Made for Irish television by state broadcaster RTE, this cop
drama is set in the far west of Ireland in Connemara, along the Atlantic Coast.
It’s one of those places where most residents grew up there and never left home, and
everybody knows everybody else’s business. Garda Sgt. Jack Driscoll (Owen McDonnell)
has returned from Dublin to the seaside community of his youth, filling the shoes of his
retired father who once held the same job.
Being Ireland, one gathers, there is plenty of history
that’s been covered up in decades of secrecy. Wrongdoers, residents, and police
have colluded in practicing a kind of law enforcement that’s somewhat outside
the parameters of the law itself. Determined to do his job by the book,
Driscoll uncovers a whole lot more dirty work than he bargained for when he
agreed to take the job.
The first episode of Season 1 starts with a familiar
set-up for anyone who has watched a lot of British crime drama. A body is
discovered in the opening scenes and we get to know a series of local folks as
Driscoll tries to sort out what happened. Though the death looks accidental,
you expect him to eventually suss out what looks suspicious and finger a
killer.
Something like that happens, but not until after his investigation
discloses multiple layers of subterfuge. The story grows darker and darker as
it takes one unexpected turn after another, eventually leading to a miasma of
implications that involve Driscoll’s own family.
Owen McDonnell |
Like many a modern series about crime detection, this one
has a conflicted hero at the center. Jack Driscoll has a little problem with
anger management and he apparently made trouble for himself while on the
force in Dublin. For one thing, he seems to have been over-familiar with a colleague’s
wife.
Wearing a uniform out here on the edge of nowhere, he is
often portrayed as a lonely man, pitted against a community used to another
kind of law officer. He rather easily welcomes into his isolation the
affections of women who find themselves temporarily within his jurisdiction.
He’s a gentleman about it, but a young woman in each of the first two seasons
finds her way into his bed.
We like him because he tries so hard to do the right thing,
to be honorable and above the corruption that tends to prevail everywhere
around him. The one other law officer at his station, Sgt. Finbarr (David Herlihy) is unreliable and not
accustomed to honoring a high standard of police work. A retired member of the
local force (Sean McGinley) runs a tavern and is generally up to no good. Like a sphinx, Driscoll’s
mother (Ruth McCabe) seems always sweet and pleasant enough, but long ago
learned to pretend to know nothing and to reveal nothing of what she’s
thinking.
There is a melancholy tone to the series that often
underscores the sorrows that crimes uncover. In Season 2, Stephen Rea plays a
long lost uncle who grew up in a brutal boarding school for boys. He is the
adult survivor of indescribable abuse, and in Rea’s performance, his story
breaks your heart. Meanwhile, Driscoll’s brightly colored police van travels
the narrow, winding roads of Connemara. The brooding hills are as beautiful and
forbidding as the Brontë’s moors.
Here are a couple scenes from Season 2, episode 3, with Owen McDonnell and Simone Lahbib.
Seasons 1 and 2 of Single-Handed are available in the U.S. at netflix. Two additional
seasons were produced in 2009 and 2010. For more Overlooked Movies and TV,
click on over to Todd Mason’s blog.
Source: imdb.com
Coming up: Richard Wheeler, The Buffalo Commons
Interesting choice, Ron. I didn't know about this serial and I am glad you reviewed it.
ReplyDeleteWe were just in Connemara-gorgeous. I will look for this series if we ever get netflix back.
ReplyDelete"Being Ireland, one gathers, there is plenty of history that’s been covered up in decades of secrecy." After listening to another account of the Magdalene Laundries last night on the way home, one can certainly believe that well beyond any resistance to Brit rule.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great little series, with a charismatic and troubled lead detective, stories of depth and real emotional heft and gorgeous landscapes as a backdrop. Very nice post!
ReplyDelete