Suspicion

Watched this after reading a glowing preview in the Evening Standard and glad I did. On the surface it's well above average TV thriller fare. But a lot more is going on underneath too. The painting on the wall is just one example, an enigmatic picture that's juxtaposed with Amanda Redman's character in what must be the signature shot of the story, revealing several layers of mood in just a few seconds.

And there are other flashes of inspired direction you won't normally see in TV drama, such as the Francis Bacon-esque struggle of two characters superimposed on a travelling shot through a house towards the end result. It's stuff like this, where a lot of thought has been put in to adding visual depth to a story, that makes for worthwhile viewing.

Rock-solid performances all round and an outstanding sound mix/music score complete one of the best examples of the genre this year.

When affluent, happily married Carol Finnegan receives an email from 'The Truth-teller' doubt, murder and infidelity are all on the cards. She begins to doubt her husband, Adrian Dunbar, and things escalate up to a point where she thinks she's losing her mind.

'Suspicion' could of been a kick ass TV thriller/drama but it fails on many points-it's over long, the computer always seems to be on (which is very handy for the story) and when an email is received a loud flashing email icon takes up the whole screen, unlike one I have ever seen. Carol never seems to doubt 'Truth-teller' and always follows 'Truth-teller's' advice. It ties up far too easily with the unlikeable characters disposed of. And the only reason why it might take you a time to figure out whodunit is because of Adrian Dunbar's acting- I couldn't decide if he's character, Mark Finnegan, was really pretending to be cold and deadly dull. Or was it simply Adrian's wooden acting? It was the acting. At times it delivers with the suspense, but mostly it fails. Amanda Redman makes her character come to life in an otherwise dull drama.