For fans of Watchmen and V For Vendetta author Alan Moore, the unfinished comic-book series Big Numbers remains a great what-if. Set in Moore’s Northampton, its two published issues brought Moore’s forceful imagination and his mathematical Watchmen plotting to a real-world setting. We’ll likely never see a finished Big Numbers, especially with two decades past and Moore distancing himself from comics in recent years. But there are echoes of it in the Northampton-set “Act Of Faith,” the first entry of The Show, Moore’s first content written directly for the screen. As described by Vice, which is hosting it online, The Show is a “non-linear, multi-platform TV series.” What it’s ultimately about remains unclear, but “Act Of Faith” offers a snapshot of kinky sex gone wrong, starring British TV actress Siobhan Hewlett. Director Mitch Jenkins brings a hard digital look and careful attention to color to the entry. And though the film plays a bit like a long setup to a grim punchline, the details suggest it’s a small part of a bigger picture, and with Moore, the big picture is almost always worth sticking around to see. (Except when he leaves it unfinished.) The Guardian described the second installment, “Jimmy’s End,” as set in “a seedy, vaudevillian neo-1950s world.” The Guardian has a preview, and Vice has “Act Of Faith” in full.
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