What
Remains takes
the concept of slow burn drama to a new level of stillness. Over the course of
two hours very little has actually happened yet under the funereal veneer lots
is going on. It takes a very good writer, director and cast to keep you
watching and yet somehow they do. For all its glacial distance, What Remains
is surprisingly compulsive as each tiny morsel is delivered making you hungry
for more. It shares genes with Broadchurch of course, as you suspect every
new drama this winter probably will, and also the Scandinavian television from
which ITV’s hit itself drew but this is something even more considered. The
best thing about it is that it could turn out to have a disappointing or
obscure resolution but you just know we’ll watch it till the end anyway.
Spoilers past this point.....
The
attention to detail is remarkable given that we have become so used to in your
face camerawork and rushed narratives. Uncurling at its own measured pace in
scenes that rarely stray beyond a handful of lines, Tony Basgallop’s script
gives just enough to keep you involved but not too much. The setting is an
old five storey house in which a woman called Melissa Young’s badly
decomposed body is found. Nobody seems to know much about her; in fact everyone
thought she moved out two years ago. On his final case before retirement Len
Harper (David Threlfall) potters about discovering just enough to convince him-
but not his superiors- that it might not be accidental or suicidal.
In no particular order there’s David Bamber’s tightly wound up teacher Joe Sellers who despite claiming to live alone has someone else - Liz Fletcher (Denise Gough)- in the basement apartment seemingly never leaving except to help herself to other people’s items. There’s newcomers Michael Jensen (Russell Tovey) – a former pupil of Sellers- and Vidya Khan (Amber Rose Revah) who seem like a normal young married couple expecting their first baby but by part 2 Michael is nicking Mr Sellar’s keys from the school and sneaking into his flat. Photographic and actual partners Elaine Markham (Indira Varma) and Peggy Scott (Victoria Hamilton) appear to have the closest connection to the late Melissa having photographed her for a fashion catalogue something Harper finds suspicious because what little evidence he has suggests she was reclusive and shy. In flashbacks we see the tension between the three as Melissa regrets having the photos taken. The couple are an odd mixture with Elaine openly bitching about people while timid Peggy seems afraid of her own shadow. Journalist Keiron Moss (Steven Macintosh) lives on the ground floor with his teenage son Adam (Alexander Arnold) and is seeing co –worker Alice Yapp (Lisa Millet) for whom Adam seems to be developing either an obsession or an intent to drive her away.
Flashbacks and shots of the house mingle with a sparse Nordic sort of
soundtrack and some beautifully composed camera work under the auspices of
director Coky Giedroyc. The house is a character in itself creaking and
groaning as people move around adding to the suspense; every floorboard walked
over and every door opened makes its own impression on the viewer. Amazingly
given its authentic look it is a studio set and not a real house.
If you’ve not yet tried this show watch the first two on the iPlayer and you could be easily hooked. Let’s hope that just like Broadchurch, it can sustain its quality to the very last.
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