When the Belfast police are stalled in their investigation of a spate of murders, Detective Superintendent Stella Gibson is drafted to investigate. Under her lead, the team uncovers an intricate web of lives entangled by the killings.
These days serial-killer dramas are standard fare and often very similar. Nonetheless some of these presentations are different enough to be of interest. So what makes this one season, 5 episode TV series which I streamed from Netflix worthwhile?
Both the police investigation and the ordinary home life of the married-with-kids serial killer develop at the same time. You constantly switch back and forth.
Instead of black and white, good and bad, the killer and the cops are humans with their own mixtures of good and bad.
Relations between different parties are intricately interwoven.
In the psychological makeup of the killer is an element of remorse and a desire for normalcy.
Gillian Anderson (of “X-Files” fame) is as good a stone-faced actor as she is beautiful
Jamei Dornan, the killer, deserves to be better known.
Be on the lookout for Archie Panjabi (Reed Smith in “The Fall”) who is the clever and mysterious woman Kalinda Sharma in “The Good Wife”.
Just as interesting as the main thread, are some secondary themes.
Tell me what you think of the ending. Since I was glued to the screen, I can only heartily recommend this TV series.
Sean Penn wrote and directs this poignant drama inspired by Bruce Springsteen’s song “Highway Patrolman.” When small-town deputy sheriff Joe Roberts (David Morse) takes in his troubled Vietnam vet brother, Frank (Viggo Mortensen), things get very rocky. Joe is determined to help Frank make a new life with his pregnant girlfriend, Dorothy (Patricia Arquette), but Frank’s simmering anger threatens to ruin everything.
Before writing this review I had not fully realized how old the film was – 23 years to be exact. Because David Morse (Dr. Jack Morrison of the 1988 “St. Elsewhere”) looked so young, I should have guessed. Such a powerful lineup of actors:
David Morse (Joe Roberts
Viggo Mortensen (Frank Roberts)
Patricia Arquette (Dorothy)
Charles Bronson (Mr. Roberts)
Sandy Dennis (Mrs. Roberts)
Dennis Hopper (Caesar)
WARNING: This powerful, well-written, well-directed, and well-acted film is a tragedy from beginning to end.
Substitute Vietnam with Afghanistan or Iraq and there is no difference.
Mark Wahlberg stars as Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell in this action-drama based on an ill-fated real-life mission to bring down a Taliban boss. The stakes get even higher when Luttrell and his unit are ambushed in the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan.
Photography in this film is very explicitly bloody and violent. Plot is simple: SEALs train hard; SEAL mission ambushed and all killed but Marcus Luttrell; Luttrell reaches Pashtun village which protects him; Helicopters arrive to rescue Luttrell.
As usual the devil is in the details. Whatever your feelings about the war in Afghanistan, you have to admire the courage and dedication of these SEALs.
For me the most notable scene was the moral debate about what to do with villagers tending their goats. Sadly their moral decision sealed their fate.
Be sure to watch till the very end so that you can see the slide show of the actual men and their families. Also there Is some explanation about why the villagers helped Luttrell.
