Acceptable Risk

I'm a stickler for good research and continuity. I got off to a bad start with the scenes in Ireland being in early fall and the ones in Montreal (supposedly happening at the same time) being in freezing cold February. When production errors like that happen, it's distracting and I find I simply can't get fully absorbed into the plot.

And could they not find a francophone actor to play the Montreal police Detective Dusquene? Instead, they chose Alberta-born Geordie Johnson, who I'm sure, could at least have uttered a few words of French now and then to give him some credibility.

At best, the acting is OK, but maybe I was spoiled from just finishing the amazing Night Sky, with Sissy Spacek and J. K. Simmons.

I made it to the end, which is something. But without the above glaring issues, I would have rated it much higher.

"Acceptable Risk" is the Irish version of the Welsh drama "Keeping Faith". The similar plots only differ in the fine details. Both are well worth watching with strong female leads and some good supporting actors. Both have a loving wife and mother discovering secrets about their absent husband.

The intriguing mystery is cleverly built up as evidence is gradually uncovered. Both then come to rather a brief conclusion. Tidying up all the loose ends in a rather simplistic fashion. "Acceptable Risk" probably has the edge in the quality of the production and the credibility of the characters.

Both are fast paced though this is more evenly sustained in "Acceptable Risk." The constraints of this pacing caused me to knock off a couple of points as, sometimes the plot was whisked along at the expense of subtlety.

Watching on Amazon Prime and only 5 epiosdes available!!! Also-to the one revieweer-this was set in Montreal, there are no RCMP in Quebec..they have ther own provincial police.... but, you are right -for the miniscule canadian connection, they manged to get Canadian funding. That sucks when so many of us Canadian producers are desperate for funding for our films!

The only real downside for me is Morten Suurballe's strange robotic speech pattern. It sounds so unnatural.

Disclaimer - I only watched 2 episodes. Then I bailed.

Lots of little things add up to a poor series. Some bad acting (Canadian Detective, 2nd husband), obvious villain's (Pharma head), and some low budget constraints perhaps (both Canadian and Irish detectives working solo without partners). Elaine Cassidy knows literally nothing personal about her husband, and he was just murdered and she shows almost no grief (I know- she was just holding it in).