Compulsion is a glossy, made for TV psychological thriller that provides 90 minutes or so of solid entertainment. Set in present day London, it tells the story of Anjika (played by Parminder Nagra). Anjika is the daughter of very wealthy Indian parents. She has just graduated from Cambridge University and, unbeknown to her parents, is in a relationship with a young Englishman, Alex (Ben Aldridge). Anjika's father wants her to marry the son of an Indian business partner of his, but Anjika is reluctant to do so. She wishes to pursue her own life with Alex and to free herself from her parents' stifling and controlling clutches. Her father's chauffeur, Flowers (Ray Winstone), offers to help Anjika resolve her problem. He is obsessed with Anjika - the "compulsion" of the title - and frames her unwanted suitor on a drugs charge. Things spiral out of control from there.
Compulsion is undemanding but gripping. It is well-acted and scripted. And it deals with - admittedly somewhat cursorily - the issues of arranged marriage, cultural integration and psychological obsession in an entertaining way. The plot is a little implausible - I cannot say why I think that to be the case without revealing too much of what happens - but that is often the case with thrillers of this sort. This is a programme that is worth watching. 7/10.
