The Reckoning

From the moment the CD recording of a SAW-style voice is heard on screen, solemnly informing the confused listener that she has a task ahead of her you know this is going to be a familiar type of thriller. And, indeed, everything that follows is entirely predictable and poorly written, with big chunks of exposition regularly dropped into the storyline.

Take, for instance, Beesley's line "I've only known you a year". There's no discernible reason somebody in real life would tell their wife/girlfriend this to their face, as it's unsaid knowledge. But THE RECKONING is full of such heavy-handed explanatory lines.

It's a two-part drama commissioned by ITV and one of their lesser efforts. Ashley Jensen, hot from her success in America, is cast in the lead role but struggles with the emoting required. She's full of strangulated noises and expressions of mock horror straight out of acting school. Beesley is better, but appears to be sleepwalking through a character whose motivations never ring true.

The plotting is the worst aspect, and although the pacing picks up in the second half the logic and editing fall apart. And I can't help finding it slightly distasteful that they fall back on the old cliché of a kid with a brain tumour to garner audience sympathy. One to miss.

I was looking forward to seeing this, I loved Ashley Jensen in her role in Extras and totally believed in her ability to transfer from comedy to serious TV. I was wrong! Ashley doesn't get it, the same way a great actor on TV, doesn't 'get' the move to theatre. There are far too many times that her expression and action do not justify the action or drama that is unfolding. This sounds forgivable, but as a lead, its painful to watch, for example, in one scene where she is devastated, she sleeps in the bed with her Daughter to hold her, yet it looks like she wants to put on gloves and is as distant as possible!! Or in another, she sits at a murder scene watching it unfold without any fight or flight action. As far as I am aware, its either not neither! I would say, I don't think this is bad just because of Ashley, Max Beasley is wooden throughout and very bad, he really needs to think as an actor, I say that because he has had a successful role in a long running TV show, and it seems he thinks that he doesn't need to put effort in, and he just appears lazy throughout.

In addition, the plot was silly, it gives you all the indication, then tries to steer you away to another direction, but because of the lack of actors/actresses in it, the plot is easily uncovered.

If I was to lay blame for this show not being good, it would be the writer/s, it was an awful script, though I also want to add, a script is what you make it and in this day and age actors/actresses have a lot of say, if Max or Ashley had any decent acting within them, they would have suggested better ways of doing this show, but they obviously didn't!! Don't waste 90 minutes, find another show to watch!!!