bionic820-1
Very well done. Don't compare to everything else you have seen out there. More to come...
cathie454
This is a look into a small community and how they deal with a mass shooting in their town. The reporter who comes to report on the story (from a big news agency) was originally from the small town, and so his ties to it and understanding of it should have added to the story, but it really didn't, since his life was told in as disjointed a way as all the other characters' stories. It was hard to follow the story, as it goes back and forth in time as well as back and forth with various character's stories and their time lines. Also, it was slow, I think because the director was trying to give a picture of each victim's family and situation, as well as the shooter's family and situation; I think if the story had been told differently, it would have been easier to become involved in the story. This would have made more sense if there was a more linear story line. As it is, it's OK, but I wouldn't recommend this, and I wouldn't want to watch it again.
Tweekums
This bleak drama opens with a woman being shot as she tends her garden; we then go back to see what led ex-squaddie Stephan Morton to go on a killing spree. He learn how nobody took him seriously and mocked his claims to have served in the SAS; this escalates and he is brutally attacked by a serving soldier and a former member of the regiment. The next day he shoots the mother he has been caring for before setting off and shooting at anybody he can get in his sights. Later episodes show us the impact of what he did on the bereaved, on the community as a whole and on a journalist who has returned to Southcliffe to report on the events but is still haunted by his miserably childhood there.If you like your drama bleak then this is for you; everything about the location from the foggy marshes to the plaintive calls of the marsh birds serves to keep things suitably downbeat. Sean Harris, who seems the go-to guy if you want a psychopath, goes a fine job as Morton and the excellent Shirley Henderson is great as bereaved mother Claire. Things start well but unfortunately turn overly melodramatic when TV reporter David Whitehead has a meltdown on air then goes to the pub and tells the locals they had it coming! There is also no explanation of how Morton is in possession of an AK-47 as such weapons were banned after the frequently referenced Hungerford shootings in the '80s. Despite these flaws it is still worth watching if you like emotional dramas; and at only four episodes you won't waste too much to if you don't like it.
Alex Heaton (azanti0029)
The first part of this was shown last night, and directed with a steady hand and unravelling at its own pace, its clearly a drama that's not going to be rushed.The writers have taken the real events of Hungerford, Cumbria and Dunblane as their inspiration here, showing the characters and the sparks that lead up to one man (Sean Harris, brilliantly haunting) snapping and begin his random killing spree in a small fictional town in the UK. The tones here match the bleak morning fog of this sleepy coastal community and the camera takes it's time, not always showing you everything you want to see, a statement perhaps that the film makers here are willing to take risks and its all the better for it. Clearly taking well grounded advice from shows such as 'The Killing' time is taken to show all sides of a person so there will be more emotional consequence for the viewer later on as the first episode ended with the spree just beginning, though we were given a taste of this already at the start.It's style won't be to everyone's taste and I am sure some will find it a bit slow, but in a time of never ending crap reality TV and repetitive game shows, its about time someone showed some balls and made these sorts of gritty dramas that we used to be so good at. It gets my vote and I look forward to seeing more tonight.
AD
