ellenmeilee This is a high quality, dark psychological drama, with the odd blackly comic moment thrown in, and well worth spending 3 hours on. It's beautifully shot with some stunning locations, and the performances of John Simm, Jim Broadbent and Olivia Coleman (particulary John Simm) are utterly compelling. John Simm's character, Tom, spectacularly messes up his life and career as a journalist in London, and goes back home to Lancashire. He finds his retired journalist dad, whom he idolised as a child, to be suffering from dementia and being cared for by his sister. It turns out he had a sudden, violent and catastrophic falling-out with his dad many years ago which led to him fleeing to London, and now he is back home he becomes determined to get to the bottom of what happened to cause the fall-out. This proves more complicated that he thought, mainly due to his dad's mental capacity - however by the end, he does manage to piece the devastating truth together, and as with all the characters John Simm plays in such a believable, 'everyman' way, we root for him the whole time, even though his character is not saintly by any means.My only beef with this would be that the script and plot do contain some real clichéd moments, and you do have to suspend a bit of disbelief about how relatively easy it is for Tom to locate some of the key characters and certain bits of information about the past. That being said, it's the excellence of the actors' performances that totally clinch this for me.If, like me, you're a fan of Mr Simm, you will not be disappointed in this.

Ali Catterall A prime candidate for a 'If you've been affected by any of the issues raised in this programme' tag, Exile sees Simm's disgraced hack flee to his Lancashire hometown for the first time in 18 years, to discover his once idolised reporter dad destroyed by Alzheimer's – along with a hideous buried scandal.Befitting the title, both father and son are exiles – from their careers, from sense, from truth; here, investigative reporting makes a fine metaphor for a crusade against the corruption of memory, and the pursuit of identity itself.Essentially a three-hander between Simm (cornering the brooding everyman corner), the wonderful Colman (playing it straight) and the mighty Broadbent, the latter's portrayal of this terrible condition must be among the most devastatingly accurate ever placed on screen. Shocking and extremely moving, with a final scene that's – ironically – quite unforgettable.

farmertrouser Given the well known actors involved in this drama, I had high hopes and they were not disappointed. All of the main characters were played fantastically well and it felt real. My mum has Alzheimers and I did wonder whether I would be "up" to watching something that was obviously so close to home, but the illness as a main strand of the story was treated with sensitivity and humour. Jim Broadbent was amazing in the role as the ill dad, and John Simm and Olivia Colman were both fantastic in their roles as wayward son and put upon daughter. The mystery surrounding the sudden departure of Tom to London 18 years earlier developed well as the storyline moved on. Similarly to another reviewer I did think that the ending was somewhat hurried, but all of the loose ends were well and truly tied, and it didn't detract from the overall quality. I'll be making a DVD purchase when it's released.

only_kam There's not much to add from the other reviews on this drama. The only thing I would say, is that the ending was somewhat anti-climatic, it just felt like it could have ended with more of a bang, due to the build up of the finale. I don't think that I would be the only one in thinking that there was still enough room for an extra episode. Anyhow, the drama does extremely well in highlighting the plight of Alzheimer sufferers and the effect on those around them in the wider context of it being a thriller. I think the casting was great, it was nice to see Olivia Coleman playing such a rich character in support. Obviously credit goes to John Simm for providing an outstanding performance of great depth, as well as Jim Broadbent's lovable portrayal as the father suffering from Alzheimers. Also, Kate Magowan oozed an unconventional sense of sexiness from her first scene behind the bar.I am glad to have watched this show and I shall be recommending this to all my friends!