Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Cast: Jason Watkins, Tala Gouveia, Claire Skinner, Victoria Hamilton, Jason Hughes, Bill Bailey, Richard Harrington, Esme Coy, Lucinda Dryzek, Holli Dempsey, Charlie Coombes, Piotr Baumann, Charlie Jones, Bhavik C. Pankhania, Misha Domadia, Isaura Barbé-Brown, Joy Richardson, Akshay Sharan,
To the non-romantic, or even those that care little for social construct surrounding over-priced and over exaggerated declarations of love that come with the almost hysterical belief tied in with the convention of Wedding Season, the abuse of want and need, the sense of installing jealousy in a setting where good will should flow is enough to put some over the edge, to see marriage not as a union, but as a chance to even the score.
The final tale in the latest series of McDonald & Dodds, Wedding Fever, brings an almost unique perspective to the idea of revenge, the deep-seated length of time which when served amongst the nuptials is colder than the carved ice display used as a centre piece in the middle of the decorated hall.
There is something almost Holmes like about this particular tale of murder and false leads, the insistence that each moment that someone’s life is taken cannot possibly be because of circumstances that dictate falsehood. At the very least it is a wonderful case of Strangers On A Train, a noir filled classic that sits at the heart of many adaptations due to its ability to confound the expected norm; and as the mismatched pair of McDonald and Dodds begin to doubt their expertise at solving what could be considered their most disturbing case to date.
Three marriages, three deaths, one problem, and yet as is the willingness to suggest a lightness of spirit to the proceedings, it is to the introduction of photographer Dora Lang as a possible love interest to the life of the forlorn Dodds that leaves a lasting impression on the viewer; one that will remind the dogged armchair detective of the fruitless times in which the likes of Morse were left permanently frustrated as the latest woman in the life of the bachelor were often proved to be less willing to be placed second to the job at hand.
It is this dichotomy of life, the marriage and the unresolved need of partnership that the truth of the crime is resolved, the trust we place in someone to do the right thing just because we have a relationship with them is often consuming, and rarely satisfactory to our own required instincts of right and wrong.
An excellent episode, one that tests the viewer with avenues and roads of intrigue; a case at times worthy of Holmes himself.
Ian D. Hall