Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
Cast: Eve Myles, Katherine Kelly, Clara Rugaard, Dougray Scott, Victoria Hamilton, Elliot Edusah, Raphael Sowole, Roger Jean Nsengiyumva, Michael Lumsden, Karen Ascoe, Isabella Astbury, Chloé Sweetlove, Jaye Ersavas, Lauren Morais, Trevor White, Winston Sawyers, Oliver Hembrough, Lu Corfield, Smylie Bradwell, Basel Osman, Andrew Buckley, Lee Boardman, Charles Dale, Julie Legrand, Malek Alkoni, Ashling O’Shea, Pasha Bocarie, Thomas Coombes, Will Barton, Sally Scott, Ellie Duckles, Noah Manzoor, Yanick Ghanty, Lisa Zahra, Alison Fitzjohn, Aso Sherabayani, Renu Brindle, Aden Gillett.
Serial killer or wielder of vengeance, it is a fine line to cross when we look into the actions of those who at first glance have no reason to murder a cross section of society without a psychological cause or trigger.
When rage has no remorse, when it only grows with each passing kill, that is the domain of mental and emotional disarray, the cracks that were beneath the surface ready to be shown to the world, explode in a kind of fury that doesn’t stop at one person, but instead carries on as the list grows larger, one more is the justification for the act of revenge.
Based on the excellent novel by Erik Axl Sund, and adapted by Milly Thomas, The Crow Girl is an exploration of cause and effect, an in depth look at the way society beholds the theory of how serial killers may be calculating but who are driven by a sexual desire, or in this case, how they are made to act with punishment in their minds; the need to take control overwhelming enough to see the person act out of character, or at least the persona that they have created in order to fit back in with society’s expectations.
The six part series, almost out of character itself for a television broadcast was released in full at the same time, and more than satisfies the need for the exploitation of the art of binging; for as each revealed onion peel like layer is unearthed so the art of murder and deception becomes a darker intrigue of misplaced passion and reprisal.
The series does not suffer in any way, from its direction to the adapted dialogue, and the performances, especially from the likes of Eve Myles as the lead investigator D.C.I. Jeanette Kilburn who is tasked with investigating the sudden rash of deaths who understands the exactness of the piece, Katherine Kelly as Sophia Craven, Dougray Scott as D.I. Lou Stanley, and Michael Lumsden in a rare and wonderfully challenging television role as Ben Birkeman, are all given the drama expected of a stimulating and shocking case that does much to send chills down the spine.
With a commitment to a second series placed directly at the end of the final frame, the sense of revelation only just being uncovered is intensely satisfying. The Crow Girl is a must-see drama, one in which binge worthy is an apt and pertinent description.
Ian D. Hall