Performance so intense . . . and there was also Streisand

THE SINNER:

Saturday, BBC Four

BARBRA STREISAND – BECOMING AN ICON: 1942 – 1984:

Friday, BBC Four

Why would a seemingly normal human being brutally stab and murder a random stranger? That, dear reader, is the arresting conundrum at the heart of THE SINNER, a Nordic noir-influenced eight-part US miniseries starring Jessica Biel as Cora, a young wife and mother who commits a terrible crime one sunny day while visiting the beach with her family.

When Ambrose, a sympathetic, if understandably baffled, detective played by twinkly Bill Pullman, asked her why she did it, Cora tearfully replied, “I just did it and I don’t know why.” She instantly pleaded guilty.

Needless to say, all was not well with Cora at all. Through flashbacks, it gradually transpired that she was raised