Review: The Fall
DVD: The Fall (2013 – )
The beauty of Allan Cubitt’s The Fall is the backbone of all great television; the arc the characters live through and the unravelling of motives and actions that are subtle, and take time, but in the end allow the viewer to make sense of what’s happened.
Over 3 series we have been on a journey, a game even, of cat and mouse between the police and a serial killer. Gillian Anderson plays DSI Stella Gibson, the detective brought over to Northern Ireland to chase killer Paul Spector (Jamie Doran).
Gibson is one of ‘those’ women; childless, sexually voracious, intelligent, successful and coldly efficient. Thankfully Anderson’s portrayal breathes some warmth into a character that may have become a stone cold bitch. She gives her a fuzzy edge where Gibson is all that, but more, she has palpable empathy. Her depiction is in conflict with Spector’s psychopathy, asking the viewer to examine the difference between the two main protagonists. Could Spector be THAT evil? Is it possible that a loving family man, who is that attractive, could also be a sociopathic/psychotic killer? I haven’t seen 50 Shades of Grey so the only acting I’ve seen Jamie Doran (Paul Spector) do is in The Fall and also New Worlds. So I can say without bias that his casting is perfect. He’s handsome, yet stares right through you and is chillingly calm and distant.
The story itself arcs from series one where we are introduced to all the characters while the narrative intertwines and loops to tell the story, plain and simple, of a bad man doing terrible things, and the maybe not so good police trying to stop him. The life of Spector’s wife and his children are examined, focusing on the love his daughter Olivia has for her Daddy and latterly her realisation of his wrong doings is heart-breaking. The periphery characters are also solidly represented, all telling their own story, all important, all fitting into the jigsaw.
The last series (3) which has literally only just ended on TV was a thrilling and perfect end to an extremely compelling series. Anderson was a magnetic presence throughout as was Dornan, in this last series both speaking in low tones, almost lulling the viewer into a place of safety, like it would never end, and here both playing their parts with intensity that matched the gravitas of the series. At the final moment we learn of past horrors that may (or may not) have caused both Stella and Paul’s actions, and finally we can decipher if Stella’s ‘obsession’ with Spector is just that.
Again it’s quite hard to write a review of an 18 and a half hour TV show spanning 3 series and not give away spoilers for the uninitiated, what I can tell you is this is a box set you will zoom through. It is well written, brilliantly acted and directed and most importantly, thoughtful. A must buy!
Review by Tina (co-host of 60 Minutes With) from discs kindly supplied by Aim Publicity.
