I have just watched one of the season 1 episodes "the Placer" and was astonished by the sheer quality of the writing. The episode covers an undercover mission by Jack Reagan, seeking to infiltrate a gang of armed robbers. What is amazing is the depth of moral uncertainty the writers infuse across almost every story beat. The cops are bending the rules to bring down the bad guys - but they aren't immune from the negative impacts of that rule-bending - even down to innocent people losing their jobs etc. I have seen many feature films (and read many scripts) which don't come close to the moral complexity and sheer speed of plotting evidenced in this episode. Minor characters are well drawn, with a strong sense of their reality extending beyond the boundaries of the episode - something almost never encountered on modern TV. Even the final denouement is shot with panache, putting most other TV cop shows to shame. The likes of Line of Duty (in the UK) pale into insignificance compared to this. I remembered the Sweeney from my childhood (my father was in a similar job to Jack Regan and so there are huge resonances) but having spent many years working as a screenwriter, the sheer quality of this piece enthralled me. Well worth a watch, if you can track it down.
Reviews
3 Reviews
startlingly good documentary, poor narration
24 October 2021
I leaned things in this movie that I've not known about in decades of study of archeology. The evidence shown here knocks the entire framework of archeological science onto its ass. Proves beyond reasonable doubt that some ancient megalithic civilisation was working stone in ways we can't still manage, right across the globe. The narration is, in fairness, fairly poor. I think t's the Director herself. Laying down a different narration would elevate this to the top rank of documentary movies. Definitely worth seeing though.
Kidnapped
(1971)
surprisingly well made movie
8 September 2019
I watched this on holiday, then got the DVD and watched it again, and from a film making point of view I was hugely impressed. the story is an adaptation of the classic novel, and it works fine, with a nice dilemma for the protagonist centred around the need for continuing a needless conflict. The cast is incredible. But for me the look of the thing was what knocked me over. The location scenes are stunningly beautiful for the most part. The reconstruction of the aftermath of Culloden was very well done. The use of Stirling Castle as Edinburgh castle was terrific. Some of the sequences (the duel in the Castle, for instance,) are reminiscent of the quality of Barry Lyndon. If I had a quibble, it's that the ending is a bit too sudden and could have done with a little more working out. But. I really enjoyed watching this - and if you're a fellow lover of the Scottish landscape, you'll enjoy it too!
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