In other reviews I have already invoked the Scots' canny abilities to make a variety of enigmatic series and films based around the slightly bitter and dour (and eccentric) sense of humour those people are famous for. "Guilt" from Dundee's many-talented Neil Forsyth again mines that rich vein, while also bringing a few new elements to the table.
Never normally a fan of series in which people do bad things and then work to hide them, I did not have excessively high hopes for this, but the above context that shoves together chalk-and-cheese brothers Jake and Max (respectively Jamie Sives, and Mark Bonnar of the amazing face) proves instantly attractive and effective, and initially generates quite a few "guilty" laughs from the viewer. The low-key, small-scale gangsterishness topic is a bit too grim to be funny, but still is so.
It has to be said that (effectively enough) the mood does change from episode to episode, getting far darker and less funny as things move on. But this is leavened by a suprisingly warming and effecting love interest for Jake, who has drifted in this area of his life, as in most others, and suddenly finds unexpectedly that his lies and cover-ups have brought him something wonderful and life-changing. And as it turns out that his love-interest (played by Ruth Bradley) is also into scam and deception, this is an even-better pairing.
All of this happens as the ostensibly luxurious and organised life of Max (ultimately the real star of the show) disintegrates steadily as various chickens come home to roost. Rather nicely, there comes a point where we can feel a measure of sympathy for a guy far more pathetic than he might at first appear, who nevertheless pulls himself together to try and operate effectively at moments at least, and even amazingly evokes a measure of fellow-feeling (or at least pity) in his long-suffering and much-wearied wife (played by Sian Brooke). The way she flirts with a lesbian and lesbianism looks quite contrived outside in our world (which it indeed proves to be in their world too), though the excuse comes in association with "Mr Big" type activity from the ever-reliable Bill Patterson as Roy Lynch. Since Emun Elliott takes a good part as "Kenny" - a person shipped in to be hopeless who fails to be so - there is many a nice piece of acting to be enjoyed, even if Ellie Haddington's (effective) role as Sheila is likely to give one the creeps, as it was of course designed to do.
Edinburgh, Glasgow and Leith locations offer that solid and reasonably acttractive Scottish background, but quite a lot of what happens here takes place in entirely ananymous locations that could be pretty much anywhere. And the series is all the better for that.
Ultimately, this is beguiling work, as you may well find yourself asking at the end of episode 4 exactly how you have benefited from or been enriched by this whole, less-than-elevating experience. I'm not quite sure if that is the success or the failure of the makers. On the other hand, to make something artful and artistic (and probably also lucrative) out of basic ingredients of not much at all has to be counted as a genuine feat, and it's been a mixture of attention-holding fun and not-so-fun to get from episode 1 through to the end of number 4.
A second series apparently beckons, and doubtless we will be keen enough to respond to its dubious charms...
Never normally a fan of series in which people do bad things and then work to hide them, I did not have excessively high hopes for this, but the above context that shoves together chalk-and-cheese brothers Jake and Max (respectively Jamie Sives, and Mark Bonnar of the amazing face) proves instantly attractive and effective, and initially generates quite a few "guilty" laughs from the viewer. The low-key, small-scale gangsterishness topic is a bit too grim to be funny, but still is so.
It has to be said that (effectively enough) the mood does change from episode to episode, getting far darker and less funny as things move on. But this is leavened by a suprisingly warming and effecting love interest for Jake, who has drifted in this area of his life, as in most others, and suddenly finds unexpectedly that his lies and cover-ups have brought him something wonderful and life-changing. And as it turns out that his love-interest (played by Ruth Bradley) is also into scam and deception, this is an even-better pairing.
All of this happens as the ostensibly luxurious and organised life of Max (ultimately the real star of the show) disintegrates steadily as various chickens come home to roost. Rather nicely, there comes a point where we can feel a measure of sympathy for a guy far more pathetic than he might at first appear, who nevertheless pulls himself together to try and operate effectively at moments at least, and even amazingly evokes a measure of fellow-feeling (or at least pity) in his long-suffering and much-wearied wife (played by Sian Brooke). The way she flirts with a lesbian and lesbianism looks quite contrived outside in our world (which it indeed proves to be in their world too), though the excuse comes in association with "Mr Big" type activity from the ever-reliable Bill Patterson as Roy Lynch. Since Emun Elliott takes a good part as "Kenny" - a person shipped in to be hopeless who fails to be so - there is many a nice piece of acting to be enjoyed, even if Ellie Haddington's (effective) role as Sheila is likely to give one the creeps, as it was of course designed to do.
Edinburgh, Glasgow and Leith locations offer that solid and reasonably acttractive Scottish background, but quite a lot of what happens here takes place in entirely ananymous locations that could be pretty much anywhere. And the series is all the better for that.
Ultimately, this is beguiling work, as you may well find yourself asking at the end of episode 4 exactly how you have benefited from or been enriched by this whole, less-than-elevating experience. I'm not quite sure if that is the success or the failure of the makers. On the other hand, to make something artful and artistic (and probably also lucrative) out of basic ingredients of not much at all has to be counted as a genuine feat, and it's been a mixture of attention-holding fun and not-so-fun to get from episode 1 through to the end of number 4.
A second series apparently beckons, and doubtless we will be keen enough to respond to its dubious charms...