Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Cast: Douglas Henshall, Alison O’ Donnell, Steven Robertson, Mark Bonar, Julie Graham, Stewart Porter, Erin Armstrong, Anna Chancellor, Ciarán Hinds, James Cosmo, Saskia Reeves, Sara Vickers, Ace Bhatti, Andrew Rothney, Archie Panjabi, Jamie Michie, Jack Greenlees, Mark Cox, Struan Rodger, Kate Donnely.
The fairly uncomplicated lives of those who reside on the outlying islands of the United Kingdom is one that is prized and highly valued, it is a way of life that has many attractions and one that many could adapt to if they put their minds to it. However, for those forced to relocate out in to the storm tossed seas that surround the mainland, the islands can represent a jail with no locks, keys or guards, the solitude is enough to drive them to the point of no return.
In an elongated series three of the intriguing Shetland starring the superb Douglas Henshall and Alison O’ Donnell, a series that on television would have been more gripping if the schedulers had not mucked around with the idea that a series runs its course and is not delayed not once but twice, by other demands on the viewer’s time, the premise of Time on someone’s hands as they think on past deeds is paramount.
In a story that has not borrowed at all from any of Anne Cleaves own impressive novels involving Jimmy Perez, the Shetlands has become a hiding place for a man who is on the run from his own past and a young lad who has the misfortune to run in to him. It is a past that connects everything and for Detective Inspector Jimmy Perez, the troubles with being as easily connected to the main ports and airports of Scotland now bring the whole rotten fruit to his door.
The story is one that is simple but effective, it is a reminder that no matter how far you run, the world can still find you and the chain of events that might be set off is one that will leave many unintended victims. For Perez’s loyal Detective Sergeant Alison MacIntosh that chain of events is one that will leave a deep and horrible scar. For Alison O’ Donnell the part was one that particularly satisfying, given the range to really stretch her soul as an actor, she portrayed the harrowing aftermath of a violent scene with poise and grace, a mark of a fantastic actor having got a part that could be really taken down dark roads and allowed to flourish.
With Douglas Henshall being joined by the redoubtable Anna Chancellor, Ciarán Hinds and James Cosmo the story line was one that delivered with great clarity the situation that many in the outlying islands feel, part of the U.K. but far enough away for the trouble to be kept at bay, yet weary that the world is becoming a smaller place in which to hide away; a rock in the middle of the sea clinging on to a life that is fast becoming a noisy and busy place.
Ian D. Hall