The Death of Bunny Munro has arrived on Sky Atlantic and NOW, throwing former Doctor Who star Matt Smith into one of his most provocative roles to date.
The House of the Dragon favourite plays a reckless father in the darkly comic drama, who takes his grieving son on a road trip across East Sussex as social services threaten his custody.
The six-part miniseries is based on the novel of the same name by rock legend Nick Cave, who derived some inspiration from struggles in his own life, but has been quick to clarify that Bunny isn’t directly based on himself.
It’s clear why he’d want to make that distinction, given that The Death of Bunny Munro book and its TV adaptation both depict the lead character in a rather grotesquely unflattering light.
The series retains the unsettling elements that made the original novel such a polarising read, but Cave himself has said that screenwriter Pete Jackson “developed the story hugely” during the adaptation process.
The Death of Bunny Munro book to show differences: Nick Cave’s verdict
Matt Smith and Rafael Mathé in The Death of Bunny Munro. Sky/Parisa Taghizadeh
Nick Cave has praised The Death of Bunny Munro screenwriter Pete Jackson for adapting his book “beautifully”, and expanding it from an “internal” story to one more fitting for the screen.
Speaking at London Literature Festival, the musician and writer told Q&A host Edith Bowman that he initially had a “certain amount of scepticism” about the latest in a long line of attempts to adapt his novel.
Those doubts evaporated upon receiving the script for the first episode, which was so good that it gave him the confidence to “step away” from the writing of the series and “let somebody else have a go”.
He explained: “It was just this beautifully written thing. And it was different – it was written for TV. It’s different from the book, which is extremely internal. It’s just about where his mind’s going when he’s looking around at the world.
“Not a lot actually happens in the book,” continued Cave. “[Bunny] just goes from one sort of tawdry event after another. But right from the beginning, Pete put in stuff that propelled the story forward.”
For example, the author praised the addition of two social worker characters, whose arrival at Bunny’s filthy flat prompt his spontaneous escape with son in tow, creating another layer of peril for the central duo.
“This is Pete, and this is stuff that’s just beautifully written for TV, so that you can play around with dark ideas, but there’s a sort of levity to it; a kind of fun and charm about the whole thing that keeps it rocking along,” said Cave.
Another key difference between The Death of Bunny Munro book and Sky series comes down to casting, with Cave arguing that the sex appeal of lead actor Smith fundamentally alters the story to an extent.
“I mean, in the book, Bunny is just this kind of disgusting guy,” he told the audience at London Literature Festival. “He’s not attractive, he’s not even good at sex.
Matt Smith stars in The Death of Bunny Munro Sky UK
“He’s a sort of failure that keeps just trying to screw everything he can, and is largely unsuccessful. And so, in a way, it wasn’t as problematic, you could say, as with Matt playing him, because Matt’s like a sexy guy. He’s a sort of living fire emoji.”
Cave continued: “The story, in a way, becomes more transgressive in this version that you’re seeing now because the women like him. And even though it’s obviously clear to everybody what he’s up to, women nevertheless are attracted to the pull of his charm.”
The Bad Seeds frontman wasn’t at all bothered by that change, however, concluding that it “adds another layer of uneasiness to the whole thing”.
Anyone who’s seen the show would probably agree, as any charm that Smith retains in the early episodes is stripped away as the story escalates – if you’re still deciding whether to watch, check out our The Death of Bunny Munro review.
The Death of Bunny Munro is available on Sky Atlantic and NOW.
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