The Crow Road

'The Crow Road' came out at a time when gritty dramas were flavour of the month like 'The Lakes', 'This Life', 'Shockers' etc. but, for me, this was the big stand-out. Mainly because it was so well adapted from the book and because of the great cast. Joseph McFadden, who plays the lead (Prentice McHoan), was relatively unknown at the time, but more than held his own alongside established actors like Bill Paterson & Peter Capaldi. Also the young support cast of Dougray Scott, Valerie Edmond & Simone Bendix play their parts very well. Dougray Scott, in particular, is perfectly cast as Prentice's swaggering, comedian brother.

The director keeps the suspense and mystery going throughout, allowing the story to come together a little at a time, leading on to an explosive finale that I found genuinely surprising.

I don't think I've seen anything else like it.

10/10 Outstanding.

At first I only watched this because of the impressive use of the landscape of the west coast of Scotland, and area I'd toured earlier that year. However, I was soon pulled irresistibly into the complex, detailed storyline. Be warned - this story probably isn't good for anyone who can't keep track of several plots running concurrently. While the flashbacks can sometimes be confusing, they add so much to the story.

The acting is also wonderful. All the characters come to bright, shining life from their first appearances.

And let's face it, how many stories begin with the words "It was the day my Grandmother exploded"?

An excellent adaption. Charismatic and convincing cast. Captures the spirit of the source book as well as any adaption I've seen.

Brian Elsley's enormously commendable adaptation of Iain Banks' brilliant but seemingly unfilmable complex novel benefits from a witty, beautifully literate script and a strong cast, spearheaded by an immensely charismatic Joe McFadden as Prentice, the young Scot with the large, quirky circle of family and friends who gradually unravels a web of dark secrets. Bill Patterson is also worthy of note as the story-weaving, staunchly aetheist father, and the whole is a gripping, quietly stunning example of just how good BBC drama serials can be.

This has to be one of the most impressive pieces of drama ever to come out of Scotland. Outside of the long running series 'Taggart'(which had a very similar visual approach to 'The Crow Road')and the films 'Trainspotting','Shallow Grave', 'Small Faces' and 'Local Hero' there is nothing Scottish i can think of which equals it for quality(some might say 'Gregory's Girl' but i was never to fond of that myself).The story is somewhat complicated but it is brilliantly put together. I also have to say that i have never read the novel so the adaption is very user friendly and by the look of the other reviews it has pleased fans of the original text aswell.The only problem i felt was with the ending which i thought just seemed to smooth and cleared everything up too well. But on the whole this is a minor criticism. It is strange to think that i first saw this 6 years ago, when it was first screened by the BBC. Its also somewhat sad that the careers of perhaps the dramas two most outstanding performers, Joe McFadden and Valerie Edmund, haven't gone anywhere since as it seemed at the time that both were set for stardom. Howerever Dougray Scott, who had a somewhat minor role as Prentice's older brother, has gone on to much bigger things including being Tom Cruise's nemesis in Mission Impossible:2.