Review by jhsteel

The atmosphere created in Shooting the Past is so compelling that it draws the viewer into its improbable world, and we accept that it could happen. The music is hypnotic, the photographs are fascinating, but most of all, the performances are wonderful. Lindsay Duncan is passionate and controlled at the same time - her dedication to her job is absolute. The sexual tension between her character and Liam Cunningham's is another factor that made it impossible to stop watching. All the English characters seem eccentric in some way, as you might expect from people who work in a photo library, but they are all 3-dimensional and I felt that I knew them by the end. As usual, Poliakoff has created a fantasy world which seems like the real world, but unexpected things happen and it's difficult to predict what the outcome will be. It gives us hope that we can do unexpected things ourselves. It is a drama of astonishing depth and must be seen - preferably several times.