When convicted murderer Joe gets out of prison, that means a lot of pain for the mother of the girl he allegedly killed (but the location of whose body he has never revealed). That's the premise of 'The Light in Hall', which has apparently received some critical plaudits. Unfortunately, almost every element of the plot seems overly familiar: the reluctant journalist returning to her home town to ends up investigating her own past, the useless police whose main function appears to be to obstruct the protagonist; suppressed stories of child abuse, the alleged killer who can't remember his climbs, the final explanation of an accidental death and a deliberate cover up. It ends with the central character (played by Alexandra Roach, who sadly stuggles in the role) concluding that everyone has their own truth, a platitude that could be applied to almost any story. I've seen worse television, but it feels like drama-by-numbers.
Review of The Light in the Hall
