Place of Execution

What a pity that Robert Hanks' callow review of the first episode is the only external assessment of this gripping thriller. I must confess, though, that when I saw it on TV I couldn't follow it - the simultaneous plots in past and present puzzled me, or perhaps I was 'as tired as a newt'! Anyway,I was sufficiently intrigued to get the DVD,and I'm so glad I did. Juliet Stevenson, too often under cast these days, is at her brilliant best as the dedicated TV reporter, 'crap mother' Catherine Heathcote, investigating the disappearance of 13-year old Alison Carter some 50 years ago. Elizabeth Day is so good as her troubled, overlooked daughter Saha, while Liz Moscrop as Catherine's novelist mother shows how Catherine was comparably overlooked. Catherine befriends George Bennett (the great Philip Jackson), whose eager beaver younger self is played by Lee Ingleby; Tom Maudsley and Dave Hill are both Fine as his loyal if sceptical sergeant. Then there's Greg Wise,supremely arrogant as the man you'd love to hate - but is he a murderer? There are astonishing twists at the end, yet they all make sense: wow!

I finished reading Val McDermid's excellent thriller, "Place of Execution," a couple of weeks ago, and enjoyed it enough to pickup the DVD of the miniseries of the same name. I have now seen it and cannot praise it highly enough. Despite the complexities of the story, with its twin time lines and intersecting stories, it worked, I thought. Val McDermid co-wrote the screenplay, which I loved. Despite some changes from the book, do doubt made to tighten the story, it works.

"Place of Execution" is morally ambiguous, to say the least, the darkest of dark tales. It asks the question, When must the truth be sacrificed because justice requires it. The question is never answered but that's a good thing. Instead, we are left to ponder.

The arrogant Philip Hawkin is the squire of the remote village of Scardale. Hawkin, well played with malevolently superciliousness by Greg Wise, has a wife and 13 year old stepdaughter, both of whom had lived in the village long before Hawkin came along. In 1963 the stepdaughter, Allison, disappears and the evidence developed by the police sets afoot this stark morality play, the facts of which are not fully revealed until 40 years later. To say more would deprive you of the rich pleasures of seeing the truth revealed a layer at a time. After that, you will be left to decide the justice of the matter.

A good story, fine actors and well made. You could predict the reality of the situation midway through the series, but it was nice to have all loose ends tied.

I know Juliet Stevens is supposed to be the star, but I felt like Lee Ingleby was the stand out performer. I have always liked Lee Ingleby from the time I saw him in George Gently. He is a good actor. The rest did a fine job.

I love Lee Ingleby who plays George. I first encountered Lee in the production of ' Inspector George Gently' . The rest of the cast is just great. My bone of contention is the photos supposedly representing a13year old girl. The photos looked like a female in her late 20's not a young vulnerable teenager.

I would love to know the background of this choice. it was quite off- putting and lost some of its tension due to this. Why did they use this particular female's photos? Is she the Producer or Director's wife? There has to be a reason as it was the only glitch in an otherwise fine production.

A complex story certainly. The twists and turns take you across decades with much of the story told in flashback. A girl has gone missing. A young detective takes on his first case with national notoriety. He is up against prejudice in his own police station being the only copper with a university background. His prime suspect is a man with real power and considerable arrogance.

40 years later a journalist (played masterfully by Juliet Stevenson) revisits the case and wonders if there was a miscarriage of justice. This production has done remarkable justice to a highly complex plot. The final hour of the three hour mini-series had me on the edge of my seat throughout. A very high quality drama and one that deserves to be seen.