LLF - Nick Cave and Matt Smith at the Southbank Centre - The Death Of Bunny Munro

Zarah Hashim
7 minutes ago
5 min read

The Death of Bunny Munro (2025) is a gritty tale dissecting father and son relationships with themes of alcoholism, addiction and death. At London Literature Festival this year, The Death of Bunny Munro (2025, Sky Studios and Clerkenwell films) had an exclusive preview of the first two episodes to the six-part series. Matt Smith stars as Bunny Munro, a grieving alcoholic, sex addict, and travelling salesman who is neglectful of his wife, Libby (Sarah Greene) and child, Bunny Junior (Rafael Mathé). Upon Libby’s suicide, Bunny flees their flat in Brighton with Bunny Jr. and they enter the travelling sequence, down the southern coast, and living on the road. A lot happens in the first two episodes; there is a dark foreboding presence as the horned masked serial killer looms in the background, the distance between him and Bunny growing closer and closer. The suspense created at the event has me excited to continue the adaptation upon its release later this month.

Nick Cave, author of The Death of Bunny Munro (2009), is first and foremost a musician. His musical career began with the 1970’s post-punk band The Birthday Party, helping to inspire the music genre gothic rock. Cave is currently the lead vocalist of the band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. For the Sky series, Cave and his band mate Warren Ellis were the composers of the series’ original score, which embodies their emotional intensity, signatures of the duo. The two have also worked on multiple original scores together, most notable being the book-to-film adaptation of The Road (2006), written by Cormac McCarthy and directed by John Hillcoat in 2009 and, more recently, the Amy Winehouse biopic Back To Black (2024).

The screening was followed by a Q&A with Nick Cave and Matt Smith, who portrays the protagonist, Bunny. During the event, Cave had pitched his character for over a decade, and initially wrote the novel as a screenplay, which unfortunately did not get picked up. He discussed how the adaptation of his work was so different to the novel, but in a way which praised Pete Jackson, a BAFTA award-winning writer, who wrote the six-part series’ screenplay. The novel is a lot more internal, its focus remains on the mind of Bunny compared to the action. Cave and Smith both complimented how Jackson adapted this novel for TV, making it visually engaging. I found myself cringing at times from the sheer amount of sex within the series, however, I believe that was intentional by both Cave and Jackson as it serves as a reminder of the addiction Bunny is afflicted with.

From a literary perspective, the theme of addiction aids the subsequent descent into chaos. Addiction in the novel and show is handled with caution - Bunny is a high-functioning addict, he can do his day job and indulge at the same time, but the longer he avoids processing his grief, the harder it is to keep up his façade. The show is therefore, raw and realistic in its depictions of mental health and self-destruction. The show is very self-aware in its portrayals of these hard and triggering topics. Of course, for the visual experience there can only be so much darkness, therefore, I enjoyed the humour which was integrated into the series, which allowed for the pressure of reality to feel distant, much like how it felt for the characters on screen.

One of the first scenes in this series and a big indicator of setting in both novel and series, is the The Pavillion fire in Brighton. The arson attack took place in 2003 - by using a real-life tragedy, the show is able to make the fictionalised events feel more grounded for the audience. The fire was symbolic of the destruction of the home, stability and normalcy for all the Munro family. Cave stated how the story could not be set anywhere else - Brighton in 2003 was a city of chaos, not only was the Pavilion attacked, but the Concert Hall also fell victim to arson after previous damage from a storm in December of 2002. The tumultuous setting further provides this sense of instability and inevitable doom, as it reflects the infrastructure of the Munro dynamic.

What sets this tale apart from your average show about addiction and a troubled lead male, is that often male characters who are like Bunny are written with sympathy; however, Cave and Smith are both aware of the flaws within this character, acknowledging it during the Q&A. There is an allure within the dynamics at play because it is not just a story about a travelling salesman, rather it involves three generations of complicated father and son dynamics and a confrontation of the self.

The series, which is directed by Swedish director Isabella Eklöf, is mainly composed of multiple medium shots allowing us to feel close to the action, whilst also maintaining perspective and (some) distance. Eklöf’s directing allows us to be accomplices to the madness as she uses camera angles to maintain our involvement with Bunny and Bunny Jr.’s behaviours. Despite the film's thematic darkness, the lighting often tended to be on the brighter side. Scenes usually took place during the day time and when nighttime scenes occurred, harsh, uncomfortable lighting was used. These choices, I believe, are used to reflect that Bunny cannot hide from his reality, nor are we, as the audience, able to either; reinforcing the complicit nature we take on as observers. It feels voyeuristic and intentional in the discomfort it arouses in the audience.

These intentional choices make this series feel more grounded in reality; a refresh of cinema, as TV today feels monotonous and saturated. The screenplay, although uses every-day themes, has a sense of novelty in its depiction of these timeless themes. Matt Smith is a renowned actor, having starred in acclaimed TV series such as Doctor Who (2005), The Crown (2016-2023) and more recently, The House of Dragon (2022). He is well adjusted to the demands of an actor and therefore, really embodied Bunny Munro. I found his acting to be as on par as his Hollywood roles which speaks to his approach to each character he plays. Moreover, child actor Rafael Mathé, at the young age of 9, was able to conjure such pathos from the audience. His co-star, Smith and author, Nick Cave, praised Mathé for his skills. His character, Bunny Jr. is a very complex role to play, with such adult themes in the series as well, it was admirable to watch. He demonstrated the tenderness and innocence of grief, which truly reminds us of how young he is. Not only is he starring in a major production, but he is also portraying a well-loved character. It is a lot of pressure to have at his age, but he played Bunny Jr. incredibly well - his grief was magnetic.

This adaptation has reignited my interest in television and I think that is a great testament to the cast, crew, writers and production team for really paving the way in bringing back gritty drama. Moreover, Edith Bowman, Scottish DJ and Presenter’s Q&A segment with Cave and Smith allowed for there to be more conversation to be had about what went into the making of this series and how it all fell into place. If a six-part series about masculinity, fatherhood, addiction and grief interests you, then this is meant for you.

Watch The Death Of Bunny Munro on the 20th of November 2025 on Sky Atlantic and their streaming platform NOW.

Edited by Roxy-Moon Dahal Hodson, Editor-in-Chief