Landscapers

I often find British crime dramas to either be so desaturatedly bleak that they're a slog to watch, or too cartoonish to take seriously - Landscapers is neither and instead takes its filmic cue from the murderous couple's adoration for old romance and westerns. As such the four episode miniseries is alive with action scenes, arch fourth wall deconstructions, monochrome melodrama, soft focus romanticism and everything in between. Its layered restlessness accompanied by some charged performances and a deep empathy for the characters (and people) gave it a strange charm and I found myself completely won over by it. Definitely worth a gander.

A strange adaptation mixing fantasy with reality but I'm not really sure that it worked.

It wasn't badly acted or anything but i think I'd have preferred a more traditional handling of the subject.

This show held me until episode 4, when it all but descended into farce and got too clever for its own good.

It could easily have been told in 3 taut episodes. For me the breaking of the 4th wall in ep4 (which began in ep3) didn't belong, and was an unnecessary distraction.

This is a rather frustrating movie. The story it tells is interesting. The performances are terrific, especially Olivia Coleman who is brilliant. But the whole movie is done with all these strange film references that I don't think make any sense.

I suppose it's some message about their fantasy Life or how they tell stories and how the police tell stories or something but it doesn't really work and it doesn't really make the story better. It's just this weird distracting thing. Every once in awhile it works when it doesn't go too far. But things like the big Western sequences that fill up one episode seems more like a way to get a TV movie length show up to four episodes.

Still, it's worth watching just to see Coleman as the genial and slightly off housewife.

As Episode 1 of "Landscapers" (2021 release from the UK; 4 episodes of about 55 min each) opens, we are told upfront what the outcome of these events are, so there is no need for guessing how it's all going to end. We are then introduced to Susan, who is browsing an antique store somewhere in France (Lille, we learn later). She buys a rare movie poster. Back at the apartment, her husband Christopher comes home from yet another wasted day trying to find a job. Christopher tells Susan that things are dire and they are just about out of money, not to mention late on their rent. He decides to call his stepmother back in the UK to beg for financial help... At this point we are 1o min into Episode 1.

Couple of comments: this tv mini-series in based on true events (in the closing credits of Episode 1, we get actual news clips from various British TV stations). As mentioned already, we are told in the opening seconds what the final outcome for Susan and Christopher will be, so in other words, it's not about the ending but instead about Susan's and Christopher's journey to the ending. For sure this mini-series in very dark and oh so very British. That combination seems to have prompted a number of 1 and 2 star reviews on here, to which I say: "you wouldn't spot quality if it hit you in the face". The talent that is attached to this mini-series is amazing, none more so than Olivia Colman as Susan (Colman was nominated for an Oscar for her performance in last year's "The Father"). This series is written and directed by Ed Sinclair (a/k/a Colman's husband in real life). The role of Christopher is played by veteran British actor David Thewlis. Bottom line: there is a lot to like about this TV mini-series, and I can't wait to see the rest of Susan's and Christopher's journey.

"Landscapers" premiered on HBO just a few days ago, and Episode 1 is now available on HBO On Demand and HBO Max (where I caught it last night). If you are in the mood for a true crime series that is dark and very British, I'd readily suggest you check it out, and draw your own conclusion.