The Driver

Set in and around the roughest streets of Manchester, UK, THE DRIVER is at heart a morality tale revealing the consequences of Vince McKee's (David Morrissey's) decision to agree to become the driver of a criminal gang headed by Horse (Colm Meaney).

Not only does Vince become involved in a complicated web of lies and deceit, but his family life is destroyed as a result. His wife Ros (Claudie Blakley), and daughter Katie (Sacha Parkinson) are forced to make life-changing decisions in order to live - something they had never even considered before. Vince's son Tim (Lewis Rainer) has also left home, and apparently will never speak to the rest of the family again - at least for the foreseeable future.

Jamie Payne's production does not take sides, but explores the destructive effect that Vince's decision has on his own psyche, as well as that of his family. The production is full of close-ups of his tortured face as he merely goes through the motions of trying to be a good family man, while implicitly accepting everything that Horse and his fellow gang-members want from him. Having sacrificed his soul to the devil, so to speak, there is really not much point in life for him, despite his attempts to justify himself. On the other hand, what other choice does he have, other than to continue working in a dead-end job as a minicab driver, living a hand-to- mouth existence under the aegis of unsympathetic boss Amjad (Harish Patel)?

The noir atmosphere of the production is significant, conjuring up a world of shadows and perpetual cloud and rain in which moral standards have simply been forgotten. All the characters inhabit a netherworld in which financial gain assumes primary importance. The car-chases assume a thematic importance - not only as a means for people to escape from their pursuers, but as a metaphor for a desperate dog-eat-dog world in which only the fittest survive. Vince is nothing more than a pawn in everyone else's schemes.

THE DRIVER ends on a note of qualified optimism, but does not suggest that Vince's family life will ever be restored to 'normality'. On the contrary, Payne's production suggests that this kind of life can never exist in a noir world. Vince just has to make the best of what he has.

Snappily directed, with some good action sequences intercut with claustrophobic interior sequences, THE DRIVER is a highly watchable miniseries.

i really enjoy this show and i hope to see more of it it will be a sad day if they choose not to continue the series it has amazing potential and its full suspense/action IF YOU HAVE NOT WATCHED IT YOU NEED TO its a total different spin from the main character being a super villain crazy person from the walking dead to a amazing caring worried father/husband just trying his hardest to make their life better and getting mixed up with the wrong people to do so meanwhile trying to keep them all out of it and burring the horrible stuff behind him i give this show a 8/10 just try it and prey it keeps going and thrills us every episode <3333

Taxi Driver Vince feels estranged from his family, keen to better his life, he chooses a path, of crime.

It's taken me quite a few years to get around to watching this, better late than never. It's a good watch, it isn't what I was expecting, but on the whole I enjoyed it.

Brocklehurst has written some fantastic dramas, I wouldn't say this is up there with the best of them, but it's still a very fine watch.

It begins with a very dramatic, high energy scene, and ends in the same fashion, the segments in between on the whole are a mix of very good and solid.

A few times you need to suspend your disbelief, but some aspects feel quite realistic, such as Vince's trials and tribulations at work, and his mental decline.

Three episodes was about the right length, it ensured the pacing was good. It didn't lag at any point.

The best element for me was the acting of David Morrissey, he was terrific as Vince, I also enjoyed Colm Meaney too, he played the part of the villain very well. Light relief came from Lee Ross and Chris Coghill.

7/10.

David Morrisey always seems to me to play characters with a certain air about them just in a different job eg cop or baddie. That works very in this role and he does it well.

In this cautionary tale he develops a nice little earner and you're not sure whether to feel sorry for him , condone or condemn him but all the time you know it just cant last.

Mixing in family problems, it's that conundrum that gets you hooked and watching to the end to see what happens.

The action and pace never really break into a fast trot apart from the first couple of minutes of episode 1 but it does flow along nicely. There's the odd flash of dark humour here and there particularly one of the thugs describing his girlfriend moving "down south". All well played by a good cast.

Well with a watch.

The main charactrer Vince is a weak pathetic man who together with his wife has taken no time in teaching their daughter any life or emotional skills. She's expects things like driving lessons even though money is tight but Vince is too weak to say "find some work & i'll help you". Her boyfriend needed a lift so Vince gave him one in the taxi and the boyfriend blatantly disrespecgted him, but had to suck up to his daughter over it.

Even when he gets involved with the criminals, he does no planning/preparing self-development to prepare for the tasks ahead.

He get's pulled by police in the car the ciminals gave him, does a runner & luckilly escapes, and then drives to the crime bosses house without warning him first and when asked if there were any problems, he says "no". So he thinks that the reg plate is not going to get pulled again.

Could have been a really good movie, but Vince just annoyed the hack out of me.