Wonderfully offbeat film!

There is just so much movie here. For some it may be too much. But in the same secretly sarcastic way most telemarketers say the phrase, the title of this one is particularly apt.

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

This series is not light, it's heavy, there is pretty much no comic relief... The acting is excellent, the story-lines often gut wrenching reflecting on the real trials of being human, making bad mistakes and the like. It sounds like a downer, and it might be for some. I watched this for the first time on flix a couple of years ago, and basically binged through both seasons. Saw it again this year, and it's still completely riveting. If you are looking for a "cozy BBC mystery" like Miss Marple this isn't it.

A 10 episode limited anthology UK series. Each 1 hour story starts with someone being taken from a holding cell into a courtroom, where they will stand trial. Then we flashback into the story of what led them there, all building up to a final verdict in court. The most consistent strength of the series are the excellent performances. Christopher Eccleston, Sean Bean, Olivia Coleman, Juliet Stevenson are just a few of the top flight actors doing powerful, subtle and complex work. The stories themselves are somewhat variable. A couple feel too on the nose, or heavy handed in their themes. But most are at least quite good, and a few are flat out terrific – morally complicated, surprising, tense. They are also mostly quite grim. Even the few episodes with 'happy' endings still leave characters dealing with loss, broken families, damaged souls. As in real life, a 'not guilty' verdict doesn't simply put all the broken pieces of a life back together again. Because of that consistently dark, sad tone, this series doesn't cry out for binge watching. That would risk sending one out the window But this is worthwhile, intelligently written, solidly directed television, and well worth a look.

The acting in this opening episode of the new series of The Accused was superb, but the whole premise of the story was seriously flawed. Jimmy McGovern appears to have little knowledge of the subject he is writing about. Most transvestites are straight and enjoy the experience of cross dressing with their female partners, and not just for sexual gratification. Cross dressers do frequent gay bars but only because it enables them to drink in a non- threatening environment. The idea that a man like Simon/Tracie (Sean Bean) would drink in a city-centre bar dressed like a cross between Mae West and Madonna is totally ludicrous. What planet is Mr McGovern living on? It was not made clear exactly what Tony (Stephen Graham) was doing when he visited Tracie. Were they having sex, if yes then why not show it (perhaps McGovern didn't know what they would do to each other). But why would Tracie start a relationship with what was obviously a married man without discussing it and laying down some ground rules? It just lacks credibility. But perhaps the most bizarre aspect of this whole charade was the fact that Tracie was having a relationship with a psychopath who would rather violently stab his wife to death than tell her than he is gay - and not just an ordinary gay man but one who likes older men in unconvincing drag. Add to this ridiculous courtroom scene when Tracie addressed the court in full drag and you have all the makings of a really bad drama.There were so many embarrassing moments in this grubby little play: The scene where Tony tells Tracie he will only be seen out with her if she looks more convincing as a woman, the scene where Tracie visits Tony's wife for a makeover and stares at her breasts and the fact that Tracie agreed to go away with Tony after he publicly humiliated him. What does it all mean? It means that Jimmy McGovern is a lazy writer and should do his research properly. I feels sorry for the actors who are no doubt proud of their performances but should really have looked at the bigger picture.The problem with a lot of McGovern's scripts is that he can't make up his mind what he is writing about. In this case Transvestism or murder. He takes a controversial subject or story (no doubt lifted from the pages of a Sunday newspaper, in this from 1978 judging by the out-of-date concept) and twists it to suit his limited experience. If he seriously wanted to write about cross-dressing then why not talk to some real cross-dressers and use their experience to tell the story. That would certainly be a lot more realistic that this tosh.

'Accused', a series of six tough films scripted or co-scripted by Jimmy McGovern, strikes me as vaguely reminiscent of Alan Bleasdale's 'Boys From the Blackstuff'. What we have is a set of (essentially unconnected) intense dramas that effectively reflect the struggle of many ordinary Britons to survive and prosper. Each one ends in a court case; but it's not the gimmick that's important here. Most of these 21st century characters aren't desperately poor, in the way that Bleasdale's were, and McGovern lacks Bleasdale's political edge: these remain six random stories, without connecting narrative or theme. But there is some good writing, and also some great performances, from a portfolio of British character actors who know exactly how to do TV. It's not fun in the conventional sense, but its definitely worth a look.