Low Winter Sun

This is a brilliant film noir and Edinburgh, possibly the most haunted and haunting city in Europe, is the perfect backdrop for this gripping drama of deception, corruption, love and moral conflict. Though the film is downright grisly at times, it is completely in line with Scotland's brutal history and Auld Reekie's Burke and Hare past. In fact, the town and its history are one of the main characters. Low Winter Sun is a murder/missing person mystery that is a classic tale of human evil that also addresses today's urban problems, such as, illegal immigration and the weakening of religious faith. It is superbly acted with outstanding performances by Mark Strong and Brain McCardie. The cinematography is disturbingly beautiful and the editing is seamless. My only complaint about this film is that it is not available on DVD!

I tried to like this, but in the end I had to give up. It was all too dour and it was too gruelling to try to make out what everyone was saying (strong Scottish accents). It was also too wearing hearing all the endless swearing. (Often these were the clearest words spoken.) This language may be realistic, but this is entertainment, not a documentary. The story, after all, is not very believable.

I saw this on BBC Prime, the endless-repeats-from-a-bin-of-old-tapes channel the BBC half-heartedly throws together for people outside the UK. This was one of the few programmes not from the BBC's own dusty archives. It's a pity it was not better, since the channel is very short of material.