Saturday, July 7, 2012

Saturday TV Special: Luther

- I’m coming for you.
- Not if I come for you first.
Plot: The series follows John Luther (Idris Elba), police officer who is very dedicated to his job. He has many issues and he often crosses the line in his attempts to catch the criminals, which takes tremendous toll on his mind and his private life. The first episode deals with Luther trying to solve the case of the double murder - he believes that the people were killed by their own daughter, Alice Morgan (Ruth Wilson), who is a brilliant young girl and who after meeting Luther sets her sights on him and begins playing very dangerous game, digging into his past - apparently in a mission to help him. Luther and Alice, though on the opposite sides of the game, seem very similar and form a curious bond, which will prove beneficial few times in the series.
Structure: Each episode deals with different crime, but it is also follows stories from previous episodes - the incident from the first scene of the series and its aftermath, the game Alice plays with Luther and his troubles with his wife, whom he loves but who decided to leave him.
Verdict: Truly wonderful series - if you took "The Silence of the Lambs" and turn around the roles you would get Luther - only instead of naive young cop you have brilliant detective fighting his demons every step of the way and instead of older genius you have a young girl who only now got her freedom and who has very twisted outlook on the universe.But she is lesser of two evils - the criminals that appear in the series are very disturbing and some of the scenes that show extent of their evil are quite frightening.
What's so great about it? Fantastically written characters and truly disturbing crimes. We watch Luther trying to solve the cases and at times he is very close to catching the bad guy, but he can't because other things come in the way. The tension between him and Alice is incredible and she appears out of nowhere messing with him, only adding more problems to his already complicated life. The series is beautifully shot, too - many images are just gorgeous and very well thought. The music only adds to the show's gritty but somehow elegant atmosphere.
Whom you may recognize: Idris Elba from "The Wire", Ruth Wilson from BBC's Jane Eyre, Indira Varma from "Rome"
Who will like it? Fans of great crime shows and character studies.
When and where? Season 1 and 2 aired on BBC and season 3 is coming in 2013.

12 comments:

  1. Ohh Thank God for Season 3 !! Since I saw 2 seasons few months back. I was curious if there is a season 3 on cards or not and I couldn't find any info on it. Though Season was a little bit let down, mainly because not much of Ruth Wilson, I am still looking forward to next season. Good Call !!

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    1. I think Idris Elba recently said the season 3 is coming in 2013 but it was already cast and everything, so it's definetly happening!

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  2. Disturbing crimes is my thing. I think I'll give a try this summer!

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    1. If you do you'll love this one, parts of it remind me of Se7en.

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  3. I hope this will be able to rent on iTunes one day, w/ Elba this looks like a winner. I quite like Ruth Wilson as Jane Eyre though the adaptation itself is far too modern for my liking.

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    1. Yeah some of the things in the adaptation felt off but I liked it more than the movie with Fassbender - it's such a big story it's impossible to fit everything in two hour movie.

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    2. Yes I agree w/ your last statement, I think Jane Eyre is best served as a miniseries, I was left so wanting w/ the movie version. If you're into JE, my favorite Rochester shall always be Timothy Dalton in the 1983 BBC version. The production quality is terrible unfortunately, but I was glued watching Rochester. Oh my, I don't think ANYONE could match that intensity and mercurial mood, Fassy's portrayal didn't even come close.

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    3. I never saw this one but I definetly will, it's really a gorgeous story. Really? Woah, I found Fassbender to be so insanely magnetic I can't imagine anyone being better!

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  4. I really am having issues with the wait... Elba you naughty man becoming a big shot and having too many filming projects!!

    2013 is a very long time.

    Love thi show!

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    1. It really is but the wait for Game of Thrones made me immune to frustration, 10 episodes and then a year of waiting, that's just crazy.

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  5. I watched the first season, and enjoyed their chemistry, but felt the actual writing was typical sensational TV schlock.

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    1. Maybe I liked the show so much because I just finished the last season of Dexter and comparing to that the writing here was freaking briliant :)

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