There
are some subtle but important differences between the British and Scottish
justice systems. In contrast, the practice of criminal laws in the US and the
UK varies quite drastically. Viewers will get a good sense of how through the
eyes of a high flying barrister about to crash down to earth in David
Wolstencroft’s two-part Escape Artist,
directed by Brian Welsh, which premieres this Sunday on PBS’s Masterpiece Mystery (promo here).
Having
never lost a case, Will Burton is currently ranked #1 amongst London’s
barristers. Maggie Gardner is number #2. She has only lost to Burton. Unfortunately,
she is about to do it again. For his defense of the palpably coldblooded Liam
Foyle, Burton has some sneaky lawyer stuff tucked up his sleeve. It works,
maybe too well. Thanks to Burton, Foyle is a free man, but he is put off by his
barrister’s thinly concealed contempt. This leads to obsession and soon
tragedy. Before long, Burton will be experiencing a criminal trial from a new
perspective—as a witness.
During
the first half of the first installment, Escape
seems like it will be somewhat edgier variation on the themes of the
middling Silk, but by the end of the
first night, it is clear the principal characters are playing for vastly higher
stakes. Arguably, it comes from an emotional place not so radically dissimilar from
David Tennant’s massively brooding hit, Broadchurch.
Indeed,
it is hard to match Tennant’s facility for playing highly intelligent
characters prone to obsessive self-recriminations. He is definitely in his element
throughout Artist. Recent Tony winner
(as of just now) Sophie Okonedo is reasonably okay as Gardner, but her finest
moments come playing off Tennant’s twitchy Burton. She certainly cannot match
Toby Kebbell’s villainous intensity as Foyle, providing one of the real surprises
of Escape. Longtime Mystery viewers will also be amused to
see Roy Marsden, the former Adam Dalgliesh, turn up in a rather pedestrian role
as Foyle’s solicitor, Peter Simkins.
