La remplaçante

An absurd thriller which gets more absurd as it goes along. At the end you might be forgiven for thinking that the twists could had been done differently.

Ellen works for a successful architect's firm in Glasgow that lands a big contract but she soon gets pregnant. Ellen plans to return soon after having the baby and Paula is hired as the replacement. Paula is competent at her job and already has a 10 year old daughter. She took time out of her life to be with her daughter and be a full time parent during those early years.

Ellen is disturbed when Paula insists she should not return to work so quickly and she fears that Paula has another agenda, she might be malevolent. Pretty soon Paula impresses the bosses, clients and Ellen comes across as paranoid. Ellen is even accused of violence towards Paula and even child neglect. As her relationship with her boyfriend falls apart Ellen needs to expose Paula as a manipulator but as others think, it is Ellen who might be disturbed.

There is an element of Fatal Attraction here as Paula gazes at Ellen's perfect life, perfect family. The third episode should had been more intriguing but falls apart as many of the characters behave bizarrely.

This production could have been a ten. A complex tale about a replacement professional being hired to cover, for a senior Architect, in a small practice.

As the story progresses, you become hooked, and are left guessing about every major character. There is quality tension, in more than a few scenes, and unlike some dramas a more restrained type of shock hits you, which is far more effective. Vicky McClure is simply superb, and i could watch her all day, as my wife equally agreed. Unfortunately Morven Christie, and Richard Rankin, were not as eye catching. One can find faults in the story line, but it entertained us both, and was enjoyable viewing. I bet Hitchcock would loved to direct this tale. The ending could have been so much better, and in dramas like this, having rather different or even sinister closure, would make it far more memorable. I also think there is plenty of room for this type of work, and even wonder if writers consult with genuine drama lovers, as to how to get the best out such stories. Reading complete reviews of this is risky, simply do what we did, and enjoy it.

I really enjoyed this thriller. A slick, gripping, engaging three part drama which develops well, before a dramatic, albeit unusual conclusion.

Beautifully acted, the two main players Morven Christie (Ellen) and Vicky McClure (Paula) are excellent, bouncing off one another brilliantly, as you watch you get a true sense of awkwardness, almost loathing between the pair, the body language was expertly done.

McClure is always the good guy, moral, but here she has a killer smile, beautiful but deadly. Well acted all round, Dougray Scott, Siobhan Redmond etc, but it's the two lead actresses that shine.

The first two episodes are great, if a little padded at times, the third is definitely bonkers, and came in for a lot of criticism, but I enjoyed it, after two hours of meaningful stares they needed to do something different, and that they certainly did.

The finale wasn't what I was expecting, I had a different conclusion in my mind altogether, but I applaud it for being bold, too often you watch a drama which contains a flat conclusion, not here.

8/10, really enjoyed.

This was creepy in a sociopath kind of way, the ending was perfectly ok and I really enjoyed it. I have no idea why some people are bagging it.

Thank you to the reviewer who said ignore the negative reviews and watch it. Really good.

Started with the promise of plenty of suspense in the first two episodes.However the climax was totally unbelievable and lacked any logic. Also I think it could have been filmed in just two episodes and not as three. I now regret having wasting my time watching this series. A disappointment as it started so well.