Accused (2010)

Accused was a very powerful, compelling series from Jimmy McGovern where each episode featured a new story, focussed on a character about to be sentenced for a crime. It was a very effective format that slowly peeled back layers of mystery as, through flashback, you learnt about the character and what they did, along with what drove them to it. Additionally you saw clips of the court room during the sentencing, and were teased by shots of some supporting characters, or omissions of others. So as you tried to work out what crime they would eventually end of committing, you also didn't know who was alive or dead come sentencing, which meant deciding who the victims were was more difficult. Not always an easy watch, Accused's style managed to build a sense of dread and unease as you knew something bad was to happen, but without knowing how or when or who it would happen to. 

I'd liken watching Accused to watching Final Destination, the movie (series) where the characters are picked of by Death in mundane yet elaborate ways - every scene you'd think, does she die? Will he snap? What's going to happen?! Nerve-shredding stuff. And then the subject matter gets involved... The first episode with Christopher Eccleston features an affair and money laundering, but things get more controversial in episode two, set in Afghanistan and featuring bullying in the army. It's a tough watch as one character is psychologically bullied to the point of suicide and then his mate takes revenge. The final episode was least effective I thought, starring Naomie Harris as a mother who has a one night stand and is framed by her husband and police-officer-father-in-law for distributing cocaine. It seemed a lot more far-fetched and less realistic than the others. 

The best episodes were numbers 3, 4 and 5. Number 3 featured Juliet Stevenson in a powerhouse performance as a grieving mother pushed to arson by an uncaring and unfeeling system (also featuring a cracking turn from Peter Capaldi) - this was special as the episode opened with Stevenson in court telling the jury she did the crime, and then explaining why, so that when the jury's verdict came in, there was an even greater feeling of tension. The verdicts were as exciting as the moment on The Apprentice when Lord Sugar says 'you're fired'! 

In episode 4 Andy Serkis played a creepy taxi driver who effectively stalked, befriended and bedded an unsuspecting young woman. Serkis was mesmerising throughout, and really made you both sympathise with his character and feel uncomfortable about doing so. Marc Warren headed the cast in episode 5, as the father of a child who is abused, and he and his buddies beat up and kill a man they believe is responsible. It turns out he was innocent and Warren essays a convincing decent into hell, and it's hard to know how to feel about the verdict of the jury. I hope that Accused gets another series, it's such a strong format, and each episode has interesting things to say about the human (British) psyche.