The Accident

I watched episode 1 of 'The Accident' last night, Jack Thorne's a brilliant writer and the cast is wonderful but it was so harrowing. The story is based around a small and poor village and its residents. A new building collapses on some youngsters who have broken in to graffiti the place. It's about the fall out as some kids are dead and some have life changing injuries. It's about who is to blame and about relationships crumbling. The most shocking bit for me was the brief but incredibly powerful scene of domestic violence played out brilliantly and convincingly by Sarah Lancashire and Mark Lewis, it came out of nowhere and I found it deeply distressing to witness. Not sure yet, about the rest of it, I might choose to watch something a tad more uplifting! #theaccident

I read a number of the bad reviews but watched this in spite of them and glad I did. This is a terrific piece of British television. I say British because there is something intrinsically British about it's approach. It is beautifully written and beautifully acted in a simple, truthful and understated way. It's message of one woman's inherent goodness in the face of loss, hurt and corporate greed is told without show or sensationalism. Wonderful

I find it strange that words like 'parody' and 'cliched' can be used to describe this human drama when endless predictable detective thrillers, girls captive in a cellar dramas etc seem to get such rave reviews here. I thought the unfolding relationships were compelling, the acting (in the main) good and the plot was making a good attempt to get under the skin of the emotional destructiveness of this kind of tragedy. Yes there were cliched moments - the confrontation between the owner of the building and Sarah Lancashire's character for example - but I certainly think it's worth watching further episodes. Nowhere near as good as the excellent 'Virtues' by the same writer - but nowhere near as bad as some reviewers are suggesting.

Glyngolau, Wales is like any company town when the company leaves. It no longer can depend on the coal mine or the steel plant, because those jobs have moved overseas. The population is thrilled when a Japanese company begins to build a new factory that promises 1,000 new jobs. The joy turns to agony when the building collapses on a group of teenagers and the building site manager.

Sarah Lancashire anchors an ensemble cast as Polly, the woman whose daughter Leona is the sole survivor of the accident. Polly knows something isn't right about the accident but she isn't sure she wants to know what it is. Her husband Iwan is the head of the council who brought the business to Glyngolau.

So begins a story that is part mystery, part soap opera and part exposition on the way rabid greed takes advantage of financial desperation. It may be set in Wales, but it could be about Altoona or Gadsden or Cleveland,

The countryside of Wales is beautiful (and I wish we had seen more of it). The performances are sensitive and restrained, which may not please viewers who want scene chewing. The pacing may be too slow for some, but I liked the leisurely way the director "showed" rather than "told" us what was happening inside the characters.

I really thought this was good! I had a bit of trouble understanding and had to turn on the subtitles, but I watched it straight through. Sorry to see such low ratings.