The Fall (2013 -)

It's Valentine's Day, which is of course when I recommend the rather brilliant The Fall. No, it's not the film from 2006 with Lee Pace, though that's actually a piece of beautiful cinematography and great storytelling. The Fall is the brilliant thriller with Jamie Dornan and Gillian Anderson. The former is probably more known from his brief tenure in Once Upon A Time, while the latter is a woman who one cannot but love.

We're in Belfast and there's a serial killer targeting women, played by Dornan masterfully - with a scary amount of sexual aura that makes one rather disconcerted. It's clear the police are at a loss, and Stella Gibson played by Anderson is brought in to capture the man. We follow both of them, learn to know of their private lives and how their minds work, it's an interesting view of things.

The thing that is different with this is that for once Dornan's character Paul Spector isn't glorified or redeemed for what he does, which is most foul. There is no explanation, no real understanding of his downright wickedness. He just is what he is. We see him struggling to keep it away, even having a family, while scheduling such vile things, you don't know how it's doable. It's a rather crude reminder that anyone is capable of having such darkness within them, and that however normal they seem, there's that chance. People always erase the humanity, but we are sure Spector is human. He is not evil-incarnate, the stereotype that people like to cling to, as if it gives us hope about humanity.

You almost want him not to get caught, because you can't believe it in some ways.

Stella Gibson is the kind of character that could have easily been played by a man, but isn't, which is why she's interesting. There's a tragedy in that. A woman who's interested in casual sex and says so, a woman who knows what she wants, and is willing to sacrifice a lot for her job, without her 'family life' being drawn into the game. Things that wouldn't be questioned if she were a man are found refreshing. Any crime show with a female in the lead tend to bring up her family life, but she doesn't have one. She doesn't have that 'hold', and even if she did what difference would it make? Spector has a family, but it does not make him a good man, or even better than her.

Look at what he does with his spare time?

You can watch series one on Netflix; be prepared for some genuinely good drama.

10/10