THE FALL COMPLETE SERIES: CHARISMATIC KILLER

When watching movies or series there are a few out there that take the lazy route with a killer who is the most obvious choice for prime suspect. When that happens you feel like why bother when you know the results already. Or if the killer is revealed at the outset you wonder how any police organization could be so stupid as to not know who the killer was.

THE FALL is just the opposite of that. In a somewhat COLUMBO mode we know right off who the serial killer is. As the series progresses we witness both his acts and those of the police led by Detective Superintendent Stella Gibson (Gillian Anderson). But the show offers more depth than just a whodunit and how do we prove it.

A killer is on the streets of Belfast murdering women. All are a certain type, young and attractive, brown hair, living alone and professionally employed. From the start it gains the interests of the police and DS Gibson is brought in from the MET in London at the request of the department head Jim Burns (John Lynch). The two have worked together in the past as well as having had a personal relationship of sorts at one time.

Heading the task force responsible for bringing in the killer Gibson sets about organizing the group she needs to bring the killer in. As she meets various officers when she arrives she uses an ability to scan for new talent to fill out the roster and compose her team. What becomes apparent as the show progresses is that she also fills out the team with potential bedmates, something that will haunt her as the show moves forward.

Gibson has a habit of finding sexual partners among those she works with. Never a situation where she expects anything long lasting, these are one night stands and nothing more. But they do tend to create a problematic atmosphere in the workplace.

There is also the issue of inner police politics to be dealt with in the series. This sets it apart from most where the stalwart force stands together through thick and thin to catch the killer. Here we have a group that’s as concerned about how things will play out in the press as they are in catching the killer. Should Gibson succeed they will take the credit, should she fail she will take the fall. And on the journey to catch the killer they will be the same people who place roadblocks in her way rather than come to her aid.

As all of this is revealed we also have the story of Paul Spector (Jamie Dornan). A grief counselor it is Paul who is the killer. We watch as he plans his next victim, stalking her and knowing her every move before sneaking into her house to kill her. He takes the time to insure that no trace evidence is left behind and that he spends time with the victim once she’s been killed. This is not an impersonal killer but a man whose fetishes have taken hold of him to the point that he devalues the life of the victim but not the body.

The series played out over three seasons, the third of which has just been released on DVD as well as this complete series set. Over those three season we have a breakdown where each one focuses on something different. The first establishes both sides of the coin. The second focuses on Paul’s changes as he kidnaps and holds captive one victim. The third deals with his capture and potential catastrophic case of amnesia. No time is wasted in each season and you never feel the need to hold the remote in your hand waiting to fast forward through the boring parts. They’re not here.

Anderson does a wonderful job as Gibson, a career woman with no time for personal intimacy on a long term scale, just as a woman with needs who fulfills them when time permits and moves back to work. It is her cold and calculating demeanor that helps her to establish links with those she pursues. Eventually that behavior will allow her to get into the mind of the Spector and that’s not always something easily left behind. Whether she will remain in that state of mind or break down and realize that she is still human isn’t revealed until the final season.

Dornan, most known as Mr. Grey in the FIFTY SHADES OF GREY series of films now, does an admirable job as well. The role of the killer here as portrayed by him is one of a man filled with charisma who lures women into trusting him before he takes them out. His character is a family man with two children who adore him and a wife who loves him dearly. His clients feel comfortable with him as he guides them through their grief. And yet at his core he’s a twisted man and serial killer. To portray both sides of the same coin is a task that Dornan does well.

There are other side stories that are important as well including a teen babysitter for the Spector family who longs for Paul to the point of obsession. He later employs that obsession to use her in providing an alibi. Even though she realizes he’s a killer the rebellious teen in her feels he has emotions for her and will do her no harm while she gets a slight thrill from helping him. As played by Aisling Franciosi the character is believable and eventually you just want to tell her to wake up.

On the whole the series entertains from start to finish. The characters are fleshed out rather than cardboard cutouts. People have their personal issues to deal with from the smallest to the greatest characters among them. Their lives intertwine and they work towards a common goal, catching and imprisoning a cold, callous and calculating killer. Their lives will be forever changed by what they experience. This is no killer of the week series but one that takes it’s time to focus on just one. And in so doing it makes for an interesting show that’s worth watching.

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