The tunnel (Sky Atlantic / Canal+ series)
Posted: 2013-12-12 03:45pm
The Tunnel is a remake of a Danish/Swedish coproduction named Boren/Bron, which was released internationally as The Bridge. Now, before you go "remakes suck", I would say that this is only a remake like Sons of Anarchy is a remake of Hamlet, meaning the overall plot might be similar but the scenery, dialogue and characters are different, if only subtly so in the case of the main characters.
Here is why you should watch it:
- The acting is excellent. Stephen Dillane (Stannis, GoT) and Clémence Poésy (War and Peace, Harry Potter) are the leads. They are complemented by an excellent supporting cast including James Frain (you know him), Angel Coulby (who is leaps and bounds upon her dreadful Merlin stuff) and a dozen or so of well-known character actors.
- The direction is also great. While the cinematography mainly goes for statement by understatement, the direction will have you on the edge of your seat.
- The writing and the plot is top notch. It probably beats out Boardwalk Empire and Sons of Anarchy for that.
The negatives:
- The first episode is mainly filler.
- The promos you will find on youtube suck and totally give you a wrong impression about the show.
And that is about it.
The basic plot is as follows: Terrorist commits crimes in both France and England to highlight social issues. It basically goes "what if one guy decides to avenge the greater wrongs of ordinary society and turns into a terrorist claiming to have a social agenda?" And the show does not shy away from that. It gives credence to the issues. Even if it highlights how the methods are wrong you will find many of the leads agreeing that there is something wrong with society.
The show is also great with its humanity (strange to be typing that out after the previous sentence). The main character from the french side is struggling with Aspergers and cannot connect with people. The guy from the British side is a wreck, being on his third or fourth marriage and just having had a vasectomy. And yet, most people in the show are not dicks for being dickish. They behave with great decency, kindness and loyalty.
Lastly, I love the series for its cosmopolitan look. It takes part half in France and half in Britain. And the French actually are played by French (and one German) actors and speak french (subtitled of course). The overall plot is neatly waved in a sideplot which involves the secret service, the Euro crisis and the French security forces without sounding cliche or far-fetched.
So this is probably my favorite drama series for the year, beating out Boardwalk Empire and Sons of Anarchy.
Go watch it.
Here is why you should watch it:
- The acting is excellent. Stephen Dillane (Stannis, GoT) and Clémence Poésy (War and Peace, Harry Potter) are the leads. They are complemented by an excellent supporting cast including James Frain (you know him), Angel Coulby (who is leaps and bounds upon her dreadful Merlin stuff) and a dozen or so of well-known character actors.
- The direction is also great. While the cinematography mainly goes for statement by understatement, the direction will have you on the edge of your seat.
- The writing and the plot is top notch. It probably beats out Boardwalk Empire and Sons of Anarchy for that.
The negatives:
- The first episode is mainly filler.
- The promos you will find on youtube suck and totally give you a wrong impression about the show.
And that is about it.
The basic plot is as follows: Terrorist commits crimes in both France and England to highlight social issues. It basically goes "what if one guy decides to avenge the greater wrongs of ordinary society and turns into a terrorist claiming to have a social agenda?" And the show does not shy away from that. It gives credence to the issues. Even if it highlights how the methods are wrong you will find many of the leads agreeing that there is something wrong with society.
The show is also great with its humanity (strange to be typing that out after the previous sentence). The main character from the french side is struggling with Aspergers and cannot connect with people. The guy from the British side is a wreck, being on his third or fourth marriage and just having had a vasectomy. And yet, most people in the show are not dicks for being dickish. They behave with great decency, kindness and loyalty.
Lastly, I love the series for its cosmopolitan look. It takes part half in France and half in Britain. And the French actually are played by French (and one German) actors and speak french (subtitled of course). The overall plot is neatly waved in a sideplot which involves the secret service, the Euro crisis and the French security forces without sounding cliche or far-fetched.
So this is probably my favorite drama series for the year, beating out Boardwalk Empire and Sons of Anarchy.
Go watch it.