The Shadow Line [Blu-ray] [Region Free]

The Shadow Line is many things, but one of the things it certainly isn't is subtle. It's a sledgehammer of despair, seemingly taking wagers with itself as to how it can make the audience feel more depressed per scene, to the point where the final twist actually falls somewhat flat - not to mention it wasn't needed and contradicts a lot of what we'd seen before, feeling like it's there just for the sake of giving the viewer one final kick in the ribs before the credits roll as opposed to any logical climax.There are loads of other flaws, some big and some small. Here's a few of them, with a few spoilers:---- The constant suffering just becomes too much. Obviously the idea behind this is to portray just how much corruption there may be in institutions we trust that goes under the public eye, and how those that try to unearth the scum end up losing no matter how hard they try. The problem is that we know from real life that the good guys DON'T always lose, so the message is questionable at best and at worst borders on gratuitous scaremongering. It actually becomes comical after a while just how much misery the writers put the characters through, without even a smidgeon of hope. Several people are slaughtered, including a child and a heavily pregnant woman. My only disappointment was the final scene, where a policeman's widow gives successfully birth to his son after five miscarriages. Couldn't she have died in childbirth and the baby been strangled by the umbilical cord? Or couldn't the DCS who came to visit them have shot them both? Come on, enough saccharine wholesomeness! There's nothing wrong with sadness and failure in a story, but when it's scene-upon-scene of endless melancholy it often has the opposite affect of what it's intending. Sadly, I think Hugo Blick and a lot of reviewers seem to be of the belief that 'dark' is a positive as opposed to a descriptive, and always makes for the best and most profound writing, which obviously isn't the case.- The main antagonist, while brilliantly menacing, isn't very consistent. His reveal as the villain is that he kills someone who witnessed him murder someone else, and also kills the man's family presumably so they can't report him, even though the man appeared to have no interest in betraying him and none of his family suspected him. However, on several occasions later on he leaves people alive that have witnessed first-hand how dangerous he is. Much like the ending, the earlier scene with the cold-blooded murders ends up becoming a real head-scratcher that seems to have been put there just to stun the audience. It worked - it's one of the best scenes in the series - but when you follow it with stuff that makes you question the character's motives retroactively it's a bit sloppy.- The dialogue has far too many cute lines and metaphors, not just from one or two characters but from all of them often bouncing off each other. I don't believe these people would talk like this in some of these situations. A married man who hasn't told his wife that he has a son is being told by the boy's mother to come clean as she hates living a lie. The man says "I am in hell." The natural response would be along the lines of "shut up you selfish bar steward, grow a set and stop treating me like car rap." Instead, the woman says "No, WE are in limbo, and I need you to pull us out." Nobody talks like this, not least a character who had said nothing before that scene except "here's daddy." It's not natural dialogue, it's trying too hard to be clever. Some of the lines are so over-the-top they become hilarious, the best example being when a man is about to commit suicide with a shotgun. His final words, having earlier put the kettle on, are "I didn't want a cup of tea anyway" before blowing his brains out. We can only hope to exit the mortal coil in such an awesome manner.- Some of the characters and plot points don't really go anywhere. There's a journalist who's doing his best to dig up some dirt, more to further his own career and ego than out of any sense of public duty. Halfway through the series, he goes to his editor with what he's got so far, but is told to bury the story as it won't look good for the police, and is offered a promotion to buy his silence. He puts up a modest protestation but eventually just accepts this, which seems very unrealistic for a professional reporter regardless of the internal pressures being placed on him or the financial incentives promised. He's then killed in an overly convenient way by the antagonist - though credit to Blick for actually firing most of his Chekhovian guns throughout the show - and is not mentioned at all in the following episode, earning only a couple of cursory fleeting mentions later in the series. Not quite as bad as the presidential assassination in 24, but pretty irritating to see a plot thread with so much promise completely fail to deliver.- This is a VERY minor point, but it annoys me that Anthony Sher is listed on the front of the DVD when he only appears in two episodes near the back end of the series (albeit his character is mentioned several times beforehand) while Rafe Spall is snubbed despite being cast as one of the major characters from start to finish. It's a decision that appears to have been made purely on Sher's name value instead of their respective contributions to the show. The irony of course is that Spall is a big name anyway on the grounds that he's the son of Timothy Spall.---So I've spent a long time pointing out problems with the show, which makes my four star review look a bit questionable. But actually, if it wasn't for these issues then I'd be giving this five stars. I was tempted to do so anyway. For all of the issues in this series, you have to give Blick credit for trying. Not everything about the show works, but a lot of it does. Almost all of the criticisms I have made relate primarily to the police investigation plot (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and they're not enough to spoil it. However, there's another plot running alongside about a crime family and the rise of a reluctant new boss (Christopher Ecclestone) who really just wants to get enough money to retire and look after his ill wife, while Spall's ambitious and psychotic character is doing his best to undermine him and take what he believes to be his rightful place at the top while also carrying out his own investigation. This plot has much fewer flaws and surprisingly a lot more subtlety, albeit it still has some rather strange dialogue. It also has an unbelievably haunting and memorable ending that doesn't rely on the same histrionics or sudden inexplicable swerve that waters down the climax to the other thread, but on genuine tragedy and personal submission.And that pretty much sums up The Shadow Line. It's a real mixed bag, but for all its issues it's well worth investing in. Things could have been improved here and there but as an overall drama it's one of the most entertaining televised serials in recent years. If you want a really intelligent and logical conspiracy drama then watch Line of Duty or State of Play, but if you just want a really engrossing story with wonderful atmosphere and incredible production, you ought to watch this. Just don't think overly long or hard about some of it and you'll really enjoy it, because it deserves to be seen.

Was really looking forward to sitting down to watching a series I missed when on television but alas cannot get discs to play so still in the dark as to the plot and action...

This is an excellent 7 hour BBC mini-series about police corruption, drug trafficking and human frailty. Pitch dark, and no important character is without fault or sins.The performances are terrific. Chiwetel Ejiofor does very solid work as a detective returning to the job after having a bullet lodged in his brain when his partner is killed in a shooting. His memory has been damaged, so he can't remember that night, or if he and his partner were doing cop work, or were playing ball with the other side. It's a complex character, a man tortured by literally not knowing himself, not knowing his own secrets. Christopher Eccleston also does great work with an unusual and complicated role. If Ejiofor is a good guy, who may have been a bad one, then Eccelston is a bad guy with the soul of a good one. He just wants to get out with one last big score to help his sick wife, without hurting anyone. Stephen Rea is a lot of fun, if a bit one note as an ice cold super-baddie, and Rafe Spall creates a terrific, very different kind of scary bad guy -- one who is so odd, almost goofy, and quirky that it's hard to know when he's kidding, or when he'll suddenly go off in a big way. All the smaller roles are filled with top notch actors, making this a thriller that relies far more on complex behavior than shoot-outs for narrative drive and tension.There are a few frustrating plot cheats along the way, but less than most stories in this genre (the fact that it's generally so damn good, makes the few wonky moments stand out more.). Director-writer-producer Hugo Blick has a great eye for color and noirish framing, and a feel for messy morality that serves him very well here -- and even better in his more recent mini- series "The Honorable Woman." If you liked that, there's a good chance you'll like this, and vice-versa.

I came to this straight after watching my spiral 3 dvd and to be honest found the first episode a bit flat.. .. but by the end of 2 I was hooked,the way the story unfolds,the way we are suddenly taken in a different direction and at the end of the journey it all made sense,mind you have to think about it.. The few minuses for me was 1) the sound quality of the interior scenes every clacking footstep , every scrape of a chair ,echoey voices .. sort of thing you associate with a cash strapped "B" movie 2)the minimalist music score that sounded like it was destined for one of those cheapo "50 tune" door alarms that all sound the same 3) The guy who played Gabriel's immediate boss ,totally lacking in any onscreen prescence and therefore believability (if that is a word !) However ! the rest of the cast were at the very least excellent with a special mention to Mr Gatehouse brilliantly written and realised..There were also some very smart visuals,little cameo's really,the final motorbike ride for example.. To anyone that thinks Scot and Bailey is the ultimate in crime drama I wouldn't bother,anyone for quality clever crime drama this is a must see....it will be a very shady journey but well worth getting onboard