A new spin on the old Fatal Attraction storyline is the basis for ITV’s two part drama. A psychological drama starring David Tennant just before he finds himself spirited away to his new starring role in Doctor Who. There could be no character further from the space and time travelling hero in this dark tale of obsession and manipulation.
Tennant stars as Brendan Block, an outwardly appealing nice guy character that engages in a brief but passionate fling with Miranda played by Kate Ashfield. The affair ends but that’s only the beginning as we see the unveiling of Block’s darker nature. Which starts with him almost immediately becoming involved with Miranda’s sister Kerry (Claire Goose) and before you can say rebound, the two of them are planning to wed.
What follows is the systematic dismantling of a number of a family as Block’s machinations begin to weave their way through the lives of all he encounters. Yet all the while Tennant delivers his Machiavellian plots behind a toothpaste smile and a butter wouldn’t melt fa?ade. While Miranda’s relationships with her friends and family are eroded by the plausibility of his actions.
There is of course nothing new in this scenario, as my title suggests we are looking at a story that has been covered on numerous occasions in the past. However this story reverses the roles effectively and Tennant flexes his muscles as an actor to prove that he can do more than characters with foppish leanings.
The grim tale never languishes at a pace anything less than acceptable. The story moves along often cleverly overlapping plot points in order to keep the pace nimble, as a result the characters in the story flesh out quickly and we learn just enough back story on thier lives to make everything plausible.
The performances are pretty much first rate, Tennant as I mentioned is suitably disturbing and I wondered if I’ll be able to watch Doctor Who in quite the same light when he takes over at Christmas. Ashfield also puts in a fine performance as Miranda. Her character’s life is systematically run into the ground by her nemesis as he cruelly unpicks her life, leaving her with fewer and fewer people to turn to. The transformation from a confident work hard, play hard character to someone who is finding herself gradually boxed in by the people around her is well portrayed. As is the performance by Claire Goose as the beleaguered sister Kerry, this is a marked departure for her. In terms of characters she can often be seen in confident professional roles. However, in this instance she portrays little more than a manipulated stooge lost beneath the thrall of Tennant’s character Block.
Broadcast over two nights (12th /13th December) on ITV1, this is a drama that undeniably retreads old ground but does so with sufficient menace to warrant your attention and show some suitably decent performances from a strong cast.
