It is a dark whodunnit
This one demands attention: If you miss a moment, you miss a clue. MARCELLA: MULTIPLE PEOPLE OF INTEREST GALORE
It is a series so dark, twisted and beyond-Agatha-Christie-like that Marcella, a whodunnit exemplary of the greatest in its genre, is essential binge watching. From the opening scene, the show hooks its audience with its grim atmosphere, even though it is a bit of a slow ramp up.
The series is set in contemporary London laagered around Marcella Backland, played by Anna Friel, a troubled yet fiercely determined detective whose character is so layered that it feels near impossible to figure her out.
The show was created by Scandinavian Hans Rosenfeldt who also created The Bridge, and the meshing together of brilliant British crime dramatics and northern austerity is spectacular.
Marcella was a former detective, she quit law enforcement to focus on her family but as her kids were shipped off to boarding school, she elected to return to her profession. The series kicks off with her husband, Jason, leaving her and blaming her erratic and moody behaviours as the cause.
That sets the scene as she steps back into the world of the badge when a serial killer she investigated previously has started slaughtering again.
The Grove Park Killer, as the media dubs him, had been quiet for just over a decade but the discovery of a new victim could mean that he has made a comeback.
And this is where the plot curls up, unravels, winds up again. The absolute genius with which the plot is weaved leaves viewers guessing throughout. And thankfully, by the second episode the pace picks up, and maintains a brisk jitterbug throughout the rest of the season.
While Marcella’s hunting the killer, her personal life’s unravelling continues. Her husband, his infidelity and dark secrets that build during the series, compound the challenges that she must deal with. The narrative delicately mends multiple storylines together.
Multiple persons of interest, sub-plots galore. Marcella demands viewer attention and concentration, because if you miss a moment, you miss a clue, and you miss a subtext.
Marcella’s mental health is a recurring theme throughout the show and her blackouts and outbursts are strangers to her short-term memory; but these episodes cast doubt on her reliability and integrity as a detective. The line between her personal and professional life is blurred often and dangerously.
As the pieces of multiple puzzles come together, she uncovers a web of corporate corruption, deep family secrets and other dirty rotten and hidden narratives.
The killer’s slow reveal during the series is almost sadistic because while the director spawns’ thoughts and conclusions in viewers, these are often swept aside by new developments. You are on the edge of your seat as the journey through the season progresses.
Friel’s performance as Marcella is exceptional. She can Swiss-roll complex layers like vulnerability, strength and a darkish past into a work product that stands out in every aspect.
The supporting cast, and there are many characters that swarm around Marcella, too many to name here, are superb.
Rosenfeldt’s direction is Nordic noir a-la extreme, beautifully juxtaposed by British dramatic panache. The cinematography is bleak in tone and London is depicted as a cold and oppressive place, not the Piccadilly Circus and Buckingham Palace of tourists. It feels fractured, it feels flatlined.
There is nothing about this series that is not to like. The writing, the dialogue, the plot, the plot, the plot. This is the kind of whodunnit that Christie’s classics delivered for generations past. It is a 21st century thriller that successfully combined all the elements that make for compelling, satisfying, very dark and highly entertaining viewing.