The
National Crime Agency (NCA) was immediately dubbed the “British FBI” when it
was founded in 2013. Given the media firestorm it finds itself in this film,
the comparison seems particularly apt. A plundered pension mega-fund threatens
to undermine the entire financial system and nobody at the NCA has a clue where
the missing 700 million pounds might be, except maybe their newest, most
unlikely recruit in director-screenwriter-editor-cinematographer-score composer
Thomas Lawes’ overachieving Monochrome (trailer here), which releases
today on VOD.
Gabriel
Lenard thinks differently. He has synesthesia, which gives him a savant-like
ability to perceive patterns and remember numbers. For a while, he had a
regular job, but his shyness and OCD-ish behavior forced him to return to his
mum’s flat. NCA’s chief head-shrinker Dr. Randall Grey believes in him, so he
will be his direct supervising agent.
Currently,
the pension fund case is the agency’s primary concern. They arrested an obviously
guilty City embezzler, but his girlfriend Emma Rose slipped through the
dragnet. Despite her affair with the accused, Rose has always has a hippy contempt
for money, so she has no problem going off the grid. However, only Lenard picks
up on evidence that she has also turned into a serial killer, preying on the
wealthy home owners, whom she offers herself up to as exploitable house-help.
For
the most part, Monochrome is a rather
crafty procedural, featuring some interesting characters. It is particularly inventive
when it presents a stylized rendering of the colorful way Lenard perceives the
world, so it is rather odd Lawes does not do so more frequently. Even more
importantly, the collegial relationship that develops between Lenard and Grey
gives the film a strong core. Unfortunately, the resolution falls somewhat
flat, but that happens all the time.
Cosmo
Jarvis is quite compelling as Lenard, conveying all his awkwardness, without
ever relying on easy shtick. Accomplished stage actor Patrice Naiambana also
makes quite an impression as Dr. Grey. He speaks with commanding authority,
while projecting compassion and empathy. Lee Boardman is suitably slimy as
Lenard’s NCA nemesis and James Cosmo gorges on the scenery playing Rose’s first
victim, past-his-prime celebrity artist Roger Daniels. Unfortunately, Jo
Woodcock’s vanilla Rose rather fades into the background, which is a serious
drawback.
There
are multiple speaking-in-retrospect voice-overs throughout Monochrome, but believe it or not, they all sort of work. It is not
the be-all-end-all, but we would be happy to see this NCA team tackle another
case—and that’s saying something. Recommended for fans of British procedurals, Monochrome is now available on VOD platforms,
including iTunes.
