I had not heard much about this one-off show other than it was by the maker of the original version of The Killing and that it had gotten good reviews from most critics. The manner of delivery is retrospective and almost entirely in the form of to-camera monologues by individuals, there is really only one scene where the characters directly interact and that comes right at the end. This means that, like most real life cases, you have the statements of those involved to go on and the writer makes this work really well, spinning perception to the point where you are not quite sure who did what to whom.
As the case approaches we also get to see the manipulative nature of "justice"; the presentation, the little touches of coloring done by the lawyer and the way the facts are hard to get. It is a simple crime – a couple of sisters in a working man's club on their way to get matching, tacky tattoos but instead get picked up by a bloke and end up back at their rather dingy little flat, drunk, fighting and having fun. It is tawdry in nature and in a way is pretty representative of low-end crimes rather than the bigger complex affairs we see in season-long murder-mysteries. This does rather color the viewer but the film is careful not to judge the characters for where they are from, but instead lets them do the talking. The delivery is clever because it draws you in with different stories which are added to by the policeman, the lawyer, the mother, all adding perspective and opinion.
The actual solution to the crime is satisfying but it is the total delivery that works so well. The cast are a big part of this working because they convince as characters – their anger, their tawdriness, their hate, their past hurts all seem part of them. Crome and Dempsie are both excellent in the two central roles and they hold attention effortlessly. Support from Pugh, Rushbrook, Dillane and the few others is almost as good and everyone gets the approach and follows the lead of Larsen and Jones. It is downbeat and it does deliberately lack the slickness of weekly crime dramas, but this is to its credit because the case is messy and isn't easily resolved.
Well worth a look because it is engaging, intelligent, rewarding and grimly honest.