Before this series started previews suggested it would be one to watch; often such shows don't live up to the hype but this one certainly did. The seven part series follows the investigation into the murder of Wratten, a drug baron, who has just been released form prison following a royal pardon. Nobody on the investigation knows what he did to gain his pardon; it must have been something important though as they aren't usually given to drug dealers. Jonah Gabriel, the officer leading the investigation has recently returned to duty after an incident that left his partner dead and himself with a bullet in the brain and a lost memory; he doesn't even know if he is corrupt or not. He isn't the only person eager to learn who killed Wratten; his nephew and other members of his organisation are keen to find out who killed him as well as trying to get a large shipment of heroin into the country. Of course not everybody is keen to see the crime solved; it seems that as soon as a new lead is found a mysterious character who goes by the name of 'Gatehouse' eliminates that lead. As the series reaches its dramatic conclusion the tally of the dead increases; this tally includes some real surprises that come as a real shock when they occur.
This was a gripping drama; Chiwetel Ejiofor does a fine job as Gabriel and Christopher Eccleston and Rafe Spall are good as drug dealers Joseph Bede and Jay Wratten; however it is Stephen Rea who steals the show as the sinister and enigmatic 'Gatehouse'. It is a mystery who he is; is he rival dealer or does he work for the state? His appearance certainly resembles fictional spy George Smiley. If these mysteries aren't enough we also have corruption in the police, a drug dealer coping with a wife with Alzheimer's and a policeman who is wife is desperate to have a child. Hugo Blick did a great job bringing this to the screen as the writer, producer and director; he created a story that is both gripping and atmospheric...The final episode was one of the tensest things I've seen on television for a long time and also one of the most shocking. While I loved this series some people might not be keen as there is a fair amount of swearing and some fairly shocking violence some of which involves children.
This was a gripping drama; Chiwetel Ejiofor does a fine job as Gabriel and Christopher Eccleston and Rafe Spall are good as drug dealers Joseph Bede and Jay Wratten; however it is Stephen Rea who steals the show as the sinister and enigmatic 'Gatehouse'. It is a mystery who he is; is he rival dealer or does he work for the state? His appearance certainly resembles fictional spy George Smiley. If these mysteries aren't enough we also have corruption in the police, a drug dealer coping with a wife with Alzheimer's and a policeman who is wife is desperate to have a child. Hugo Blick did a great job bringing this to the screen as the writer, producer and director; he created a story that is both gripping and atmospheric...The final episode was one of the tensest things I've seen on television for a long time and also one of the most shocking. While I loved this series some people might not be keen as there is a fair amount of swearing and some fairly shocking violence some of which involves children.