Guilt (2019–2023) User Reviews

Really Great Thriller, Worth A Watch

[martimusross · 8/10 · 15 November 2019]

Guilty

This drama cleverly played with the dilemma of the opposing forces of doing the right thing and being punished for wrong doing. Either position was justified in turns and the two brothers took their corners.

The script was tight and well paced overall, there were, however, just a couple of places where we had repetition of one brother revealing something and the other flying off the handle, these repeats needed editing out and replacing with some scenic shots of bleak Scotland to ramp up the atmosphere.

Their deception spiralled out of control and it was a really very well written black comedy. The acting was first rate from everyone. We could have had more of everything, more car chases, more sex, more violence more drama please.

This drama had it all, I was gripped from the start and this is the BBC at its best in using the fabulous talent that lays at its feet.

Cracking black comedy

[peterrichboy · 8/10 · 6 November 2019]

Two brothers driving home a bit worse for where hit a pedestrian and kill him. As it turns out he has terminal cancer so the brothers return him home, his body is found and everyone from the police to coroner assume he died from the cancer. What can go wrong? Well quite a lot as it seems. A suspicious relative, a nosy neighbor and a recovering alcoholic private detective determined to rebuild his career by solving the suspicious death. The writer Neil Forsyth has struck the perfect balance between comedy and drama to make this hugely enjoyable four part series. 8/10

GILT EDGED

[MadamWarden · 8/10 · 3 June 2020]

This is a very very good miniseries. Full of twists and surprises. Great fun.

Certainly not too be missed!!

One of the surprise packages of 2019.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 9/10 · 27 November 2019]

I wasn't sure what to expect beforehand with Guilt, but I have to be honest, this is four hours of totally brilliant, entertaining drama. Part one contains the humour element, that humour doesn't run the whole way through, it takes on a more serious tone as it progresses.

The acting is first class. Sives and Bonnar are fantastic as the two different, but interdependent brothers. I have always been a fan of Bonnar, Summer of Rockets showed me just how good he is, he's fantastic. I must mention Ellie Haddington, I thinks she's terrific, she's so good here. Bill Patterson adds some real quality.

Expect it to get more serious as it develops, I assure you, you won't be disappointed. Four hours later you will discover what really happened to Walter. 9/10

Comedy and drama in this superior production from BBC Scotland

[Tweekums · 9/10 · 5 January 2020]

As this series opens brothers Jake and Max are driving through an Edinburgh suburb at night. They accidentally run over and kill an elderly man. Max, a lawyer, tells his brother that he will go to jail if they report it. They establish that the man lived in the house they are in front of so take him back inside. Papers suggest that he had terminal cancer so they leave hoping his death will be considered natural. Of course things don't quite go to plan; the authorities may believe that he died of cancer but Jake gets a call saying his wallet was found in the house. He goes back and explains that he'd been there because he traded in old records and the man had a good collection. He befriends, and forms a relationship with Angie, the dead man's niece... which doesn't impress Max. Without going into details things later get complicated as Angie starts asking questions about the death; various older secrets are gradually exposed and the brothers find themselves in danger.

When I sat down to watch this show I knew nothing about it but assumed from the title it would be 'gritty' and a bit depressing... it may have moments of grittiness but it is far from depressing; in fact it is frequently hilarious. Much of the humour comes from Mark Bonnar's excellent performance as Max; it wasn't always what his character did but the subtle facial expressions as he did it. He was ably supported by Jamie Sives as his brother Jake; Ruth Bradley, as Angie; Emun Elliot, as private detective Kenny; Ellie Haddington, as a blackmailing neighbour; Sian Brooke, as Max's wife; and Bill Paterson as a local gangster. The story develops at a good pace with some plot lines originally seeming superfluous but later emerge to be essential to the story. Overall I'd definitely recommend this superior comedy drama.

Season 1 great. Season 2 meh

[chrisbaldwin69 · 7/10 · 19 October 2021]

Great first season but season 2 lots of drawn out scenes with one to one conversations that feel like speeches where you want to fall asleep. Shame. That said, the music is superb and production very good but content just does not live up to these other aspects that are done so well.

Scottishly stylish in its non-stylishness

[jrarichards · 9/10 · 25 July 2020]

In other reviews I have already invoked the Scots' canny abilities to make a variety of enigmatic series and films based around the slightly bitter and dour (and eccentric) sense of humour those people are famous for. "Guilt" from Dundee's many-talented Neil Forsyth again mines that rich vein, while also bringing a few new elements to the table.

Never normally a fan of series in which people do bad things and then work to hide them, I did not have excessively high hopes for this, but the above context that shoves together chalk-and-cheese brothers Jake and Max (respectively Jamie Sives, and Mark Bonnar of the amazing face) proves instantly attractive and effective, and initially generates quite a few "guilty" laughs from the viewer. The low-key, small-scale gangsterishness topic is a bit too grim to be funny, but still is so.

It has to be said that (effectively enough) the mood does change from episode to episode, getting far darker and less funny as things move on. But this is leavened by a suprisingly warming and effecting love interest for Jake, who has drifted in this area of his life, as in most others, and suddenly finds unexpectedly that his lies and cover-ups have brought him something wonderful and life-changing. And as it turns out that his love-interest (played by Ruth Bradley) is also into scam and deception, this is an even-better pairing.

All of this happens as the ostensibly luxurious and organised life of Max (ultimately the real star of the show) disintegrates steadily as various chickens come home to roost. Rather nicely, there comes a point where we can feel a measure of sympathy for a guy far more pathetic than he might at first appear, who nevertheless pulls himself together to try and operate effectively at moments at least, and even amazingly evokes a measure of fellow-feeling (or at least pity) in his long-suffering and much-wearied wife (played by Sian Brooke). The way she flirts with a lesbian and lesbianism looks quite contrived outside in our world (which it indeed proves to be in their world too), though the excuse comes in association with "Mr Big" type activity from the ever-reliable Bill Patterson as Roy Lynch. Since Emun Elliott takes a good part as "Kenny" - a person shipped in to be hopeless who fails to be so - there is many a nice piece of acting to be enjoyed, even if Ellie Haddington's (effective) role as Sheila is likely to give one the creeps, as it was of course designed to do.

Edinburgh, Glasgow and Leith locations offer that solid and reasonably acttractive Scottish background, but quite a lot of what happens here takes place in entirely ananymous locations that could be pretty much anywhere. And the series is all the better for that.

Ultimately, this is beguiling work, as you may well find yourself asking at the end of episode 4 exactly how you have benefited from or been enriched by this whole, less-than-elevating experience. I'm not quite sure if that is the success or the failure of the makers. On the other hand, to make something artful and artistic (and probably also lucrative) out of basic ingredients of not much at all has to be counted as a genuine feat, and it's been a mixture of attention-holding fun and not-so-fun to get from episode 1 through to the end of number 4.

A second series apparently beckons, and doubtless we will be keen enough to respond to its dubious charms...

Mixed bag

[galston73 · 7/10 · 1 December 2021]

The first series is good, darkly comic and great chemistry between the two brothers. The second series starts well but then feels rushed and it loses its way very badly.

Edinburgh Noir

[rick-light · 10/10 · 14 November 2019]

Two brothers knock down an old man in a deserted Edinburgh street, their decision to cover up the accident, leads to events spiralling out of control as a suspicious relative, a seemingly inquisitive neighbour and a private detective all get pulled into the mess. No one is who they seem, except the peerless Bill Paterson, who arrives in episode 3, as an intimidating criminal boss.

The script, by Neil Forsyth, is dark, ironic and funny often in the same sentence. The cinematography, for a tv series, is outstanding. The cast led by Mark Bonnar, as the manipulative lawyer brother, and Jamie Sives, as his trusting, idealistic brother, is perfect.

Highly recommended.

First series great, second poor, third hit and miss

[RedMars2017 · 5 May 2023]

First series is great - a tight story, great script, great performances. Second series is confusing and doesn't know where it's going. Third series is ambitious but, if judged on its own, feels like it's written by a comedy writer who is not very good at writing crime and a crime writer who is not very good at writing comedy. A disappointment. 9/10 for series one. The other two are low scores.

All the cast are game. I felt it should have been left as a mini series. The law of diminishing returns is here to see.

I have to write more here but some reviews have 3 lines, so not sure why I have to write more.

Nice to see a decent British drama for a change

[alanfisher2001 · 7/10 · 19 January 2021]

Slick, engaging drama with many 'oh no' moments, felt it ran out of steam in the last five minutes and the ending was a disappointment. Everyone seemed so keen to implicate Max, whereas the real criminal was the old woman, all Max has to say is what she did to old guy and she will be locked away, all he did was not stop and a bit of obstruction. The 'niece' similarly, would not be going home in a taxi, more like a police car. Yes, the ending spoilt it for me in a big way.

Season 1 was terrific, Season 2 not so much

[Laight · 8/10 · 12 September 2022]

The first season of Guilt is one of the most interesting, tense, and well-written suspense shows in recent times. It's full of intricate, well-crafted twists and turns, characters who feel like real people, side-plots that come together in wonderful ways. The acting is superb, especially Jamie Sives and Emun Elliot, but all the others are good. All in all, it makes for perfect binge watching.

The second season doesn't work nearly as well as the twists and turns that make the first so effective become laborious, complex, and eventually, way too hard to understand. By the third episode it's almost impossible to understand every character's motivation because they've all been switched and changed so often. The ending is nearly incomprehensible. And as good an actor as Mark Bonnar is, the camera tends to focus on him for interminable amounts of time, almost as if his face is actually part of the plot.

So the advice here is, indulge in the first season, skip the second. Apparently the third is in the works, and with luck, the show's creators will revert to their original intentions and pretend the second season never happened.

It's scottish

[john-williams-6 · 6/10 · 2 November 2021]

I really liked season 1(6/10), but season 2 I found a bit boring and I lost interest in around episode 3 but I stuck with till the end (4/10).if there is a 3rd season I hope I like or better than season 1.

The second season is so confusing that it's boring

[Bob-80421 · 5/10 · 28 October 2021]

There is a fine line between an intelligently written and intricate plot, and one that's just so confusing that you can no longer truthfully call this entertaining. It really does take a GCHQ or MI6 employee with two PhDs and a brain so big they need to wheel it around on a trolley to understand what the hell is going on.

There's no doubt that it's quite well filmed and well acted, but that doesn't make up for it. None of the characters are nice or relatable, they're all flawed and bad and depressed, and they spend time in grim-looking places doing grim things. It's filled with veiled metaphors and conversations so rife with loose implications that you'd need to sit there taking notes and pausing every five seconds to understand everything that's going on. The impenetrable nature of this really makes it boring and irritating beyond words. It is a waste of time to watch this. And by the way - it calls itself a comedy, but there are literally three funny parts in the entire second season. I counted, that's how bored I was.

Brilliantly written.

[Good-Will · 8/10 · 29 November 2019]

This starts off with a dark but humourous episode and then gets darker and less humorous, but by the end of episode 3 then I was wondering how on earth the plot would be resolved in the fourth and final episode. No need to worry. That was a joy to watch in every way, with the writing and acting simply top notch. p.s. The guy that gave it 3/10 was referring to another series of the same name from 2016. Not this series.

The best comedy drama of 2019

[aw6921 · 9/10 · 2 November 2019]

Absolute masterclass in black comedy. Howlingly funny yet also a compulsively watchable, hard-edged thriller. Such a bold, cinematic show - it's a real treat. Gutted it's only a 4-parter!

Great Scottish humour

[jennifershepherd-85473 · 9/10 · 30 October 2019]

Really well acted , dark humour and gripping. Can't wait to see how it all turns out.

1 and 2 brilliant 3 hmmm

[cupfinal · 7/10 · 15 May 2023]

Was looking forward to season 3 and first couple of episodes were good but towards the finale things got a bit confusing and hurried. Ticked all the usual boxes though, quirky music selection, sly wee fitba in jokes and jet black humour but too many what I call hang on a minute incidents. Mark Bonnar as Max one of the great bad guy good guy characters a master of the raised eyebrow. Bonnie Edinburgh locations but did I spy a Glesga street during a chase sequence? I'll keep an eye out for more stuff helmed by the fella Harkins very slick, pacey and err watchable. Keep up the good work and well done the BBC as they used to say on Points of View.

Keeps getting better

[csteddy · 9/10 · 9 November 2019]

This is SO good. Great music and great music trivia. Good cast, amusing dialogue.

An unexpected surprise...

[avonmore-76782 · 7/10 · 2 September 2021]

...and a very pleasent one. Best crime show I've seen in quite a while, hope there's more to come very soon.

A Dark Little Gem

[Xine9g9 · 9/10 · 11 October 2021]

Season One Review: Max, the older brother, is a slippery affluent lawyer whose dubious practices and contacts eventually emerge. Younger brother, Jake, is an endearing but hopeless proprietor of a record shop that appears to be progressively failing. Driving home from a wedding one night, their car kills an old man who turns out to have terminal cancer. So, they cover up the accident, leaving the impression of natural death. All would probably be OK, but it turns out that there is something shonky about the dead man's niece, a couple of next door neighbours and, eventually a number of others with whom Max is directly or indirectly connected. Among Max's other, more ethical, connections are his sozzled PI, Kenny, who begins to cause more problems as he sobers up, and his wife, Claire, who begins to realize just how dodgy Max is when she has an affair with a woman connected to Max's business contacts.

Episode by episode, every apparent solution simply adds to Max's deepening crisis, with the final episode remaining uncertain till the virtual end. The penultimate scene, with most of the main characters dispersed around the street where the old man was killed, is a delightful camera pan from face to face and back to Max. Then, the very last scene is of Max's face with a series of shifting expressions right up to the final slight smile, with its suggestion that there may be a sequel. I see that that is in progress. One can only hope that it lives up to this one.

The characters are fascinating and well thought-out, the acting is wonderful. The themes of morality, brotherly relationships and the entanglements of different forms of guilt are deftly displayed but never overplayed. The funny cynical, deadpan utterances that come out of the characters' mouths from time to time are surprising and sometimes brilliant. Mark Bonnar is brilliant as Max, Jamie Sives a truly endearing Jake who has managed to hang on to his sense of ethics till early middle age. Amun Elliott plays Kenny beautifully. And Ellie Haddington, as Sheila, one of the neighbours, is a gift to the show. Along the way, pretty well everyone else involved in this dark little gem of a series does a great job.

Highly recommended.

A year later, SEASON TWO. Who had the not-bright idea of turning a brilliant black comedy into some kind of tragic redemption-cum-revenge tale??? The twists and turns of Season One become pointless rambling in Season Two, leaving you both puzzled and disappointed.

Will I watch Season Three, if it appears? Probably, because S1 was so good, but with trepidation.

like this

[Headturner1 · 7/10 · 2 November 2019]

I've been watching all UK series. I knew Angie was from Humans. Have her playing an American. She looks different in all her roles so I had to come and see. I really like this so far. Saw 3 episodes.

Ridiculous

[r-treep · 1/10 · 5 December 2019]

What a ridiculous end. The writer didn't know how to end the story. I feel like i wasted a lot of time watching this.

Near Perfection

[tom-drinkwater · 10/10 · 19 November 2019]

This mini-series is absolutely awesome! Without a doubt one of the best I've seen in a long time. It's clever, witty, dark and heartwarming, all in one neat package. Bravo to BBC Scotland on this one. Such a shame that it's so underrated.