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I finally got round to watching this after months of endlessly hearing how fabulous the series was, and seeing awards handed out like Hallowe'en candy at the BAFTAs. Perhaps all the hype set the bar too high - whatever the case, I struggled to watch the 8 - yes, eight! - episodes without launching myself at the screen at the lame acting, endless s-l-o-w m-o-t-i-o-n, ridiculous plot developments and awful (dropped) accents.
No spoilers here - but I had nailed the culprit by the middle of episode two, and was actually disappointed when I was proved correct, as I had hoped for some ludicrous plot twist to at least lighten this leaden, mediocre production.
I mentioned before 8 episodes - which was about 6 episodes too long. If the director had curbed his enthusiasm for slow-mo moody shots of characters walking across screen, shots of the sea rolling and crashing, and an endless parade of the faces of the suspects at every opportunity, it may have come in at a couple of watchable hours. As it was, any sympathy one might have felt for the grieving mother was washed away with that rolling tide, as yet another slow-mo of her grieving face gurned its way across the screen.
It felt at times as if someone had decided to do a moody scandi-noir for ITV, but had missed the point about moody not being another word for downright miserable.
The two bright spots were of course David Tennant and Olivia Colman - eminently watchable actors both, but it was such a shame to see them mired in such a poor series. Even Colman's Dorset accent slipped a few times - I was actually pleased when it did as it was so hard to bear.
score 3/10
richardthomas-43-918558 3 July 2014
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw3047256/ |
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22-11-2019 09:08:20
