If you are looking for a show to keep you on the edge of your seat, the newly released mystery drama Inside Man could be up your alley. The four-part series combines excellent acting with a tense yet strange storyline.
Inside Man was the most stressful thing I have watched recently. Airing on the BBC on the 26th of September and released on Netflix on the 31st of October. The subject matter is suitably grim. Tension builds relentlessly throughout the series, making for an uncomfortable watch as the drama unfolds.
credit: Inside Man
There Are Dissecting Storylines Interwoven Through This Four-Part Series.
The main action involves a well-to-do English family. David Tennant plays the male lead, a well-meaning vicar tending diligently to his flock. Lyndsey Marshall plays his wife, Mary, and Louis Oliver plays his teenage son. A misunderstanding sets a chain of terrible events in motion with devastating consequences for everyone involved. The tagline for the series, “Everyone’s a murderer, you just need a good reason and a bad day,” gives you a reasonable idea of the subject matter to follow.
The premise of a loss of moral compass in the face of events that threaten the well-being of the family unit is, in part, unbelievable. However, the action left me unable to help to shout at the tv screen for several moments, which had me covering my eyes. The characters seem unable to help make increasingly stupid decisions, which requires a level of suspension of disbelief on the part of the audience. Surely in real life, people would not be so blindly stupid!
The action is interlinked with the fate of Jefferson Grieff, a disgraced criminologist waiting for his imminent death sentence in the US for the brutal murder of his wife. He mutilated her body and hid her head which he refused to reveal the location of. Grieff is portrayed as a super-intelligent yet morally questionable prisoner who people seek out advice on criminal cases due to his criminology background and presumably intimate knowledge of the inner workings of the criminal mind. His cellmate, played by Atkins Estimond, provides some light comic relief to the otherwise high-tension proceedings.
credit: Inside Man
Maths Teacher Janice Fife Becomes Embroiled in Unexpected Events.
Janice is one of the pivotal characters who set this somewhat ridiculous chain of events in motion at the beginning of the series. Beth is interviewing and, to some extent, bonds with Grieff as he takes a shine to her spunky and tenacious character.
Janice’s character, on the other hand, is wildly infuriating. She seems unable to behave like any rational person despite the events being outside her control. The show’s ending in a post-credits scene seems to leave the show open for a second series involving Janice, Grieff, and the surviving characters. Something off around her character runs more profound than the first series explores.
If you are into dark-mystery dramas, I recommend watching the show. The four-part episode structure means there’s not too heavy a time investment for the viewer. It is perfectly possible to binge-watch in one sitting. Fair warning it is not one to watch if you are after something to switch your mind off to.
David Tennant puts in a solid performance, which carries the storyline through, even if you want to give him a good shake to knock some sense into him. The action is emotionally involved right through to the end. His wife, Mary, provides an excellent emotional foil to the drama. He was created by Steven Moffat, known for his work in Doctor Who and Sherlock. You know you are in safe hands with Moffat for a thriller-action show.
According to reviews, the show has received mixed reactions. Understandably it is probably not everyone’s cup of tea. However, I would give it a whirl if you fancy a tense bit of television.
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