Manhunt

Martin Clunes can be regal at times. He's tall and slim and carries himself well. Manhunt is perfect for him. Mild-mannered yet intelligent, focused and commanding, he plays the SIO in this highly detailed study of an actual police investigation. The show's best feature is how it ramps up the excitement as the show progresses, so bear with the slow pace of the first episode, as this is an easily binged watch and you'll love the conclusion. Manhunt also neatly sidesteps the often common drag to such stories, in that we have to bear witness to detective's private life, by the simple fact that his wife is involved in a similar case from a different point of view. A lot of work went into both the real investigation and the dramatisation, and it shows. Manhunt is a great reward.

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning

In 2004, the body of a young woman found on Twickenham Common in London was the catalyst for a major, nationwide investigation to find her killer. This true life dramatization depicts the inquiry, led by DCI Colin Sutton (Martin Clunes), who is assigned as the Chief Investigating Officer on what will prove to be the case of his career. His relentless, thorough determination to track down the killer causes him to link the case to two other unsolved murders, which bear striking similarities.

Early into the new year, and we've certainly been treated to a barrage of interesting, original productions on the terrestrial TV channels, including this ITV drama, about the hunt for serial killer Levi Bellfield. Although not produced with any direct consultation with the victim's families, it appears to play out with a convincing degree of accuracy, and sensitivity for the feelings of those affected. It also captures the obligatory 'mood' of the serial killer drama perfectly, creating a bleak, drained backdrop for the events to convey themselves in.

Although he may feel typecast by some in comedies like Doc Martin and Men Behaving Badly, Clunes is perfectly capable of handling more serious, dramatic roles, of which this is ample proof. One of those actors who's always had to prove himself, here he carries the lead role with a fine amount of charisma and depth, as a man whose devotion to his work and achieving a result even comes at the expense of his home life, causing his marriage and relationship with his daughter to suffer, and even pulling out of a family holiday to Italy to be at a family wedding in order to chase up a new lead. It's a telling revelation of the sacrifices some must make to punish the guilty and keep us safe.

Overall, an absorbing and gripping dramatization of the crimes of one of the more recent serial killers, which respectfully never forgets the true to life nature of its subject matter and end up trivialising the crimes in any way. ****

Manhunt is a dramatisation of the hunt for the real-life murder of Amelie de la Grange on London's Twickenham Green in 2004. If I didn't know that the events which took place in Manhunt were real history, I'd still have been impressed by the production. We've all seen a load of police procedurals before, but I've never seen one that felt so true before, probably because the drama is derived from the memoirs of the detective who led the investigation. The process, then, is surely as close to what really happened, the behaviour of officers and the unfolding of the investigation as true as possible. The cast did an excellent job of portraying people who felt real, the dialogue didn't come across as being overly affected or dramatised. Yet it gripped me throughout. Martin Clunes, in particular, shone as the down-to-earth, no-nonsense DCI Colin Sutton; a million miles away from his very well known Doc Martin persona. I hope the same level of dramatic tension and immersion in the story is maintained through the other episodes, but hats off to the production team for the first installment in any case.

Most Americans only know Martin Clunes as Doc Martin; if they know him at all. This true life police drama proves he is far more than a comedy actor. This 3-part mini-series is worthy of binge watching.

Martin Clunes performance was convincing although outside of his more recently usual genre. I believed his portrayal & I have increased respect for his acting talent since viewing this story.

The story itself I found interesting, especially since it reflects true events and, because of that aspect, I felt free to expect & tolerate a bit more of the day-to-day grind which happens behind a working police force. It kept my attention and I viewed all three episodes within the span of 24 hours.

It introduced an aspect of police work which I had not previously considered, that being the stressors of the job not related to fear of being injured or that of dealing with injury & loss of life because of crime, however the impact of the profession on Clune's portrayed daughter was as per usual, cop parent never home enough, and cop parent worries more about family because they know what goes on out there. The program did a good job on the stressors in the second marriage of the detective, but also of the wife, also in a relatively similar field of work and was impacted because of her marriage to him (not just because of being the wife of a cop). It demonstrated how her professional life was impacted as well, and as an analyst, perhaps how the forces behind crime solving can be underappreciated by not only the public, but by the front line cops who deal with the public. It also, sadly, showed that corroboration between this married pair might have enhanced expedience in results, but was impeded by not only the husbands initial singular-minded stance but by the competing district. It also reflected her just concerns about her detective spouse's impact on coworkers which may affect her own job. I enjoyed her portrayal here and had appreciated her in her another genre, also, (the only other thing I remember her from), which I believe I am correct that she played Emma Timmons in the series Larkrise to Candleford, which was originally available here in the States provided to us by PBS. We are limited by what's available here, but her talent leads me to expect she is quite well-known in the UK.

Perhaps others looking toward the excitement of the usual fictional crime drama, which can be built into a script with car chases and such, might find the going a little slow, but as a docudrama with all this going on underneath the actual crime, and the honesty in which this case was portrayed, showing the pimples of a working police department. People do go on holiday, there can be miscommunication with it which can delay outcomes and cost lives, a bungled search, etc. think the story was very well done, and I can do without car chases and bullets flying.. the attic scene showed enough suspense about possible police injury for my taste. This shows only some of the difficulties in police work and how the job affects the lives of those working it, as well as being a good portrayal of the actual story of how this disturbing psychopath interacted with those in his life and how he was cought. It shows how law and order may be interfered with and manipulated by tge press. It demonstrated the stressors & resistance any professional must endure to effect a more responsible job, but particularly the resistance a detective, who fights resistance to being thorough, both higher and lower in rank, which is costly, and speaks to the to the dedicated diligence that is needed to make an effective arrest... one which will actually take the bad guy off the streets and effect a conviction, which is the result we all want in real life, not just an exciting story. To me although not an exactly exciting story, it was an intriguing one.