When ITV showed this crime drama over five consecutive nights, my interested was piqued by the presence of James Purefoy, an actor I've been a fan of since I saw him in SOLOMON KANE. I stuck with it for Purefoy alone - he delivers an excellent turn - and am willing to forgive the drama its faults on the basis that it picked a fine actor for its central part.
Otherwise, it's a pretty predictable type of production, throwing together the ingredients so beloved of British TV crime these days: murders, shady blackmailing, adultery, CCTV footage, thugs and horrible crimes in pretty rural locales. The plot is fairly interesting, but the main problem is that there isn't enough story to justify the five hour running time.
The upshot of this is that the production is long winded in the extreme, drip-feeding the viewer flashbacks and clues at an incredibly slow pace before tying everything up in the final episode. Still, Purefoy's angst-ridden turn kept me watching, so it's not all bad.
Otherwise, it's a pretty predictable type of production, throwing together the ingredients so beloved of British TV crime these days: murders, shady blackmailing, adultery, CCTV footage, thugs and horrible crimes in pretty rural locales. The plot is fairly interesting, but the main problem is that there isn't enough story to justify the five hour running time.
The upshot of this is that the production is long winded in the extreme, drip-feeding the viewer flashbacks and clues at an incredibly slow pace before tying everything up in the final episode. Still, Purefoy's angst-ridden turn kept me watching, so it's not all bad.