Robbie Coltrane is brilliant

JimC-6

In my opinion, the little I've seen of the American version of Cracker was actually a noble effort, but the crucial difference between the two was the presence of Robbie Coltrane.

Coltrane is one of the world's best actors.  He fills the character of Fitz so well that this unlikely character, who drinks hard, gambles, and is full of rage but is also compassionate and incredibly intelligent, is completely believable.  He is one of the few unattractive leading men who can convincingly flirt with attractive women, so that when they are suddenly interested in him, you believe it.

Cracker is harsh stuff sometimes.  Every killer on the show, it seems, has a psychological angle that is positively disturbing (hence, I suppose, the need for a police psychologist).  The series also has humor, though.  The scene in which Fitz, seeking revenge on a fellow therapist who's fooling around with his wife, turns a "gamblers anonymous" group into a card game is the sort of harsh but banned-in-America dark humor that Jimmy McGovern (author of the film Priest) excels at.

score /10

JimC-6 17 June 1999

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw0316034/