Dark Money

My Review- Dark Mon£y Rating 7/10

I turned on the news today to hear Kevin Spacey's sexual abuse charges had been withdrawn so it was timely after watching the conclusion of Dark Money last time.

Dark Money is a well acted very disturbing drama about another Me Too situation involving a young boy Isaac played so convincingly and movingly by Max Fincham who while appearing in a Studio Blockbuster is sexually abused by the powerful film Producer and has mobile evidence to prove it .

The most disturbing part of this story is the decision and consequences that Isaac's parents make and no spoilers but one moment you see this mixed race family are in huge debt and living in modest housing the next they are 3 million British pounds richer and living in a mansion.

It made me think of Leaving Neverland ,the even more disturbing Michael Jackson sexual abuse documentary when both sets of parents in one way or another suspected the abuse was occurring but said nothing either due to ignorance or their to promote their child's future career .

Hopefully the ABC might buy this series but with the reduction of funding by the Federal Government I suspect their budget is very limited these days but catch it on DVD or U.K. TV Foxtel.

A cop out. They had no choice at the start but they don't say that at the end.

I know this is a film series about an extremely painful subject, but the BBC still seem to think that slow and 'poignant ' silences will fill the lack of good dialogue... We're up to episode two, so two to go, but this is disappointing so far...

I'll be honest, ten minutes in, I thought I would have had to switch it off, the subject material is incredibly dark. However, the performances were such, that I got into it. As it progresses, it gets darker, and more engaging.

A fabulous cast deliver some incredible performances, Max Fincham is the standout, he's captivating, as is Jill Halfpenny, she's been prolific, I just had no idea and was this good.

It of course deals with recent events in Hollywood, and beyond, but is as much about the diabolical creation, the NDA.

I urge you to try and watch this without feeling a raft of emotions, anger, pity, frustration etc.

Incredibly good. 9/10

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning

SERIES ONE

Manny (Babou Ceesay) and Sam (Jill Halfpenny) welcome their teenage son, Isaac (Max Fincham) back from the States, where he has just had a major role in a big budget sci-fi thriller. However, his success has come at a terrible price, when he produces mobile phone footage, that contains an audio recording of him being sexually abused by one of the film's producers. Facing insurmountable obstacles suing a rich, powerful man in the States, they accept some hush money, a decision which sends them spiralling down into a destructive cycle of despair and retribution.

The BBC, in recent years, has become a hotbed for former stars from years back becoming the subject of sexual abuse scandals, in the wake of the revelations about Jimmy Savile. But, as if by some terrible coincidence, now Hollywood, the dominant film industry over the pond, has started to produce its own checklist of high profile sexual abusers. Dark Money serves, in some definition, as a perverse amalgamation of these two dark worlds, in an effective drama that gets beneath the skin.

Strong performances all round guide the weighty material along, in a pretty 'woke' cast, the most admiration of which has to go to the young Fincham, as the violated young man, whose mistreatment results in him transforming into an aggressive, not always likeable young bloke, who still manages to endear us to him in the end. But powerful, sturdy support from Ceesay and Halfpenny as the devastated mixed race parents is an essential part of what makes the whole thing flow like clockwork.

Here, reflecting their own modern turmoil, the beeb have produced an ambitious, searing, unconventional, but highly rewarding piece of work. ****