Les ombres du passé

Tight script, good direction, excellent performances, strong cast, effective use of locations....

Paul McGann gives a detailed, subtle performance as the man in the centre of a new murder investigation who may just have committed a similar murder previously.

There is an interesting moral & emotional journey happening with his character (Ben Turner) and it intersects with the journey undertaken by Amanda Burton. Inevitably they cross over... Who has done what?

The examination of WHY, both in the past and in the present, rather than WHO might have yielded a more interesting, Dostoyevskian story, but hey, who's complaining?

This was presented in the US on Public Television's "Mystery" in three parts, which I taped and watched in one sitting. Amanda Burton is outstanding in a role which is slow to develop but full of passion. Overall, a great sense of drama and betrayal, filled with characters of no great physical beauty but considerable dimension. I did have some problems with the accents and dialog, although I generally have less difficulty with this than most Americans. While I thought I had sussed out the mystery, I found myself second guessing and the ending is a stunner. Certainly more demanding than most of the "Mystery" offerings, and maybe for a certain palate. Oh, and the lead detective is certainly unique.

This is possibly the best short crime drama I've ever seen. The acting is superb especially Amanda Burton who's character goes from scary to sweet to disturbing to sad and then some...She does an amazing job balancing Rachels/Carlas feelings and acting out the pain of someone who's lost a child, its so believable that it feels more like a real life story then a drama. The other actors are of course great too which they usually are in British TV/Film. The ending,which I'm not going to give away,is fantastic mainly because you don't really get one... (you'll get what I mean after you've seen it) This is well worth buying and seeing over and over again and if you're not touched by this you're one cold hearted person.