The Victim

BritBox trailer: http://bit.ly/4ghgbon

This'll keep you guessing.

This four part series stars Scottish actress Kelly Macdonald, whom you either love or just aren't aware of yet. You most recently saw her in Netflix's "Dept. Q," and she was also in season six of "Line of Duty," one of the best English series period. It's all about "bent coppers," if someone uses this term, you know they've seen the series. Macdonald was nominated for a BAFTA Scotland award for Best Actress Television for both of these series, and she won for "The Victim." Macdonald doesn't sacrifice her Scottish accent in both productions, which makes her even more believable. And unlike with Meryl Streep and many other vaunted actors, you don't see the actor behind the role. "The Victim" sports a 92/96 rating on RottenTomatoes (and "Line of Duty" rates 96/94).

I know, I know, you don't want to pay for another streaming service. But here's what I do... I sign up via Amazon and immediately cancel, so I am only charged for one month. I'd like to say it's easy to cancel on Amazon, it's not, but give it a minute and you can figure it out. Cancellation is easiest on Apple, however having all your charges in one place, i.e. Amazon, can be advantageous. Is it worth the $10.99 for one month of BritBox? (Just raised from $8.99.) I can't imagine anyone disliking "The Victim" or "Line of Duty," but I'm not promising your money back, you'll just have to trust me.

So there are multiple threads in "The Victim," which ultimately all come together, but the main thread has to do with whether Kelly Macdonald as Anna Dean is liable for posting online the name and address of the person she believes killed her son. So, this is a courtroom drama.

But not at stake in the trial, but dominant throughout the series, is who exactly killed said son. The person she outed or..? This is done just brilliantly, you're kept guessing, it's never completely clear, and when you find out who is ultimately responsible...let me just say you'll be shocked.

In addition there's a thread about a missing young woman, what happened to her after she left the bar?

And then there's the mother who keeps believing her estranged daughter will show up for her birthday, even though she hasn't seen her in years.

At first you will wonder how these threads all come together, but trust me, they will. And viewing is not as complicated as it may seem above. But having said that, TURN ON THE SUBTITLES! The Scottish accents are heavy, and unless you live there, you'll have a hard time catching every word.

I'm stunned in a world where they remade the not so great original "War of the Roses" that they haven't made American versions of these two series. In the case of "The Victim," you could use the identical script, you'd only have to change the location.

People wonder why I watch so much streaming television. But it's the highlight of my day. Because when done right it takes me away, puts me in a totally different headspace than I was when I was working.

Yes, I know some people still watch movies, but films are a different experience. They're short stories and series are novels. In series the characters are more fleshed out, there's more detail, less left unspoken, and if something is good it continues... "Line of Duty" has six seasons!

Once again, "The Victim" has only four, just under an hour apiece. The landscape is delineated and the action takes place.

What do you believe? Are your instincts correct? Are your conclusions tainted by preconceptions? These are all questions raised in "The Victim."

I guess I'm selling "The Victim" not because it's so damn good, although it is truly excellent, but it's just that when discussing what people are watching they always come up with the usual suspects and oftentimes it's tripe. But if you broaden your horizons just a little...

This is an English production. Meaning that every character is not beautiful, it's regular people and therefore you can relate.

This is first class stuff.

WATCH IT!


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