It's a well made and moving drama about an emotive and thought provoking event which touched a nerve in the country for so long.
On Steve Coogan - I love him, but I am not sure he is suited to this. Maybe if he underplayed the 'gruff London copper' routine it would be OK - but as it is, the portrayal is a distraction. The character is empathetic, but you can't get away from 'watching Steve Coogan'. Not saying he can't do serious things - Philomena worked and 24 Hour Party People and even Partridge has some gritty parts. Here - I'm not so sure. But it is well worth a look.
The only other criticism I have is a bit of a political agenda coming into it. There are several references to Johnson as if to suggest the current PM influences racism in the country. The Mrs Lawrence character also seems to be hinting at other unresolved problems with racism in our culture. Another scene shows her getting carjacked (this did happen) and the policeman dealing with the complaint seems to deliberately underserve her because of who she is. Don't think it needed that. Generally though, it doesn't overdo this angle as it might have done, but I would have avoided it.
A decent miniseries about a tragic case.
On Steve Coogan - I love him, but I am not sure he is suited to this. Maybe if he underplayed the 'gruff London copper' routine it would be OK - but as it is, the portrayal is a distraction. The character is empathetic, but you can't get away from 'watching Steve Coogan'. Not saying he can't do serious things - Philomena worked and 24 Hour Party People and even Partridge has some gritty parts. Here - I'm not so sure. But it is well worth a look.
The only other criticism I have is a bit of a political agenda coming into it. There are several references to Johnson as if to suggest the current PM influences racism in the country. The Mrs Lawrence character also seems to be hinting at other unresolved problems with racism in our culture. Another scene shows her getting carjacked (this did happen) and the policeman dealing with the complaint seems to deliberately underserve her because of who she is. Don't think it needed that. Generally though, it doesn't overdo this angle as it might have done, but I would have avoided it.
A decent miniseries about a tragic case.