Pretty Good

hyped garbage

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Great acting, great cast, extremely well made series based on true events in my eyes its a must see show.

First the good : this is fine drama, lovingly crafted and acted. The pace is unhurried, the period atmosphere is convincing and evocative and there are a number of outstanding performances, especially by protagonists Douglas Henshall and Martin Compston, who show a fine chemistry. Compston's Peter Manuel is deeply, chillingly convincing : glib, cocksure, cunning, murderous and (who knows ?) perhaps not entirely sane and/or human.Sadly there are also a number of missed opportunities. The series does not succeed in digging deep into Manuel's psyche : the viewer learns what he does, but not why he does it. (Still, this may be an unjust comment, as there is a chance that killers like Manuel may not have a recognizable inner life or may not understand their drives and obsessions themselves.) By the same token the series does not fully explore the constant enabling by Manuel's family, which provides excuses and alibi's like other families provide food or shelter. Are his family members terrified of him ? Do they benefit from his crimes ? Do they envy his daring ? Do they belong to some perverted clan which recognizes no law from God or man, save clan loyalty ? And if so, where does this perverted clan attitude come from, and how does it function ?It might also have been a good idea to include Manuel's trial, which must have been both stunning and heart-rending. It would have been a good opportunity for examining a number of crucial questions such as : are our society and our legal apparatus really suited for dealing with killers like Manuel ? Where does one draw a line between sanity and insanity, between punishment and treatment ? (But again, this may be an unjust comment, since I have an almost boundless appetite for courtroom scenes and will gobble anything, including procedural discussions about venues or cross-examinations about stolen bikes. And of course it's entirely possible that the makers of the series wisely, and kindly, refrained from re-opening old wounds or stirring up forgotten quarrels.)

Real life events are chillingly brought to life in this three part series from ITV. A case that spanned three years, William Muncie takes on Serial killer Peter Manuel, a clever and twisted killer who took great pleasure in taunting Muncie. Manuel, a cocky and sadistic man known as The Beast of Birkenshaw, left his calling card at the scenes of his crimes, and almost got away with murder.Almost a drama of good and evil, the case of Manuel is well known, and the drama does a good job of remaining grounded and not sensationalising the events, almost subtle.The drama was very much in sage hands, Douglas Henshall is such a talented actor, bringing Muncie to life, giving him credibility. Martin Compston on the other hand, what a turn around, so used to him in Line of Duty as the handsome good guy Steve Arnott, he shows us his skills here, he injects a venom into the character, he manages to look older and sinister. A fantastic interplay between both characters.

Once the premise was established during the first episode, Compston and the writers did such a thorough job of portraying Manuel's taunting, teasing and flaunting in the face of his bad acts already performed and yet to come that I found it impossible to actually watch. Especially in the face of Muncie's (Douglas Henshall) repeated and repeated and repeated defeats and humiliations.In that context I found the pace too slow, the tension too high, my frustration and dislike too much. So I fast forwarded through much of the first two episodes, checking in to get a feel for what was what.I hadn't googled any of it and didn't know the outcome. I was able to settle in and watch the third episode once things had advanced to the point where something else was likely to evolve.So, given all of that, I can say it was pretty good. The accents are at times challenging and access to subtitles will help with that.