Review: No Good Deed

; Rated PG-13
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As the proverbial "they" often say, no good deed goes unpunished, and indeed that will likely be the case with those involved with No Good Deed, at least as far as most of the mainstream critical media is concerned. It's all too easy, to a certain degree understandably so, for the would-be cinema intelligentsia to turn their noses up at a commercial Hollywood thriller, what with their not entirely unearned rep for shamelessly mechanical manipulation and--perhaps most of all--a rapidly diminishing intelligence level that generally isn't very high to begin with. Taken at its barest of bones, the basic scenario of No Good Deed doesn't deviate from the norm; in fact, it perhaps perfectly exemplifies the norm: on a dark and stormy night, a freshly escaped convict makes his way into the home of a housewife who has been left alone with her two very young children.

But one look at the formidable talent involved--veteran BBC television director Sam Miller, his award-anointed Luther star Idris Elba, playing alongside similarly celebrated (yet still too often undersung) actresses Taraji P. Henson and largely mainstream-U.S.-unknown (unjustly so) Kate del Castillo (seriously, people--witness her Emmy-robbed work in 2011's La Reina del Sur (The Queen of the South), hands down one of the great tour de force turns in recent TV history, in any language)--only begins to suggest how No Good Deed pulls off the very good deed of being a better than average entry in the genre. Beyond whatever unique and uncommon virtues they each bring to the proceedings (and more on that later), what strikes from the outset is how Miller and writer Aimee Lagos (who wrote and directed the underseen, underrated 2012 drama 96 Minutes) efficiently and effectively go about the more traditional trappings. Setting the pace is how swiftly establish the characters and their individual situations. After being denied parole, Colin (Elba) escapes while being transported from the courthouse to the clink. While she is an ever-doting stay-at-home mom, former district attorney Terri (Henson) is starting to feel the urge to start working again, much to the chagrin of her husband (Henry Simmons), who is too often away on various business--as he is the fateful night that Colin, after wrecking his car, turns up on Terri's doorstep.

The exposition swiftly taken care of, Miller and Lagos more patiently but steadily build up the tension once the film comes to that central situation of home invasion. Miller certainly isn't above indulging in the well traveled tropes, be it the entrance of an overly perky and flirty best friend (Leslie Bibb, making a commonly thankless role much less so) for Terri or a strategically placed jump scare. After all, to a certain degree the audience not only expects but wants certain beats like the latter, for that's part of the moviegoing fun--and, indeed, Miller pulls off those moments with aplomb without overusing them. But the former point also underscores the fun Miller and Lagos themselves have with thriller conventions, at once going along with them in their own style and then subverting those expectations. That they do so in a manner not immediately apparent in the moment yet always there working under the surface and slowly, surely, logically coming together for a climactic payoff is a measure of how thoughtfully constructed the piece is.

At first one of the quirks of Miller's editing style, never shy to cut to subjective viewpoints, appears to be the opposite, if not completely random. But as what seems to be a standard tormentor/victim dynamic reveals itself to be an even match of wits, that turns out to be an appropriately cinematic visual touch reflecting where the film's thoughtfulness most distinctively arises: within its core cast of characters, which, in another show of efficiency and control, Lagos wisely keeps down to only five principals. Unlike many of its genre ilk, the film's characters are constantly observing, thinking, and processing what is going on and what is presented to them before acting. They may not always get plenty of time to do so nor always make the right decision, but each move everyone makes is less movie world fake/stupid and more plausible, driven logically by, if not always deep thought, then raw gut instinct. The former, of course, more accurately describes Colin's mind manipulation tactics, while the latter most strikingly comes from Terri. Her believably pleasant, benefit-of-the-doubt demeanor in the initial stages doesn't mean her guard is ever completely down. There's none of the typical thriller "heroine" slowness-on-the-uptake here; the moment her curiosity about Colin turns into suspicion, she quickly falls back into defensive mother hen mode.

As written, this lead pair of characters may not exhibit too much dimension beyond the functional archetype of the dangerous villain and plucky heroine, but leave it to polished pros like Henson and Elba to do their job in fleshing out the roles beyond the text. Neither are exactly stretching and/or breaking new ground for themselves here, but casting actors to play to their strengths and use their established personae is a canny move not easily discounted in a genre programmer. Elba's now-famously commanding charisma goes a long way toward explaining how and why he's initially able to slip into situations and minds with minimal hesitation--and when, as one character says early on, the "violence in this man" erupts, it's that formidable presence that makes him all the more scary and intimidating. Yet he's also able to throw in some unexpected notes of vulnerability that give Colin some complexity beyond simple evil, particularly in his relationship with his one-time love (del Castillo, another smart casting choice, making a maximum impression with a minimum of screen time). Henson's natural warmth makes her an instantly engaging heroine, but her equally innate hard core strength that belies the softer, more inviting exterior makes for an even more rootable protagonist.

...or, more accurately, cheerable one, for whatever flourishes of craft they all bring to the project, Miller, Lagos, producer Will Packer, and all involved never lose sight of the whole enterprise's bottom line raison d'être: to be one suspenseful, entertaining ride whose tense turns and thrills are further amplified when shared with an audience. Such an ideally communal cinematic experience is not as easy to come by as one would think--a point proven by, for whatever its familiar paces and unabashedly commercial and crowd-pleasing instincts, just how much fun is ultimately to be had while watching No Good Deed.

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Idris Elba & Taraji P. Henson at Vibe's No Good Deed screening

Vibe's advance screening for Screen Gems' upcoming thriller No Good Deed, directed by Sam Miller and produced by Will Packer, at Regal Cinemas L.A. Live Stadium 14 on Tuesday, August 26 was made all the more special when the film's stars and executive producers, Idris Elba and Taraji P. Henson, made an unannounced appearance to introduce the film. Below is video of their introduction and conversation with the event's host, Vibe's Milan Carter, where the pair displayed not only their graciousness with the fans but also their playful and unforced rapport with each other--which, in the film, is quite the opposite of playful.

No Good Deed opens in cinemas nationwide on Friday, September 12, from Screen Gems.

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(Special thanks to Milan Carter, Oronde Garrett, Richard Blackman, and Screen Gems)

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.

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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.

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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.
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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.
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F3TV: Luther - episode 4

After the top-to-bottom intensity and major character and story arc shifts of last week's installment, it's not at all shocking that the fourth episode of Luther finds the tone and pace dialed down a bit. What is surprising, though, is that this episode is not merely calmer relative to the last, but that director Sam Miller (who also helmed episode 3) uses a gentler hand and a lower key, period--and for an episode that, while not as pivotal as the previous one, does not lack for either important overall plot developments or lurid subject matter. The latter respect comes by way of DCI John Luther's (Idris Elba) Case of the Week, which centers on no less than not only a serial murderer of women, but one with a serious handbag fetish. While this storyline does build to a rather graphically violent climax, it ultimately feels a bit mundane, for writer/series creator Neil Cross does not use the week's criminal concern to either illuminate and enrich Luther (except for revealing him to be a David Bowie fan) or the other characters, nor does it inform the continuing story arcs in any way. It's the first time in the series' run where the self-contained plot of the week plays like a routine procedural episode.

Thankfully Cross continues to not be routine when it comes to the ongoing character matters, which take turns both expected and not. With the exposure of his career-threatening secret appearing all but inevitable, Luther finally seeks to make a decisively clean break from any sort of contact with the ever-eager-to-"help," ever-batshit-crazy Alice Morgan (Ruth Wilson), which sets her off even more--and brings about an unexpectedly abrupt resolution (though not exactly closure) to one of the longer-looming issues. After the previous episode's events, Luther and wife Zoe (Indira Varma) begin the hour not exactly estranged, but the rediscovered closeness proves to create new complications that may leave them even further apart. These aren't exactly insignificant developments at all, but Cross and Miller play them (aside from one requisite freak-out apiece for Luther and Alice, that is) in an unusually understated fashion, which is a bit refreshing coming after the frantic previous installment not to mention a rather surprising choice overall. But such an approach paired with a less than thrilling Case of the Week leaves the episode feeling a bit minor and wanting. With only two more weeks to go, here's hoping next week's penultimate chapter finds the tension and energy level jumpstarted in preparation for the big finish.

Buy the Luther DVD here.

F3TV: Luther - episode 3

Within the first ten minutes of the third episode of Luther, the audience is treated to a man thrusting his tongue at and then licking a woman's face, words scrawled on walls in fresh human blood, and one of the series regulars washing his bloody face after suffering a brutal beating. Such newly in-your-face boldness I initially completely chalked up to a change in director--at the helm this time is Sam Miller, taking over from the first two's Brian Kirk--but it soon becomes apparent that this episode serves as a pivot that signals a dramatically (in every sense) dark and intense turn for the back half of the series. For a start, stories don't come much darker or more intense than DCI John Luther's (Idris Elba) Case of the Week, that of a satanic kidnapper and murderer who keeps his victims in a freezer while he does all sorts of nasty business with their blood.

For all the surface, sensationalistic shocks that come with exploring such grisly territory (including an instance of blood drinking, no less--not for nothing did the usually lax BBC affix a content advisory), writer/series creator Neil Cross cannily packs his biggest punches in how this case impacts the much larger picture of no less than the entire series. In my post on episode 2, I predicted that in this episode "the week's case will be closed in one way or another, but ongoing saga of John Luther will more likely be untidier than ever," and while I was correct, I had no idea quite to the degree, nor just how Cross would organically, seamlessly intertwine the concerns of the week's procedural case with further enriching the characters, relationships, and larger story arcs--to say nothing of just how much Cross corrupts the already-shaky status quo. For all his investigative acumen, Luther finds that the only way to nab this latest psycho on the scene is to enlist the counsel of another, the ever-present, ever-unhinged Alice Morgan (Ruth Wilson, creepy-crazy-captivating as ever)--who on her own has already been serving up unsolicited "help" in trying to bring Luther and estranged wife Zoe (Indira Varma) back together. But whatever immediate results this uneasy alliance may yield on both those fronts, the lasting overall fallout promises to be detrimental, if not outright devastating, to Luther. Indeed, by the hour's end, not only is Luther back in even lesser graces with his superiors, his relationship with supportive but straight-arrow partner DS Justin Ripley (Warren Brown, finally getting a bit more to do) has been severely tested, and Alice's sense of spiritual kinship with him is proven to be not so much twisted than it is true. The real suspense for the remaining three episodes lies not in the question of if Luther will suffer his ultimate downfall but if he will care enough to save himself.

Buy the Luther DVD here.