Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Cast: Richard Rankin, Brian Ferguson, Stuart Bowman, Lucie Shorthouse, Amy Manson, Caroline Lee-Johnson, Noof Ousellam, Thoren Ferguson, Neshla Caplan, Aston McAuley, Andrew John Tait, Nick Rhys, Aiden Connell, Michelle Duncan, Cassidy Little, Terance Rae, Sean Buchanan, Mia McKenzie, Cailean Galloway, Ryan Hayes, Patrick O’Brien, Craig Mclean, Seamus McLean Ross, Melissa Collier, Gilly Gilchrist, Ami Okumura Jones.
Ian Rankin’s John Rebus has become such an iconic figure of crime literature that in modern times there are few that can match the intensity of writing aggression and style employed in the pursuit of observational truth, the exacting needs to not only get the man right, nor indeed the examination of the crime being punished, but the overall character of the city of Edinburgh. From its tourist trodden hot spots to the underbelly, the dungeons held by the criminal gangs, the seeds of damage that grow cracks through the foundations that uphold the beauty of Arthur’s Seat, of Princes Street Gardens in all weathers…this is the spotlight of two entities made for each other, for John Rebus is Edinburgh, and vice-versa.
Whether on radio, voiced by the sublime Douglas Henshall, or in the form of two of Scotland’s heavy weight actors, John Hannah and Ken Stott, Rebus has always been in good hands, the detailed fall from grace suiting the embodiment of a detective under pressure, the actions of a good man dogged by those around him looking to claim a crown and be Edinburgh’s top dog.
A third reimagining of Ian Rankin’s seminal anti-hero is now revealed with Richard Rankin taking on the role of hard drinking detective, but placed in a time before the habits get too much, before the cynicism becomes overwhelming and the undergrowth and cracks threaten to take him down paths not fit for the stationhouse.
The six-part series is one of subtly, of careful investigation of a moment where his private life and that of the criminal endeavour threatens to cross paths, where the mother of his child, and that of his brother’s own fall into the underworld, and the damage caused by his involvement with the wife of his friend threaten to derail the peace of Edinburgh’s happy façade.
Whilst not as aggressively captivating as Ken Stott’s portrayal, there is a fine appreciation for Richard Rankin as the younger version of the man, one that in time will no doubt emerge as positive as both Messer’s Stott and Hannah, and with superb performances by Brian Ferguson as Rebus’ brother Michael, Stuart Bowman as Ger Cafferty, and Neshla Caplan as Chrissie Rebus, the honour of the series in this new format will certainly go forward, the sense of belief overwhelming and being true to Ian Rankin’s work.
Once more Rebus proves to be one of the most watchable of modern detectives on television, a treasured depiction of crime at its most feared reveal – truth.
Ian D. Hall