Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
Cast: Anna Friel, Ray Panthaki, Nina Sosanya, Nicholas Pinnock, Charlie Covell, Sinéad Cusack, Jack Doolan, Harry Lloyd, Tobias Santelmann, Jamie Bamber, Patrick Baladi, Ben Cura, Ian Puleston-Davies, Emil Hostina, Susannah Wise, Imogen Fairies, Laura Carmichael, Stephen Lord, Yasen Atour, Jasmine Breinburg, Florence Pugh, Nick Hendrix, George Barnes, Andrew Lancel, Maeve Dermody.
The art of the Noir is to keep the viewer or reader guessing long enough that they doubt their own verdict, their own deductive reasoning and to question further their own possible prejudices of one suspect or another. It is an art fully utilised by the writers of the series Marcella and one that really got under the skin as each episode progressed.
It was not so much even the murderous proposal, the dynamic of the chase between killer and investigator; it was in the reason why the detective was made to feel isolated by all around her that really sets the tone of the story and the series.
The feeling of being separate from your actions, of not being in control and suffering from a form of cognitive dissonance, is all to prevalent in the story line and it makes for an interesting subject matter in which the hunter can feel as though they have become the hunted. It is the scent of the crime, of the ultimate act of destruction against another human being, in which many murderers have been guilty of but to whom the pressure of their lives has formed the stress in which they have no idea what they are doing, the conflict between right and wrong; it is a theme that rarely finds itself on the side of those who are meant to protect us from such actions.
Whilst the function of the story is to delve in to the mind of the killer, this series really takes task with how an officer of the law can deal with a situation when they have no idea if they are the ones to blame. In the role of Marcella Backland, Anna Friel excels, the viewer can really empathise with her distress and be sympathetic, as well as alarmed, as her mind fights to control her actions.
With superb performances by Harry Lloyd as Henry Gibson, Ian Puleston-Davies as Peter Cullen and Florence Pugh as Cara Thomas, Anna Friel is surrounded by a great cast that delivers at every opportunity the feeling of being separated by ones thoughts and those that might be able to help you gain perspective.
A thrilling series and one with a great twist that neatly allows the Noir the suspense it needs to grab the attention of the viewer.
Ian D. Hall