Line of Duty 2 Fuelling the mood of suspicion, every character seems to have some skeleton tucked away in a cupboard. But which secrets are people willing to kill for, and which are simply everyday human weaknesses?

Duration: 371 mins.
Distributor: Acorn Media UK

 

Line of Duty's compelling second series begins with the armed ambush of a police convoy carrying a protected witness, in which three police officers are killed and the witness seriously injured. D. I. Lindsay Denton (Keeley Hawes) is the only survivor and is both suspected and shunned by her colleagues. D.S. Steve Arnott (Martin Compston) returns from the first series to find the suspected mole who tipped off the killers.

Set in the police anti-corruption unit, the atmosphere is full of mistrust. There are shadowy figures with influence, who are happy to use violence to protect themselves from detection, and mid-ranking officers such as Superintendent Ted Hastings (Adrian Dunbar) who feel trapped by their place in the politics of policing.

Fuelling the mood of suspicion, every character seems to have some skeleton tucked away in a cupboard. But which secrets are people willing to kill for, and which are simply everyday human weaknesses? Each episode has its surprises - and some are visceral shocks.

The deaths and threats do not end with the first episode, and so each stage of the story is tense. With her police colleagues suspecting her, there is no one to protect her, so Denton needs to be as wily as she can be to gain as much leverage on her investigators as possible. All the while we are wondering whether or not she is guilty and Hawes does a magnificent job in portraying her complicated character.

Though flawed, these characters are well-drawn and often highly likeable. While the story will carry the viewer all the way through to the end (the plot, twists and questions made me watch two or three episodes in a row) that ending is not clear-cut and takes a bit of working through – a good reason for a second viewing to spot the clues missed first time around. Writer Jed Mercurio was keen to make the story believable, and real life events are not always wrapped up neatly. (He may well have had more than one eye fixed on the plot for the third series).

There are some generous extras. The main set of cast and crew interviews lasts 40 minutes; a behind the scenes featurette lasts for ten, while there are 30 minutes of deleted scenes, which should explain some of the plot questions. Watching Series One is recommended, as it will also help understand the characters' backgrounds.

4nhalftocks


Derek Walker
http://walkerwords.wordpress.com

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