Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
Cast: Michael Socha, Sophie McShera, Nicole Barber-Lane, Stevie Binns, Emma Chadbourne, Samuel Edward-Cook, Adam Fogerty, Rob Galloway, Sharondeep Kaur, Seigfried Moorland, Soraya Jane Nabipour, Charlotte Ockelton, Dave Perkins, Jennifer Reid, Joe Sproulle, Thomas Turgoose, Yusra Warsama, Anthony Walsh, Stuart Zubrzycki, Fine Time Fontayne, Tai Mukome, Olivia Pentelow, Harv Sodhi, Thomas Taylor, Esmae Wilson, Ralph Ineson.
Every generation sees the world through essentially the same eyes, the politics may alter, the situation that creates the division may change, but the overriding thought of any person anywhere in the world is that of having enough money in order to survive.
It is okay to argue that a person has no more in need of want than food in their belly, warmth and shelter, the staples of life, but to thrive, to be more than what we came in with to the world, to leave a stamp to say we were here, unfortunately we have not come across a way that could level the playing field and bring equality upwards that by having the means in which to choose your own path of destiny and the price to pay the fine should you falter.
We may sympathise or demonise with those who forge banknotes and coins, we may openly admire or damn those with the ability to hack government systems in which are guarded relentlessly as if greedily hoarded by Smaug himself, but the truth is in order to prosper, the money needs to filtered round by fair means, or else we see the same effect generation after generation, that of deceit and theft which will lead to an eventual ruin.
The Gallows Pole is a unique three part serial which offers a prequel look at Benjamin Myers semi-fictionalised tale of David Hartley and the Cragg Vale Coiners, and with the positive eye of Shane Meadows running the gauntlet of giving the period piece a monumental modern appeal, what the avid television watcher is presented with is a shock to the system of just how desperate the situation was at the time, and how much it is on par with today’s own sense of financial dissonance and bleak prospects.
‘King’ David Hartley is a name to remember for all time, more so than that offered with a title endorsed by government and seats of power, for in the same vein as those who sought to redress the balance, he becomes corrupted by own his power and skill, and which he used for good. The forging and clipping of coins, of adding to the wealth of his home town would be akin today to someone having the guts to empty the account of any multi-billionaire and placing it equally into the bank account of the poorest in any society; they will of course be caught, the poor will be punished unduly, but the reference and symbolism will be justly felt in the pocket of those who cannot see that they are nothing without that power and so called influence.
Until there is a better way then, the actions portrayed in The Gallows Pole, with its outstanding soundtrack, its attention to detail in the physical need of the people, and the portrayal of some of the characters and people brought to life, what will be will always be that uncontained; the desperate willingness to break the financial bones of those that keep them down and suffering. These will be the people we look to for inspiration, for they had the guts, as Shane Meadows accurately draws upon, to take on a system rife with its own social disease.
A series unafraid to kick out, one that insists on urging the tension to be felt and the creative mind needed to tackle an institution.
Ian D. Hall