The Walk-In

I absolutely adore Stephen Graham who chooses tough, hard hitting drama rather than any routine roles offered to him.

So it's personally disappointing to only give this a 7/10 because I think it could have been so much better.

The real life situations are hard enough to bear, but when dramatised then I just felt that they should have had more impact.

Acting was great, direction was a bit iffy and the editing was bearable.

But here was something missing which I can't quite put my finger on.

Maybe there was more of a story here regarding the conversion of Graham's character, or a deeper analysis of the different right wing factions and how they differed from each other and what drove them apart.

I could be alone in this, but I was disappointed.

A far right group active in The UK plot to kill a second MP, and target several minority groups, one of the members reaches out to activist, Matthew Collins, who writes anti fascist content.

Hard viewing, it is very uncomfortable to watch at times, the first couple of episodes feature some truly harrowing and upsetting content, you will see some sickening events, truly the worst of humanity, fortunately there's a glimmer of hope.

Stephen Graham, one of my favourite actors, I think he just has it, whatever it is, he has tonnes of it, when he's on screen, I watch, he is tremendous here, credit also to Leanne Best and Andrew Ellis, the acting made this drama. Chris Coghill was excellent too, talk about wild eyed.

I've spoken to a few people that said they couldn't get through episode one, that it was too much, what I would say, is that it is less harrowing towards the end.

Very well produced, superbly acted, it felt very realistic. I appreciate this show isn't for everyone, but I'd recommend it, entertaining as well as informative.

I loved the tribute they made to murdered MP Jo Cox, a tragedy that should never have happened.

8/10.

STAR RATING: ***** Brilliant **** Very Good *** Okay ** Poor * Awful

An Asian dentist is brutally attacked in a convenience store in Wales, hinting at a resurgence in far right violence. Michael Collins (Stephen Graham) is a reformed Neo Nazi, who now delivers anti-hate lectures at universities and lends his support to defeating the far right. Meanwhile, Robbie Mullen (Andrew Ellis), a disaffected young man drifting from job to job, becomes weary of Britain's Muslim population, and falls under the wing of National Action, a proscribed right wing organisation. In the build up to the Brexit referendum and the murder of Jo Cox MP, he becomes aware of a plot by NA member Jack Renshaw (Dean-Charles Chapman) to murder another MP. Robbie turns to Michael and the Searchlight organisation for help, but can he be called on to ultimately do the right thing?

Depicting a tale from fairly recent times and still so relevant it could have been torn from today's headlines, this hard hitting, unflinching dramatisation of this shattering true life tale certainly packs a powerful punch. With established director Paul Andrew Williams at the helm, it's reliably gritty and grimly believable, and carries an uncomfortable relevance, given the on-going threat from far right terrorism that lurks over our daily lives. Its themes allow it a natural edginess, and thankfully Williams and a solid cast pull it off with aplomb.

In yet another role that feels almost pre-written for him, Graham gives the role a natural dynamism and intensity that it requires and which, to be fair, no one could probably have done better. But it's his This is England co star Ellis, re-emerging in a supporting role that gives him space to shine as a deeply flawed, ignorant young man, reflecting his own failings on to different groups in society, without having the insight to look in on himself. There must be hundreds of others like him around the country, but this one has a glimmer of hope about him, and needs to do the right thing. Williams is careful not to leave his two central characters as limp caricatures, and invests an impressive amount of depth and backstory to them, delving deeply into what transformed each of them into the respective hateful figures each of them were in their own time, and the impactful connection they could have to each other in the present.

It's an uncomfortable, but compelling and fascinating tale, with reliably strong central performances, as well as sturdy support from the likes of Bobby Schofield, and together they deliver an impressive, unsettling true life drama relevant for our times. ****

Terrific drama, beautifully performed and well-paced. I notice that a previous reviewer suggests that the series avoided 'points scoring and let events speak for themselves', but I beg to differ. There were, in fact, any number of 'right-thinking' lectures in the episodes, which were rather patronising. It is perfectly possible to be proud of established British culture without choosing violence or extremism. The closing titles were a perfect example of Disraeli's 'lies, damned lies, and statistics'. It was meant to reinforce the writer's view that 'far-right' terrorism is a threat greater than Islamic radicalism, but that argument would be shown to be nonsense in a detailed discussion.

I thought Stephen Graham was truly fantastic in this gritty true to life turn of events that shows what actually happened in a real life case of an MP being murdered and all of the associated nonsense that went about prior to it happening.

It's a nonsensical and totally ridiculous murder that has the grounds for the entire story, but the way we get there is truly terrifying and very much an eye opener. As ever, Graham delivers an amazing performance and his supporting cast deliver a truly wonderful act of bringing us a masterpiece of British TV.

This is a hard watch but not because of brutal scenes, more that it requires a sane head to be able to compute it all.