Midsomer Murders- A Dying Art / Saints and Sinners

A Dying Art 

Episodes of Midsomer Murders that possessed a macabre turn were becoming less prevalent by 2016 however `A Dying Art` was a definite throwback to those earlier times. The setting of a sculpture park gave director Matt Carter ample opportunity to relish unusual shots around these bizarre modern art installations dotted about a forest. The first murder is particularly well staged with the haunted face of the park’s owner Brandon Monkford appearing through a haze of gold liquid. Later on someone will be pummelled by a very large metal ball and another unfortunate victim will perish and then be propped up alongside a line of coloured dummies.  We are in the orbit of another very rich and disturbed family of the sort that seem to make a habit of moving to Midsomer to be murdered. The Monkfords have enemies aplenty and as Jeff Povey’s script unfurls he manages to frustrate our guessing game by killing off each new suspect!

The episode benefits from a strong cast including a returning David Bamber (who only has to walk through a door to look suspicious!), Cherie Lunghi as the slightly underused widow of Monkford, Adrian Scarborough as the gardener Tony Pitt who to the family’s surprise ends up inheriting the whole estate and is wonderfully short with everyone as soon as he does. There also a very shifty looking Ramon Tikaram as a rakish artist and a superbly understated Saskia Reeves as Pitt’s wife. Carter’s direction and Povey’s lively script make the ninety minutes rush by with each murder and development set up really well. While there are many echoes of other episodes I suppose at this stage (this was season 18) that is inevitable but the skill is in the way it is assembled.

Sometimes tv drama of this sort can keen to close to formula whereas this episode, which on paper may seem to do that, in realisation comes alive. There is a real scary quality to the murders which are treated with more seriousness than the series sometimes did.  There’s a sense of real anger amongst the villagers and real strife amongst the families. The final stand off in an old barn is particularly well choreographed passing that test of remaining interesting even when we know who the murderer is. On the negative side there is a little too much coincidence in some of the interconnected relationships but then it is a village!

 

Saints and Sinners 

Midsomer villages often seem to have a singular tradition celebrated by way of a festival of some kind and these are unique to that particular village. By the series’ bizarre standards Midsomer Cicely’s eponymous Cicely Day is a fairly ordinary religious based affair built around a local Saint but it causes quite a bit of trouble in this episode. Lisa Holdsworth’s story sees the tradition threatened when an already unwelcome archeological dig reckons to have discovered the bones of Cicely – bones already supposedly buried in the crypt of the village church. If the idea of murders being committed over old bones and a Saint sound far fetched then remember the series we’re in!

Saint Cicely Milson is the cause of much devotion amongst the villagers- an early scene shows them rebuffing the offer of free champagne for all as the diggers- led by abrasive Zoe Dyer- celebrate their find. So tensions are running high and later that night Zoe is buried on her own dig site. There’s a wide list of suspects amongst which is her estranged husband, professional rivals, supposed `Nighthawks` who pilfer old relics and of course the villagers themselves.

Her husband is soon in the clear only because he is crushed by a large tombstone and the next chief suspect, Reverend Peter Corby (an excellent, intense Malcolm Sinclair) falls victim to a vicious attack by a spear. Parallel plots involving stolen goods and brotherly rivalry serve to distract Barnaby too. The latter strand is especially well handled with both arguments and performances being believable. The ultimate reveal is done very well because it appears to show you who the killer is and then takes a sudden left turn and its someone else you never even suspected!

The story can be rather dry and humourless – I’d trade a little of the archeological accuracy for some more character work. This is true of Barnaby and Nelson too who both are in info-mode for this story with almost all of their dialogue being factual meaning there is little in the way of asides except at the start and end.  Meanwhile, Kam gets to experience what every tv pathologist will eventually share- a brush with danger. In the event she seems to be able to handle it rather well.