. Hugh Dennis, as Dr. Balb Kubrox, similarly refuses to make the performance as ridiculous as the name. Morris benefits from that discipline around him; without it, his own insistence would be much easier to tire of.
Editor Gary Dollner keeps the jokes arriving before we have quite finished registering the last one, and the music by Jonathan Whitehead and Morris supplies further bogus seriousness. Those collaborators help the acting convince us that this is important television, however absurd the words become. The weakness is the sustained pressure: Brass Eye can wear us down, even when the individual jokes are good enough to earn their discomfort.
With Jam (2000) and Nathan Barley (2005), the latter made with Charlie Brooker, Morris moved towards longer-form work. Feature directing followed with Four Lions (2010) and The Day Shall Come (2019). Those mark the turn away from performer-led sketch television, but Brass Eye remains our recommendation for his acting. Leave a little space between episodes; Ted Maul is not a man we need to hear from continuously.
Biography
Chris Morris is an English satirist, writer, director, actor and composer. He created and starred in the spoof news programmes The Day Today (1994) and Brass Eye (1997), on which he also wrote, produced and composed music. He appeared as Peter Baxendale Thomas in I'm Alan Partridge (1997).
Morris later directed and co-wrote the feature films Four Lions (2010) and The Day Shall Come (2019). His other television work includes co-writing and directing Nathan Barley (2005) and directing episodes of Veep (2012). He began his career in radio, contributing to BBC Radio 4's On the Hour.
