SERIES REVIEW – Inside Man is the perfect Netflix TV series. From the moment you glimpse the thumbnail image in the streaming channel’s interface, you might be intrigued by the picture of a disheveled and wild-eyed David Tennant. Still, you’ll definitely be fascinated by the charismatic Italian-American star of Doctor Who and other hit films, Stanley Tucci.

The odd pairing of Tennant and Tucci and the promise of their outstanding performances made me press play immediately. Then came the smoky, throbbing theme song that sings of God and damnation. And I was hooked. I didn’t even realize I was watching a Steven Moffat series. It was too late: the trap had sprung, and I couldn’t stand it until I’d watched all four episodes.

What is Inside Man about?

Moffat has made a name for himself with adaptations such as Sherlock and The Time Traveller’s Wife and revived the Doctor Who franchise, but Inside Man is an entirely original work. Over four hour-long episodes, the screenwriter spins the twisted tale of a brilliant and madcap new anti-hero: Jefferson Grieff, a man facing execution for the brutal murder of his wife, known as the Death Row Detective.

Tucci plays this evil genius whose background as a professor of criminology and convicted murderer makes him an unrivaled expert on the dark side of human nature. He sits quietly in the courtroom of a high-security prison as a distraught senator, a grieving family, and a suspicious journalist (Lydia West) present the facts of a messy case. Sometimes she helps them calmly, serenely, and enjoying the power she is able to wield even as she waits, chained to a desk, for news of her execution date.

Two stories running side by side in parallel

Meanwhile, Inside Man parallels the story of Grieff and his serene but annoying sidekick, a cellmate named Dillon (Estimond Atkins) (whose serial killer past bears a striking resemblance to Ed Gein’s), and Harry Watling (David Tennant), a pastor who lives a quiet life on the other side of the Atlantic in England. While Grieff interrogates a prospective client, Harry goes about his ordinary day, conferring with a troubled member of his congregation, talking to his wife (Lyndsey Marshal), and joking with his teenage son’s (Louis Oliver) maths teacher (Dolly Wells).

Before we mince our words, Moffat does not have the dull intimacy of the ubiquitous true crime docu-series, which paints a real household as an idyllic place in the first part of the story until the violence strikes, but here, right from the start, he depicts the Watlings’ life with both acerbic and dark humor, from parent to child and priest to parish priest. When, for example, someone cheekily scolds Harry for a risqué joke and calls him a ‘dark vicar’, he laughs it off. “Dark vicar,” Harry chuckles, “haha, I’ve had it! ”

The witty and irreverent portrayal of this environment and the private lives of these people makes the four-part miniseries Inside Man fascinating from the very beginning. Moffat cleverly creates characters who are not simple archetypes of the priest, the teacher, or the mother but adds additional, more complex, darker layers. They are a little too clever, perhaps, to feel real, but they are still more authentic than the usual one-man American family with a bull’s-eye.

Of course, at first glance, it seems confusing how the story of this English family can clash with the American wife killer. But Moffat doesn’t wait long for viewers to see the slippery slope that his murderous Hercule Poirot warns all who will listen:

“Everyone is a murderer… All it takes is a good reason and a bad day”.

Another anti-hero we love to hate? But can we hate him at all?

There’s a certain madness in casting Stanley Tucci as a ruthless killer. Of course, he’s played such a character in Comfort Heaven. But in that film he was just a real creepy killer, here he is suave, intelligent and sophisticated. But every time we’d think he was some kind of misplaced Sherlock Holmes, Moffat suddenly drops another hard detail about Grieff’s bloody murder, each more gruesome than the last. And Tucci, with his trademark enigmatic smile, haunting gaze and calm, growling voice, deliberately plays on our sympathy, even as he speaks frankly about the murder. Tucci portrays a character who is at once immensely despicable, yet extremely intelligent and charismatic, with his characteristic professionalism. But he is only one of the reasons why this series is a must-see…

David Tennant as the other trump card as a dark pastor

David Tennant may not be in the limelight as much as the stars of superhero movies, but he is one of the most brilliant actors of our time, often with an eerily complex performance behind him.

The versatile Scottish actor played a lover and a fighter in Doctor Who, where he could be playful, mournful and angry in equally convincing ways. He was a Vegas buffoon in Fright Night, a good-hearted devil in Good Omens and one of the most terrifying, immeasurably cruel Marvel villains the MCU has ever dared to put on screen in Jessica Jones. So, when he shows up in Inside Man with a priest collar, there’s really no telling what to expect from him right now.

Tennant has yet to meet a character that he hasn’t been able to portray with mesmerising insanity. And the astonishing nature of his filmography only adds to the anticipation. Who will this Harry Watling be now? Will we see Tennant leaping, crying, or screaming? The one thing that is guaranteed is that his performance will grip us by the throat and keep us glued to the last frame.

Inside Man is addictive, which is why it’s painful to be so short

Miniseries are usually eight or six parts and compared to that, Inside Man is four parts ultra-short. So these four episodes may seem short, and thus the story may seem disjointed in some aspects. Consider that Better Call Saul, similar in style, kept us riveted to the screen for six full seasons.

Sure, Grieff and company wrap up the primary case (and then some) in four episodes. But the first season also raises questions that haven’t even begun to be answered about the seductive anti-hero’s past. So even as we enjoy the intoxicating thrill of watching these seemingly separate threads come together in a twisted and exciting web of love and murder, we’ll want more. In fact, the most frustrating thing about Inside Man is that it ends so soon. Of course, that’s perfect for Netflix – it keeps us hungry to return for the sequel. We can only hope there will be a second season…

-BadSector-