http://www.thecourier.co.uk/lifestyle
Prey:
Monday, STV
Paul
Whitelaw
John Simm has spent most of his
acting career bruised, battered and thoroughly harrowed. Prey
was no exception. Basically a brutal British remake of The
Fugitive, this propulsive thriller finds Simm in the browbeaten
role of Marcus Farrow, a Manchester copper wrongly accused of
murdering his ex-wife and son.
Pursued by a female colleague whose
own personal issues – she appears to be stalking an ex – may be
distorting her judgement, he spent most of episode one in an
understandable state of distress.
The jittery opening sequence was a
pocket master-class in ensnaring our attention: waking up in the back
of a crashed police van with a ballpoint pen sticking out of his
chest (a nice, grisly detail), Farrow sprang into action and rescued
the survivors from the oil-soaked vehicle. Straight away it was clear
that, despite his prison fatigues, this was an inherently decent,
resourceful man. But once he was free, he spied his chance and fled
the scene. Unfortunately, he fled straight into the path of a passing
vehicle. Did that stop him in his tracks? Not a chance. He just
picked himself up and hobbled over the horizon. Cue credits.
It was – absolutely no pun intended
– an arresting introduction, and typical of writer Chris Lunt's
commitment to maintaining intensity at all cost. As the action
flashed back to three days earlier, when Farrow was a free man, the
pace never slackened.
Relentlessly overcast dramas can
often be unwittingly funny - there's a thin line between intense
seriousness and inadvertent comedy – but Prey was saved by
intelligent writing, taut direction and understated performances from
a stellar cast of reliable character actors. It wasn't even hampered
by the fact that three of the principals, namely Rosie Cavaliero,
Benedict Wong and Adrian Edmondson, are generally better known for
comedy.
It did, however, confirm that Craig
Parkinson is forever destined to play dodgy characters. As soon as he
cropped up as Farrow's best friend, anyone familiar with TV drama
must've narrowed their eyes in suspicion. Sure enough, it transpired
that his character is somehow involved in the plot to destroy Farrow.
Of course he is.
His presence also highlighted
unavoidable similarities with Line of Duty, in which he also
starred. It was entirely coincidental, but Lunt must've kicked
himself when he watched that: you wait ages for one addictive
conspiracy thriller involving an upturned prison van and an
incarcerated police officer, and two come along at once.
Nevertheless, Prey worked
effectively on its own terms. It may cover well-trodden territory –
it's an Hitchcockian 'wrong man' thriller in modern apparel – but
it's utterly committed to the cause.
The supporting cast are excellent,
but this is Simm's show all the way. Three scenes in particular were
testament to his acting prowess. The first, where he angrily
confronted his ex-wife about her new partner, was painfully
convincing. The second, in which he was informed of the death of his
son, was almost unbearable. As the camera clung mercilessly to his
grief-stricken face, his pitiful, muttered “oh” was more
devastating than any amount of fireworks. And his untrammelled fury
when he was first accused of murdering his family was a powerful
example of an actor dredging raw emotion from the depths of their
soul.
Suffice to say, it's not the sort of
thing one normally expects from ITV at 9pm. Thank goodness for that.
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