So, 'Murder: Joint Enterprise'. For some reason the BBC decided to schedule this in somewhat of a death slot - 10pm on a Sunday. This is an original take on the murder mystery and I want more of them.
A girl has been murdered in her flat, her sister calls the police from the bathroom, where she's locked herself in, a man is arrested driving away from the scene in the victim's car. Throughout the hour the characters address the camera, giving us their various testimonies as we move through the initial questioning, charging and the court case. As we move through the days new information comes to light, we learn of new circumstances surrounding the night of the murder, new background to our characters, and with each monologue we must reassess what we thought we knew. I believe the concept came from watching cases unfold in court, and the way a jury hear the story of a crime from witnesses, the accused, the police, and lawyers. This creates a constant flux in opinions as gradually ideas solidify and we come to our own understanding of the case. It demonstrates how little one can really 'know' when being told not shown.
The monologue style is a challenge on television. The actors cannot feel the audience reaction as they can onstage. Their utterances cannot be provoked by dialogue, or another character's physical behaviour. Visually the scene is static, something addressed here by the use of crime scene photographs, CCTV footage and video from a camera-phone intercut throughout the speeches. The monologues are entirely successful, mainly because the actors are great. Joe Dempsie was always the most talented of his 'Skins' generation, and he continues to prove so here. Karla Crome as Coleen plays vulnerable yet dangerous perfectly. As the only two people who know what happened on the night in question, and the entirety of their own backstories, they maintain the suspense, but brilliantly leading us further into the mystery.
After the jury's judgement has been passed, we finally see the night of the crime in full. I doubt I'll be alone in thinking that this explicit resolution was unnecessary. There is a final hint from one character that I think allows us to come to this conclusion without being shown the scene, but equally some people will crave a clear, unquestionable solution. Robert Jones (the writer) being interviewed on Front Row before transmission said that if they make more dramas in the style of 'Murder', they might not show the solution. However they end them, with or without 'solving', I really want more of these. Please BBC, commission a series.