Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
Cast: Wunmi Mosaku, David Threlfall, Rowan Robison, Barry Sloane, Natalie Gavin, Matilda Freeman, Ella Bruccoleri, Daniel Ryan, Jack James Ryan, Adian Nik, Sophie Ellicott, Hubert Hanowisz, Luke Ayres, Debbie Rush, Sean Gilder, Nico Mirallegro, Shelley Williams, Clare Burt, Gemma Wardle, Anna Tymoshenko, Neil Sandland, Shervin Alenabi, Terri-Ann Brumby, Ray Castleton, Synnove Karlsen, Harry Egan, Tom Lister, Karen Henthorn, Michael Hodgson, Richard McIver, Pam Shaw, Andrew Readman, Alexandra Hannant, Lisa Allen, Natalie Grady, Nadia Albuna, David Atkins, Elijah Braik, Kirsty Hoiles, Narinder Samra, Alejandra Becelar Pereira.
The city is a dark place in which to find yourself lost, even when the lights are on in the tower blocks and the warm comfortable houses there is a sense of foreboding that what lays behind the door is not one to welcomed into, but to wary of.
The city though is nothing compared to the countryside and the small villages that inhabit the world, the understanding that the darkness is almost entity like, that the trees that surround the quaint best kept village are really a lair for creatures of flights of fancy and the beasts that send shudders down our spine, the sounds that are magnified and echo, the howls and possible sirens that are not a sign of possible assistance but of warnings far greater than we can cope with….this is the true darkness that is hidden away and threatens our resolve and our sanity.
Passenger is a bold exploration of drama that tackles the themes of isolation within a local population disturbed by past events and the creeping terror of its youth being influenced by an outside force, one that leaves them on the verge of breakdown; and when these damaging aspects collide, it is no wonder that fear becomes embroiled and immersed with parochial myth and legend.
Created and written by Andrew Buchan, perhaps more well known to viewers on the other side of the camera in series such as Garrow’s Law, Broadchurch, and COBRA, Passenger reaches into the close-knit community nestled in the Peak District and tears them apart, physically, mentally, and with little sorrow.
Only those who have lived in such small villages understand the fierce restriction that befalls the population, the inherent sense of authority that comes down hard on the slightest sense of possible decadence, of being individual, and when the inner workings of the village also harbours a darker crime, a beast let free, then chaos and fire are the only viable options for freedom.
Andrew Buchan’s work stands out, as does the ferocity of acting by Wunmi Mosaku, David Threlfall, Daniel Ryan, and James Jack Ryan, and whilst thanks to modern ways of watching television could stem the series from reaching such heights, the notion that the storyline could rival that which first captivated the immensity framed by the American phenomenon of Lost is prevalent and intriguing.
A terrific tale, one that captures the prevailing feeling of unease with a majesty of execution.
Ian D. Hall