The Escape Artist is a three part PBS mini series that truly does have three distinct arcs, which takes the characters in much different directions than you saw any of them initially.
The feel of the story is like American genre of court drama, like the screenwriter David Wolstencroft says in the bonus feature interview, except it takes place in the British court system, and later, the Scottish one. The screenwriter said he wanted to expand the regular court drama though, and even the main actor David Tennant says the story took him pack his own expectations of the genre of the piece. At first court drama, and later thriller, The Escape Artist combines the inventiveness of pulp fiction and an air of reality.
If you watch David Wolstonecroft's interview, it makes sense the way he did as he says he first wrote the script from a place of emotion and honesty, then consulted with legal experts to try to achieve those same emotional honesty goals in a way that can be possible. If there are legal errors as reviews might suggest, as a layperson viewer I find them forgivable because the emotionality of the film achieves what the writer wanted it to. There is a portrait of a family in this film, and it's believable and the trauma that happens with it is cutting as a result. David Tennant in particular who I know has a son in real life has a strong bond with the actor who plays his eight year old son in this film. And giving Tennant, a Scottish actor, a Scottish wife, was also a nice touch.
All in all a great watching experience.
The feel of the story is like American genre of court drama, like the screenwriter David Wolstencroft says in the bonus feature interview, except it takes place in the British court system, and later, the Scottish one. The screenwriter said he wanted to expand the regular court drama though, and even the main actor David Tennant says the story took him pack his own expectations of the genre of the piece. At first court drama, and later thriller, The Escape Artist combines the inventiveness of pulp fiction and an air of reality.
If you watch David Wolstonecroft's interview, it makes sense the way he did as he says he first wrote the script from a place of emotion and honesty, then consulted with legal experts to try to achieve those same emotional honesty goals in a way that can be possible. If there are legal errors as reviews might suggest, as a layperson viewer I find them forgivable because the emotionality of the film achieves what the writer wanted it to. There is a portrait of a family in this film, and it's believable and the trauma that happens with it is cutting as a result. David Tennant in particular who I know has a son in real life has a strong bond with the actor who plays his eight year old son in this film. And giving Tennant, a Scottish actor, a Scottish wife, was also a nice touch.
All in all a great watching experience.