A Likeness in Stone

This series (shown as a 2-part series in NZ) was brilliant! The acting is performed well, but more than that, the story and the way in which it's told is fantastic.

Only minor bits of information, via each character's flashbacks, are revealed to the viewer throughout part one. We see how the guilt and the painful memory of the murder of their best friend/girlfriend/lover has affected their lives ten years later, and the panic and fear they feel when the case is reopened.

It's a well-thought-out adaption from a novel, and the performance delivered by each actor is brilliant. This is a wonderful story, dark and sinister as it may be, which kept me curious and alert to the end.

A taped version of this British television movie was sent to me from someone who knew I was a fan of one of the actors. All I can say is that this was a very uniquely directed and stylish thriller with the four leads absolutely believable in roles where three of them age about ten years. Again, the presentation of the story is very unique (and while at times gets on your nerves)which I guess is the point in creating the edgy, moody feel of this drama. It's disappointing though that quality British dramas of this kind will never make it to US television and that we are subjected to endless reruns of outdated dramas like Magnum PI, Murder She Wrote etc etc even on our supposedly better channels (and you know who you are)! If by chance you get to see this one, enjoy excellent performances by the always outstanding Liam Cunningham as Detective Armstrong. Kudos to the woman who played Joan Poole as this was a completely pathetic and unglamorous role and she just went with it creepily capturing the kind of girl that most everyone came in contact with at school. Very brave performance. And finally... the powers that be have allowed Jonathan Firth to come out of his period costumes and into current times (Hallelujah!!) You won't be disappointed as he does an excellent job of morphing from adolescence to adulthood without any trace of a bad make-up job. Just some minor changes and some good old-fashioned acting.

This is a fantastically sinister thriller about the dark secret of three old college friends brought to the surface after divers find a body secreted in a house at the bottom of a reservoir.

The three friends are pursued by an obsessed ex-policeman who for ten years was the only one to believe them guilty of murder. The past and present merge as both the murder and its resolution are revealed.

There are excellent performances all round but Andrew Lincoln deserves particular credit in a great part.