This is an example of British thriller series at their finest. The scripts, direction, and acting are all top-notch. The six episodes are all largely self-contained but do have an underlying thread of a story which continues throughout, and which culminates in the final episode. It is the story of the character played by Aidan Gillen, who has had a past working undercover for many years for the police. As a result of this, he has become entangled with a web of criminal intrigue which he tries to handle in his spare time, though such awkward aspects as having a dead body in the back of his car keep arising and interfering with his new job. The main basis for the series is the creation of an 'Identity Unit' at Scotland Yard in London, set up to investigate the increasing numbers of cases of identity theft or identify confusion. There are some really thrilling and hair-raising stories here, which constitute a lively variety of cases, all interesting in their own ways. The series is never repetitive or dull for a moment. The head of the Identity Unit is played by actress Keeley Hawes, who does a brilliant job. She has to keep the traditional stiff upper lip (in her case one with bright red lipstick) whilst juggling with enormous stresses, tensions, and emotions. She is excellent at doing this, and is best of all at the end when things come to a head for her. Exercising such intense self-control and betraying her desperate feelings only by means of tiny twitches of facial muscles is no mean feat. Only a British actress could manage something like that so well. She clearly takes her inspiration from all those old British movies and stars like Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson. It is strange that such an old-fashioned girl who is a master of pre-War mannerisms (and she comes from an East End family of cab drivers, who are probably the last of the passionate traditionalists left in London) can be the lead in a series made in 2009. Surely she really belonged in 1939? She would have done well in the S.O.E. But all this really works, that is the main thing. As for Aidan Gillen, he resembles Richard Gere facially, but has a slender body and a slightly mincing walk, and if it were not for his physique and body language, he could easily be one of those Hollywood action stars. In other words, he talks the talk but doesn't walk the walk. However, none of that matters here. He is very compelling and watchable at all times. In this series he is meant to be an enigma, and he certainly succeeds in being one. Both Hawes and Gillen dominate the series with talent and charisma, and help to make it a stunning success. I can find no mention of any Series 2 being made, which is a serious production miscalculation by the producers for ITV. The supporting actors are all very good, the production values are high, and there is nothing to complain of. One merely wants to say: When do I get to see the next series, please?
Review of Identity
