Criminal Justice

THIS IS A REVIEW FOR THE FIRST SEASON ONLY:

Phenomenal. Ask me one word to describe this mini-series, and I'll answer you that. Then I'll urge you to go watch it.

Why?

Well, for starters, this show is gripping in a very subtle way with its slow-pace and it's gets increasingly hard as it goes on not to be on the edge of your seat, anxious and with a bitter taste all over your mouth(read: impossible). I ended up kind of binge-watching this in one day and, let me tell you, I've been not a trifle disappointed with the final chapter and the way things end up unwinding. Matter of fact, I'm convinced the last episode was the best in terms of tension and build-up, something quite rare in today's series where lacking scripts fit for maybe two hours are stretched into six- and then some. This was not the case at all.

Last but not (at all!) least, the acting: Ben Whishaw is a gem, and a horribly underrated one at that. His restless eyes, along with his general face expressions, are what makes the character so enthralling and real throughout. Not that the words have no weight, mind: they, do of course, and the script is not faulty or vague. This guy, however, have eyes that speak volumes and the versatility with which I've seen him use them in here, as well as in another works, is truly praiseworthy. In general, every actor did a hell of a great job with the exception of, perhaps, Ben Coulter's mother who I couldn't help but feel was always stiff and even a bit robot-like in a way that didn't seemed all that natural. But maybe that's just me!

Anyway, the bottom line is this makes a real enjoyable watch, if a bit bittersweet for the questions it invariably raises in us. I highly recommend this show to everyone who's into this particular genre, its high quality makes it clearly stand out from all the poorly-thought out 'dramas' we get nowadays. Congrats to the BBC on this one!

A bit too long and drawn out. There was more silence than there was talking. The acting was good but most of the time I found I'd get annoyed at the main character which I don't think was supposed to happen.

This serious is very well done and realistic. Intense acting and sharp writing. The soundtrack follows the mood without being in the way. Although the first season is more objective than the second one.

This mini-series hits the ground running, the first episode including the sea side scenes and part of the second are just fantastic, but then the drama engages in the ambitious task of analyzing whatever may or may not be wrong with the British penal and judicial system, I praise the intent, but to incorporate seamlessly and successfully this sort of concerns into a drama is not an easy task, we are promised some sort of rigorous examination, but instead of 'Oz' (brutal US prison drama), we get some sort of sub-Dickensian ambiguous horrors, where a lot is promised but very little delivered and there is always a little army of semi-benevolent Artful Dodgers and Fagins to save our hero's day, like Peter Postethwaite's Hooch 'the listener' and David Harewood's master criminal Freddie Graham, the latter does a really good job of injecting true menace in its role. We know we are entering Dickensian territory when Con O'Neill seedy lawyer complete with gotta, bandaged feet and perennial facial stubble appears on the scene, the irony is that he does a wonderful turn and steals every scene in which he appears, it is just that it feels like he had just been wandering out of a Great Expectation set to blunder into the wrong drama by mistake. In the last episode where all ideological concerns need to be shed to wind down the narrative the drama seem able to recreate some of the original dramatic tension of the first part. ON THE WHOLE Highly RECOMMENDED!

When I first saw this in 2008 (the first series) it was the first TV drama I had ever seen which immediately made me buy the DVD so that I could watch it again. The first ten minutes probably wouldn't hook American audiences, but as soon as the guilty verdict was passed I could feel my stomach dropping to the floor. It was the inevitability of getting dragged into the criminality of the prison system and the vulnerability of all those who aren't equipped to keep their heads above water by means of sheer brutality. I wasn't convinced by the authenticity of Con O'Neill's portrayal of a solicitor employed within the rather starchy UK justice system, but his performance was so utterly compelling that I'll forgive that minor deviation. David Harewood was evil incarnate, yet chose understated, intelligent, brooding menace for his character, rather than what could have been a comic book portrayal of a prison kingpin. By the end of it I felt emotionally shattered and it's certainly put me off going to prison.

Seriously, this should be made compulsory viewing for wayward teenagers, although not for any who are awaiting their day in court.