A few weeks ago I mentioned one of my latest television obsessions and tied it into the world of cinema. This week I will not even attempt a tie-in; instead I will just wax poetic about a program I am a couple of episodes in, The Shadow Line, which originally aired on BBC Two (BTW thanks for the recommendation, Scott – he of Front Room Cinema).
This one-off, seven part series stars a personal favorite of mine, Chiwetel Ejiofor as a cop investigating a murder of an underworld boss. But rest assured, it is not that straightforward. See, he is just back on duty after recovering from a gunshot wound to the head – and the bullet is still lodged there. As a result of the shooting, he has amnesia from the event, which also saw his partner die. This is al established the end of the of the first episode, which had a perplexing and intriguing final act that left one wondering, “Just WHAT is going on?”
And now that I have just finished episode two which heralded the introduction of Stephen Rae’s shadowy figure, I cannot wait for episodes 3 and beyond.
Although made for television, this series has a very cinematic look and feel to it. The writing is clever and well-placed in the hands of a superb cast of actors including Stephen Rae, Christopher Eccleston, Kierston Wareing and a very, very frightening Rafe Spall as the nephew of the murdered crime boss who has more than a screw loose.
Check out the trailer:
I like Chiwetel Ejiofor, I might check this one out though it’s tough for me to find time for TV shows. Btw, I think he and Idris Elba should make a movie together, that’ll be heavenly!
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That would be something else. And finally Idris will be able to use his East London accent!
I wish Ejiofor would be in more movies. Good to see he will star in Twelve Years a Slave though.
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True. I wonder how much of his limited engagement on the big screen is due to personal choice :/
I like him too, Iba. Though I wonder how to pronounce his name. It was explained to me once, but I forgot. 🙂
I remember him in the thriller, SALT, with Angelina Jolie, an unexpectedly good film.
Hope I get a chance to watch this series at some point. Thanks for the tip. I’m also a big fan of Christopher Eccleston.
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I think it would be something like this: CHEWY-TELL Ejiofor (I believe the surname is straight up phonetic).
I was slightly surprised by my response to Salt too – I only saw it about a month and a half ago.
I’ve seen a few British t.v. shows (MI-5 and Luther come to mind first) that were pretty good. I might check this out on Blu-ray sooner or later.
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Almost done with it and all I can say is that it is a pretty intense watch. 🙂