The Movie Report #1208 - February 24, 2023

#1208 - February 24, 2023

MOVIES:

• Cocaine Bear
  
• Jesus Revolution
• Luther (The Fallen Sun)
  

STREAMING/ON DEMAND:

• Bruiser
  

The Movie Report wants to attend and cover all your film events and press junkets! Please send any and all invitations to this address. Thanks!

Please help support this site through a generous donation
via Buy a Me a Coffee!

New in Stores on DVD & Blu-ray: July 1, 2014

• Afflicted
• Like Father, Like Son
• Lucky Bastard
• Luther The Complete Series
• The Unknown Known

The Movie Report wants to receive all of your DVD and Blu-ray releases for review! Please send any and all announcements and press releases to this address. Thanks!

F3TV: Luther - series 3, episode 3

Even after being a bit thrown (and, admittedly, somewhat disappointed) by the Case of the (Two) Weeks(s) emphasis--to say nothing of the rather tidy and swift handling of some more overarching plot and character concerns--of the previous episode, I should have known better than to ever doubt Luther scribe Neil Cross and even slightly entertain the mere thought that he was growing complacent with his ever-complex creation. As the third episode of this third series proves yet again, Cross proves to have, to use a tired expression, a method to his madness--or, perhaps I should say, a downright menace to his madness, as the penultimate installment of this series (and perhaps the entire run of the programme on television) not only brings into clearer perspective the arc of this four-hour stretch, but the three-series journey of DCI John Luther (Idris Elba) as a whole.

Surprisingly and most ironically, if anyone is complacent as this hour begins it's Luther himself. With his nemesis DSU George Stark (David O'Hara) held at bay for now, partner DS Justin Ripley's (Warren Brown) loyalty cemented and confirmed once and for all, and enjoying the first tastes of a new romance with nice-'n-stable shopkeeper Mary Day (Sienna Guillory), our beleaguered copper looks to finally have achieved some semblance of peace--and that most unlikely-to-the-point-of-alien notion gives Elba the rare opportunity (both within the context of this show and in general) to play some lighter notes, which he hits at just right pitch. Luther's borderline giddiness, especially when Ripley arrives at his doorstep to begin their work day, is played just shy of silliness--after all, he would very plausibly have a bit of an exaggerated twinkle in his eye after indulging in a long-overdue release (bad play on words intended) after some long dark, years of angsty repression since series 1--and Elba, infusing a bit of his own offscreen personality, clearly has just as much fun playing it as Luther has with being in this positive space. (Ditto Brown, whose looks of what-the-fuck? bemusement at his longtime cohort's highly uncharacteristic emotional openness and sweetness are priceless.)

Initially, these moments feel a bit jarring, but such as it should be once that work day begins, and Luther and Ripley are thrust back into more familiar territory when a vengeful vigilante starts doling out his own brand of severe justice upon various criminals around the city. The villain of this Case of the (Two) Week(s) may not be as larger-than-life ghoulish as that of the last two weeks, nor are there really any outright scare sequences as in those episodes, but such is clever and rather sly refocusing done here by Cross and director Farren Blackburn, assuming the reins from Sam Miller. Although a newcomer to the Luther world as a whole, Blackburn shows an assured handle on all of the characters, their relationship dynamics, and their respective arcs over the years--which, beyond a procedural plot or watercooler-buzz-building set pieces, is what the hour is truly about. The specifics of the vigilante's motivation are rather moot, the real point being the clear parallels between his actions and modus operandi and Luther's own often less-than-reputable methods in adhering to his code of honor, with the killer's emergence coming as Stark regroups, along with an increasingly doubtful DCI Erin Gray (Nikki Amuka-Bird), in his quest to take down Luther for his law enforcement sins--not surprisingly bringing Mary into the mix, armed with some harsh truths about her new paramour. While given a bit more heft in this installment, Mary continues to exist as more of a pure-hearted ideal than fully-fleshed out character, but Guillory again goes a long way in making her likable and believable through the fine shadings she brings by simply, matter-of-factly underplaying, and she shares a palpable rapport with Elba in both the pair's lighter and heavier moments.

But the most striking and shocking parallel comes from a more macro sense, between this next-to-last episode in this series and that of the first, with some key character evolution and therefore contrast gained from that buffer that was series 2. One character may be in immediate physical jeopardy as a closing cliffhanger, but the one whose fate more precariously hangs in the balance is that of Luther, who once again has his world and worldview upended in most dramatic and devastating fashion. While the audience has witnessed him gain some perspective and tenuous peace over time, there's always the danger of any little thing setting off his innate, volcanic volatility in the wrong way--and now faced with another hugely tragic turn of circumstance, Luther could very well be poised to fall into another desperate and destructive tailspin, bringing back to fore not only his bad habits, but his very worst: hello, Alice.

Visit my The Films of Idris Elba site.
Buy the Luther series 1 DVD here.
Buy the Luther series 2 DVD here.
Buy the Luther series 3 DVD here.
Buy Neil Cross's Luther: The Calling prequel novel here.

F3TV: Luther - series 3, episode 2

While histrionics and melodrama-tics typically garner all the attention, to say nothing of awards, to pull off nuanced, complex subtlety with barely even a word spoken is not only far more difficult to pull off as an actor, but much more richly, if rather subliminally, captivating and rewarding as a viewer. Given his physical stature and general intensity to match, it's all too easy to overlook a key component as to why Idris Elba's portrayal of DCI John Luther has been so indelible for three series and running. It's not only the explosive eruptions of emotion that all too (often self-) destructively manifest in his ongoing investigations of violent crimes and pursuit of justice, but the quieter grace notes that occur within the margins. No more powerful of an example comes near the end of the second episode of series 3, when he catches his partner DS Justin Ripley (Warren Brown) in a rather compromising position. When Ripley opens his mouth presumably to offer an explanation and/or excuse, Luther shuts him down in ever-authoritative fashion with a brusque "Shut up, Mr. Ripley; you might just spoil my good mood''--and most actors and directors would be content, understandably so, to leave it on such a curtly glib note. But director Sam Miller lets the moment hang for another beat, and for just a split second after he finishes speaking, a shocking yet painfully honest change in expression befalls Luther's face and eyes--one of genuine hurt. For all of his outward toughness that comes with his job and his history, that history just as strongly informs how Luther would, however fleetingly, drop his guard as another one of the very few people whom he could ever count on and trust over the years appears to, like many before him, fall by the wayside.

It's a rather, for want of a better term, beautiful moment in an episode that for the most part runs counter to it, not only in terms of its quiet pitch in relation to the admittedly loud and sensational overall world of Luther, but in that it's a deep, character-rooted beat in an episode that is, for the most part, largely plot-driven. That, of course, is not necessarily a bad thing, as writer/series creator Neil Cross packs in some new twists to the Case of the (Two) Week(s). (This episode reveals series 3 to be formatted rather similarly to series 2, its four hours essentially a pair of two-part installments.) The ongoing hunt to catch the wig-and-mask fetish killer leads Luther and Ripley to another, equally shady and dangerous figure in a development that, both in terms of plot and character type, too blatantly echoes Saw for my taste, but Cross and Miller do milk it, as they have done all else, for maximum tension and suspense that builds to and culminates another heated confrontation at the climax.

Other heated confrontations, in radically different senses, however, leave stronger impressions than those tied to the main procedural plot. DSU George Stark's (David O'Hara) mission to take down Luther continues, the depth of his obsessiveness casting diametrically opposing doubts in their respective partners, with DCI Erin Gray (Nikki Amuka-Bird) harboring growing questions if doing the by-the-book "right" thing is truly that; and Ripley apparently rapidly reaching his loyalty limit with Luther and his methods. This thread progresses more swiftly than expected in this hour (owing to the abbreviated four-hour series duration) and does so in rather surprising fashion--though one gets the sense that the seeming tidiness with which this issue is dealt in this episode will just make way for a bigger mess yet to unfold. Ditto that in terms of Luther's connection with sweet shopkeeper Mary Day (Sienna Guillory), which moves from the previous episode's gentle flirtation to real potential for romance as the two get to know each other and their foibles. To be frank, thus far Mary comes off more as an idea than a character--a ray of winsome hope in Luther's ever-dreary day-to-day--and thus credit goes to Guillory for filling in the blanks and keeping in check and grounding Mary's sunniness by smartly, simply underplaying. Her warmth indeed comes off as a contrast to and, for Luther, an appealing retreat from all the other gritty goings-on, but she's not so light and bright as to not naturally and believably exist in the programme's overall dark and dangerous world--which will most certainly come to infect Mary and her burgeoning relationship with Luther, as it inevitably does anyone who comes into his orbit, in the remaining two episodes of the series.

Visit my The Films of Idris Elba site.
Buy the Luther series 1 DVD here.
Buy the Luther series 2 DVD here.
Buy the Luther series 3 DVD here.
Buy Neil Cross's Luther: The Calling prequel novel here.

F3TV: Luther - series 3, episode 1

While the serial killers and various other creepy-crawly deviants that DCI John Luther (Idris Elba) routinely comes across in his investigations of lurid crimes are the primary drawing card and the major driving force behind the buzz and word of mouth for BBC's Luther, that's really not where the true genius of the programme lies. This isn't to say that the show isn't good for drumming up some old fashioned scares and suspense, and veteran series director Sam Miller stages one of its best-yet examples of such as the capper to this installment's pre-title sequence and then pull off another great jump-scare moment as a bookend later in the episode. What largely distinguishes the show and makes it a far richer and consistently rewarding experience beyond a mere thrill ride is how, now three series in, creator/writer Neil Cross uses the police procedural plotting and paces to slyly and organically inform and build his larger narrative and character arcs that dig deeper than whatever the specific Case of the Week might be.

There are actually two Cases of the Week for this installment, the one most surely to occupy the viewer's mind much like it does Luther's being that of a fetish killer whose victims are found wearing wigs and masks. But before Luther and partner DS Justin Ripley (Warren Brown) can barely make a single move in the investigation, they're swiftly reassigned by DCU Martin Schenk (Dermot Crowley) to a far less sensational murder case, that of an Internet bully, that is almost insulting in how obviously open-and-shut a non-mystery it is. The real mystery, and the true weight of the case, turns out to be the impetus behind the reassignment. Luther's list of mysterious deeds, if not outright misdeeds, in his work over the years has grown to a point where they are no longer so easily shrugged off, much less forgiven, from within the force--and determined to take him down is out-of-retirement DSU George Stark (David O'Hara), who is as obsessive about taking down corrupt cops as Luther is in exacting justice at whatever cost. The case reassignment is but the opening salvo in Stark's newly begun chess game with an unaware Luther, whom he believes--rather justifiably so--is bound to crack and show his dirtier colors in even the most deceptively mundane of job paces.

All too eagerly aiding Stark in his mission is DCI Erin Gray (Nikki Amuka-Bird), whose suspicions about Luther's procedures while working in his unit in series 2--and getting smeared in the process--have grown into no less than a personal vendetta. This is but one example of how cannily Cross builds from the established character foundations and continually shifts and evolves their roles, both in terms of character arc and their purposes in the larger narrative. Similarly, while Ripley's dogged loyalty to Luther has been continually confirmed over the years-long course of the programme, so have his doubts about its cost to his own personal sense of integrity. One of the great pleasures of watching the show develop has been how Ripley's role has grown more prominent and more complicated, and accordingly how Brown has grown into one hell of an (underrated) actor. (Sidebar--how the hell has Brown's terrific lead showcase from BBC last year, the haunting, morally complex Good Cop, not received any sort of release, on television or home media, in the States?) Based on what transpires in this episode, the direction and ultimate outcome of Ripley's arc may be the real dramatic linchpin to this series.

But of course no arc remains more compelling than that of the title character. I had my misgivings about the unusual and highly dissonant note of sunniness on which series 2 ended, but leave it to Cross to spin an apparent negative into something promising. Although Luther and Jenny, the young ex-prostitute he took under his wing in series 2, have (thankfully, if you ask me) gone their separate ways in the indeterminate amount of time that passed between then and now, the positive signs of life that friendship instilled in Luther remain. And so what was a unthinkable back in the angst-ridden depths of series 1--Luther engaging in a tentative flirtation with a sweet woman named Mary (Sienna Guillory), whom he Meets Cute in a fender bender--is surprisingly believable now as well as injects some natural moments of lightness to Elba's already multi-faceted portrayal, the character, and the overall proceedings. But as we have all too painfully come to know, Luther is a veritable magnet for trouble, and whether it be coming from a criminal, DSU Stark, his psycho-killer frenemy Alice Morgan (sadly absent this episode, but most certainly in the wings waiting to strike), or, as it too often and tragically is, the ever-churning demons within himself, it remains very much in question if this burgeoning relationship will amount to or last beyond mere moments.

Visit my The Films of Idris Elba site.
Read the Luther series 1 reviews here.
Read the Luther series 2 reviews here.
Buy the Luther series 1 DVD here.
Buy the Luther series 2 DVD here.
Buy the Luther series 3 DVD here.
Buy Neil Cross's Luther: The Calling prequel novel here.

Idris Elba's Golden Globe acceptance speech

Idris Elba deservedly won a Golden Globe Award from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for Best Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries last night for his work in series 2 of Luther. Below is his eloquent acceptance speech from the stage as well as his comments from the backstage press room.

Buy the Luther series 2 DVD here.
Buy the Luther series 1 DVD here.

The Films of Idris Elba section is up

My extensive section on the film work of Idris Elba is now up. Check it out...

F3TV: Dramaville hosted by Idris Elba debuts tonight on BBC America

Dramaville hosted by Idris Elba debuts on BBC America tonight, 10pm Eastern and Pacific/9pm Central and Mountain, with the first episode of The Hour. Series two of Luther makes its North American premiere as part of the series beginning on September 28.

F3PR: Idris Elba gets Emmy nomination for his role on BBC America's Luther

PRESS RELEASE

IDRIS ELBA GETS EMMY NOMINATION
FOR HIS ROLE ON BBC AMERICA'S LUTHER

New York – BBC AMERICA's Luther has earned an Emmy nomination for its leading star, Idris Elba, who plays the title role as the brilliant and emotionally impulsive detective John Luther. Elba was also an Associate Producer on the BBC/BBC AMERICA co-production. The six-part mini-series was lauded by fans and critics alike when it was first broadcast on BBC AMERICA in October 2010. Luther was created and written by the acclaimed suspense novelist Neil Cross (MI-5).

Perry Simon, General Manager, BBC AMERICA says: “These are fantastic results for the Brits, and a ringing endorsement that there is a real appetite for British programs and productions on this side of the Atlantic. Huge congratulations to everyone on their nominations for these most prestigious of television awards. Here at BBC AMERICA our warm wishes particularly go to the Luther team. I for one can’t wait for the sequel.”

Idris Elba says: “This has been such an amazing morning for me! I am extremely honored to be nominated in two categories. Luther has been such a passion project for me and working on The Big C was a great time. Also, my daughter told me I am going to be as famous as the guy from Twilight.”

The Primetime Emmy® Awards are now in their 63rd year and celebrate excellence in national primetime programming. The full winners will be announced in a ceremony in Hollywood on Sunday, September 18, 2011.

Buy the Luther series 1 DVD here.

F3TV: Luther - series 2, episode 4

My immediate reaction to the series 2 finale of Luther is one of shock--and so completely not in the manner one is accustomed to in writer/creator Neil Cross's detective saga that's is almost impossible to assess/discuss the episode without the urge to rationalize it in the greater context of this most recent four-hour cycle and in contrast to series 1. But leave it to Cross to find new ways to pull the rug out from under the viewer--and also leave it to him for it to have a most mapped-out method to his apparent madness.

At the top of the hour, however, all initially appears to be business as bloody usual: DCI John Luther's (Idris Elba) team continues to investigate a killer whose dice-roll-driven game of terror is not over as it appeared to them at the end of episode 3; and Luther finds himself having to climb out of an even more precarious spot following the episode-closing actions of Jenny Jones (Aimee Ffion-Edwards), the troubled young woman he has vowed to protect. The latter situation cannot help but bring to mind the cliffhanger that led into the series 1 finale, and this is clearly no mere coincidence and even more clearly not at all willfully lazy rehashing on Cross's part. The devil, as they say, is indeed in the details, and the contrast between them from then and now makes for an appropriate culmination of this latest arc of episodes and the ongoing evolution of John Luther.

This isn't quite as obvious, though, as the episode is in progress, for this Case of the (Two) Week(s) is one of the more compelling ones that Cross has cooked up, and director Sam Miller ratchets up the tension slowly but ever so surely to a terrifically mounted climax that is easily the grandest of the entire program to date. But the larger scale does not diminish those details, and that is where the deeper intricacies and hence satisfactions lie. The closing standoff recalls a similar one way back in series 1, episode 2, but this is not exactly the same DCI John Luther we saw same time last year. While still very much a loose cannon who flouts traditional boundaries in pursuit of what he believes is right and just (and, indeed, it is a typically "crazy" Luther move that leads into the hour's home stretch), the "mask" adopted in episode 2 of this series has appeared to take, for ever since a more detached sense of reason reins in passions and emotions once too volatile to control. Always a clever mind, he now wears the perpetually cool, laser-focused exterior to match, with even the too-close-to-home Jenny situation and its inevitable fallout from her former employer Baba (Pam Tillis) never appearing not only to faze him in the slightest but also never eliciting the slightest emotional response; ditto in regards to the ever-encroaching threat presented by cohort DS Erin Gray's (Nikki Amuka-Bird) growing distrust, and, unlike in that analagous encounter in series 1, episode 2, in the immediate face of doom, it's cold reason, not raw, exposed emotion, that comes through.

And with that latter note comes an unexpected epiphany that brings Luther full circle to not only the first glimpse of him this series but also redefines his character as known over these ten episodes: through reason comes the recognition that are no reasons, as in any concrete explanation or rationale for how the world operates--a sharp contrast to the man once driven so baldly, obsessively, for better and too painfully worse, driven by his belief in the existence of love and, hence, some sense of greater, unifying order. The closing question of the first series echoes once again at the end of this one, but in a far tidier and even cheeky context that doesn't merely contrast with its previous one but is downright shocking in just how wildly different it is from just about any and every thing that has come prior in these ten hours--ironically leaving that two-word query a much greater weight. Something at least approaching a semblance of peace could finally be in the cards for Luther, but then one wonders how someone like him could possibly handle or even maintain that possibility, or, more appropriately, if. Now what, indeed.

Buy the Luther series 1 DVD here.
Sign up for notifications on Neil Cross's Luther: The Calling prequel novel here.

F3TV: Luther - series 2, episode 3

The scariest moment thus far in the entire run of Luther comes early in this third hour of series two: the conspicuous absence of Ruth Wilson's name in the opening credit sequence. While the titular DCI John Luther is a ceaselessly compelling character in his own right, what has consistently taken the program a crazy, creepy step beyond is Wilson's character of murderous sociopath Alice Morgan, the unlikely yet undeniable spiritual kin to Idris Elba's tormented detective. To remove the proverbial yang to Luther's yin is a perilously potentially shark-jumping moment at worst by writer/series creator Neil Cross, and appears a remarkably risky dice roll at best.

How fitting, then, that the latest Case of the (Two) Week(s) centers on literal rolls of the dice--on which a (what else?) a psychotic serial killer depends on making his moves on how and when to strike. The pre-title sequence, in which he wreaks nighttime havoc at a service station, serves not only as an appropriately chilling intro to his modus operandi but also the rather brilliantly unnerving approach Cross and director Sam Miller appear to have adopted for this Alice-free installment. With the admittedly most theatrical, just-shy-of-over-the-top element out of the mix, events, however expectedly gruesome they become, play out with an unexpected matter-of-factness and something approaching understatement--thus making them all the more disturbing for it. That opening scene proves to be just a warm-up for an office-set startler that occurs mid-episode, which is shocking not only because of the intense violence but the lack of score or anything else to juice up the moment; the straightforward calm stealthily leads to a rawer, greater wallop than any louder, more obvious mechanics could.

And so follows the rest of the episode, whose lower outward register belies the chaos on constant verge of eruption, resulting in a lingering under-the-skin tension that keeps one consistently on edge during the quiet. In Alice's absence, the new focal kinship of Luther's is that with young ex-prostitute Jenny Jones (Aimee Ffion-Edwards), and their more playful, quasi-parent-child dynamic as shown in an early breakfast scene makes for an injection of lighter energy that feels a bit alien to this dark, heavy world Cross has created--and, inevitably, reality almost immediately sets in with the entrance of Toby (David Dawson). Introduced in brief but indelibly brutal fashion in the previous episode, the suit-clad grandson of/henchman to Jenny's ruthless former employer Baba doesn't brandish any sharp objects for most of his expanded screen time this episode, but his cooler demeanor makes him all the more menacing--and without hammering any literal nails, he corners Luther into some dirty work. This turn, in another textbook example of how thoughtfully, intricately Cross layers and interweaves his ongoing plot threads and character concerns, rouses DS Erin Gray's (Nikki Amuka-Bird) initial concerns about Luther's character into full-blown suspicion, at which Luther's ever-loyal partner DS Justin Ripley (Warren Brown) characteristically, reliably scoffs. (Speaking of stealthily evolving developments, Ripley's evolution from junior partner to smart, tough, capable cop in his own right has been one of series 2's most unexpected delights.)

After weeks of seeing him riddled with angst, screaming in anger and agony, haunted by demons, or driven to the brink of insanity by them, an interrogation room scene finds Luther at the top of his game: formidably intimidating without ever raising his voice, confidently collected and in control... or so he thinks. As I remarked on the close of episode 2, "however much Luther means well for others, it almost assuredly won't mean the same for himself," and indeed the slow-simmering tension finally explodes by this hour's end with a double whammy of both an inspired turn in the Case of (Two) Week(s) and a new existence-threatening predicament for our ever-aggrieved protagonist--but these events in and of themselves may be nothing in comparison to the even larger minefield that is most certain to be set off by them in the grand finale.

Buy the Luther series 1 DVD here.
Sign up for notifications on Neil Cross's Luther: The Calling prequel novel here.

F3TV: Luther - series 2, episode 2

While it comes as no surprise that Luther has garnered notoriety and attention for its title character's weekly investigations of lurid, often grisly, crimes, that is merely the sensationalistic surface that leads to and enriches the true substance underneath--that of writer/series creator Neil Cross's more overarching thematic concerns and, most of all, the psychology of his characters. And so it goes with the second part of the second series' first of two installments; with last week's episode serving more of a "re-set the stage" hour, a simple but incredibly telling lingering shot of DCI John Luther's (Idris Elba) face right before the opening titles pretty much announce that it's back to plunging into more perilous internal waters. While the pursuit of masked murderer Cameron Pell (Lee Ingleby) is as urgent as ever it is so beyond merely keeping the mean streets of London that much safer; as one would expect, the key to capturing Cameron lies in Luther's expert investigative acumen, but even with Luther's partner DS Justin Ripley (Warren Brown) in immediate danger, it also, rather ironically, means him casting aside any sense of human attachment.

For someone so often driven by intense passion and emotion as Luther, this is something a lot easier said than done, but it's a major credit to Elba, Cross, and director Sam Miller how this develops so subtly yet rather surely as the hour progresses, not to mention how Cross interweaves this idea of masks and identity into every plot concern as well as bring the more important ideas clearly to the fore. The serial killer plot does offer up its share of suspense and screams as it works to its Case of the (Two) Week(s) resolution, and the quiet dread with which Miller builds to its climax (aided in no small part to Paul Englishby's haunting score) is far more potent than the rather hackneyed walk through shadowy corridors that capped off last week. But this procedural thread fluidly recedes into the background somewhat and a subplot from the previous week, that of young prostitute Jenny Jones (Aimee Ffion-Edwards), gains prominence. Luther's rescue of Jenny leads to a dramatic encounter with her ruthless boss Baba (Pam Ferris), an even scarier figure than Cameron, but it also comes to inform the greater idea introduced last week by psycho-in-residence Alice Morgan (Ruth Wilson): that of breaking away and starting fresh--but also, more importantly, being free to pursue what you want as who you are. When asked by Ripley why he wears a mask, Cameron simply replies, "Wearing a mask makes it easy"--a statement whose veracity is reinforced later, when team leader DCU Martin Schenk grills a perp (in a truly spectacular scene for Schenk's portrayer, Dermot Crowley) and too truthfully declares "It's amazing how our faces betray us."

And, going back to that pre-title shot of Luther, it is clear that while the veneer shows him as ideally on-the-ball as as he's ever been as a cop, it's just that--a mask that, indeed, makes it "easier." While his colleagues commend him--an amusingly far cry from series 1, where for however well he did, there was always that air of unease and distrust--leave it to his twisted kin Alice to effortlessly recognize what is truly going on within Luther. Wilson's screen time this week is once again limited, but once again does she ever make it count; in an hour with Cameron and his mask, Baba and her hammer (figuratively and literally), and one hell of an intimidating monologue by Schenk, it says it all that Luther's encounter with Alice is, as usual, the most tense and unsettling scene of them all, what with the ongoing threat not of physical violence, but of the psychological and emotional sort. That, indeed, does manifest in Alice's ever-creepy yet ever-alluring way with words, but most disturbingly in Luther's cold, uncharacteristically detached (non-)reaction, appearing to have succeeded in completely sacrificing and assimilating his identity into the monolithic mask of duty. But Alice knows best, for not long after they part, Luther commits a generous gesture of kindness--and, while the hour ends with various relationships and circumstances again juggled and redrawn, as Cross has shown us all episodes prior, however much Luther means well for others, it almost assuredly won't mean the same for himself.

Buy the Luther series 1 DVD here.
Sign up for notifications on Neil Cross's Luther: The Calling prequel novel here.

F3TV: Luther - series 2, episode 1

If last year's first series of Luther has taught us anything, it's that however straightforward and simple anything (or, perhaps more importantly, anyone) appears in writer/series creator Neil Cross's dark detective saga, it rarely ever is. Even bearing that in mind, the remarkable swiftness and relative tidiness and ease with which Cross and director Sam Miller have hit the reset button in the opening moments of series 2--especially coming after the harrowing, despairing, boldly unresolved wallop of a note the show left off on--is rather startling. Murderous psycho Alice Morgan (Ruth Wilson) has taken full responsibility for the climactic events of last series and is finally behind bars, freeing DCI John Luther (Idris Elba) to resume his lawman duties. He quickly rescues loyal partner DS Justin Ripley (Warren Brown) from between-series demotion, and soon the pair are back on the mean streets of London as part of a new investigative unit headed by DCU Martin Schenk (Dermot Crowley), once one of Luther's biggest detractors; an even more surprising peace appears to have been reached between Luther and Mark North (Paul McGann), one-time fiance of Luther's beloved ex Zoe. (And on a more surface note, the first glimpses of Luther himself show him in a state of undress, taking his time putting on that familar rumpled detective suit--perhaps the BBC's shamelessly pandering way to generate some of that Elba-fueled Takers buzz for this series?)

But what immediately follows once Luther is fully dressed--after taking a seat in his disheveled apartment, he puts a pistol to his head in a spin of Russian roulette--just as quickly rattles the viewer back to the gritty reality; even stripped bare and given the chance to start anew, the pain remains, and his old patterns quickly re-emerge. The players' positions have been rearranged and certain circumstances may have changed, Cross appears to be saying, but certain fundamental realities remain inescapable, and it is impossible to truly proceed as if business were as usual. As Luther and Ripley plunge themselves back into work and the investigation of a typically lurid series of crimes committed by a masked psycho, the familiar Case of the Week (or, rather, "Case of the Two Weeks," for this abbreviated four-hour second series consists of a pair of two-part installments) beats are dutifully hit, the scars of past events still reverberate. Mark and Luther are on decent terms, but vestiges of old tensions linger beneath the decorum. While the perhaps most honorable and by-the-book character of the whole show, the cost Ripley had to pay for his Luther loyalty instills fear and trepidation by one of the pair's new teammates. And while he went out of his way to earn him another chance, Schenk reminds Luther that he is still on as short a leash as ever--and that entails strict orders to avoid all contact with Alice.

But, of course, even locked up, her scary/sexy siren call proves to be too strong for Luther to resist, and as Elba and Wilson's scenes together were in the first series, their tête-a-tête here is the definite highlight of this episode, bristling with tension, crackling with chemistry. Incarceration has done nothing to "cure" Alice of her warped view of the world, nor dull her astute powers of perception. Cross wisely leaves it to Alice and her otherworldly yet grounded manner of speaking to state what I fully expect to be the focal, underlying concern of these four hours: Luther's choice between his destructively obsessive devotion to his ongoing mission for justice and that of a fresh break and the pursuit of a new life--which could very well lead to the salvation he needs.

In the meantime, though, Luther is still on the case, and the episode closes with a suspenseful final stretch somewhat cheapened at the very end by a gimmick generally reserved as a crutch for lesser thrillers--but I recognize that as a bit of a "tune in next week!" cliffhanging concession to the two-part installment structure of this go-round. If the tease for next week is any indication, this particular case may head to a close but the real meat of the ongoing character and thematic drama truly starts up, with the barely-suppressed internal and interpersonal demons breaking to the surface--and that, not any psychopath of the week, is what Luther is really all about.

Buy the Luther series 1 DVD here.
Sign up for notifications on Neil Cross's Luther: The Calling prequel novel here.