Throb3214

I saw this tonight on ITV1 and loved the story, the acting and the production. Chris Eccleston- always a good, solid actor- was particularly good in this playing the father of a young girl who wants to get her into a good school after a tragic incident at her previous school. The parents have to pretend to be Catholic to get the girl into a prestigious school and all seems well but-this being a thriller- you know things can only go very, very wrong. It was a pure cut-above most TV dramas in that it had an original, cracking script with a good quality cast; Eccleston, David Warner, Lesley Manville and Susannah Harker being the leads. I was enthralled by each new plot twist and the great plot pitting the almost Atheist parents against the good (and bad) aspects of the Catholic church. And the deception has you, weirdly, rooting for them as they have done what they've done for love. Only actors you like can bring this to roles this good. David Warner is a good actor and he brought conflicting aspects to his priest character. An initially warm priest he conveys it well until a revelation about him makes you reconsider how you feel about him. Totally. Highly needed repeat showings in future ITV so more people can see this. This was so good it could have been a film. There's so many rubbish ITV1 thrillers and dramas but this was much better.

Jason Isaacs is a great actor but even he surpasses himself in this TV drama shown recently on Channel 4. His portrayal of a now domesticated bad boy is spot-on. I mean it. SPOT-ON. I've never seen an actor so realistically portray such a thug as he did here. I know people like the character he plays here. I've mixed in pubs where you have to get out pronto if someone like him looked at you the wrong way. Isaacs- for a Scouse-born actor is note perfect in his portrayal of the macho, masochistic, violent Londoner. His voice is just like every older geezer I've been around all my life. I see him in pubs all the time. The sheer power of his menacing turn here is in the raw documentary style but Isaacs never once falls back into a seemingly showy act-orly style. It's just in the mannerisms and dialogue. There is not one iota of violence on screen and yet the sheer dread you feel is from the performance. He plays a nasty piece of work without once actually being nasty. I truly haven't seen anyone play such a realistic role. I know it comes from the fact that I identify with people like the one he plays but I am still a fan of acting and good actors. I thought Carlyle's vicious portrayal of Begbie in Trainspotting and all of Nil By Mouth was good till I saw Jason Isaacs here. He is truly menacing. Great, great drama that should have got a wider audience.