Sadly Over-hyped

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

This detail movie about the true and absolutely sensational murder mystery that occurred in England in the 1860s gave birth to Sir Arthur Canon Dolye's "Sherlock Holmes". The life of Constance Kent was a was disgrace by murdering her half brother but was reborn after becoming a Christian and seeking forgiveness. Queen Victoria forgave her to a life in prision. After which she join her brother in Austrailia and led a life of nursing. She died at the age of 100. She was still in the newspapers although in the obituaries. Could God forgive this murderess ? I think so. She led a good life in Austrialia. I saw the Road House in Wilshire, its the same at pictured in the movie. Which leads me to believe that Kate Summerscale had a lot to do with this movie. I even prayed over the grave of Saville Kent after I talked to a few people in Rode, Wiltshire, England. I imagine that after the movie, there is alot of tourists looking at the house. Just like the movie "Bagdad Cafe", although there is nothing left of the small area now.

I just recently discovered the series. I watched the Beyond the Pale episode first and really liked it: it was a morally complex and empathetic story. Murder at Road Hill was quite good but it just wasn't as morally challenging as Beyond the Pale. All in all, it's a great series. I hope they make more!

Based on the best-selling novel, which I've not read, this was high-end costume-drama based on a true-life child murder in the mid-Victorian era. Thus we get expensive production values in casting, sets and costumes so that the piece doesn't lack in atmosphere.What it did lack though was suspense as the to all intents forced-looking circumstantial suspicions of crack Metropolitan detective Whicher somehow turn out some five years after their initial dismissal (leading to the end of his career and descent into penury) to be true after all. This is probably why so much prominence was given to the examination of Whicher's character as he is beset by the obstructive local count police force, an unsympathetic local public, jeering local press and yet urged to "get a result" by a combination of parliamentary pressure, the local judiciary (at least initially) and his own over-confidence. Given that miscarriages of justice still occur today, often for some if not all of the same reasons as stated above, the plot has some relevance to today but is weakened by the act that Whicher's hunches largely come true. The acting was largely acceptable for TV drama if not exceptional. Somehow though, Addy Considine didn't convince me that he was as driven as his character's actions would indicate and similarly Peter Capaldi failed to bring passion to his part as the philandering father figure who recoils from the unpleasant home-truths he's forced to face.For me it was crying out for either a dramatic courtroom finale or major plot-twist and delivered neither. If that's because that's how this true-life adaptation actually played out, then fair enough, but as latter-day TV drama, I felt it missed its mark.

THE SUSPICIONS OF MR WHICHER is about one of the first British detectives, who is called to investigate the murder of a child in Victorian Wiltshire, only to discover the case is more complex than previously thought. Part of ITV's recent spending spree on quality drama to counter-act it's image as the channel of THE X FACTOR and BRITAIN'S GOT TALENT, this is a rather thin drama that is a good half-hour too long. The drama is based on a historical case and whilst this adds authenticity it also interferes with the quality of the narrative. Real life is complex and odd and therefore more difficult to turn into compelling TV than fictional crime, which can be made to fit the narrative perfectly.The acting, camera-work, editing and production values are all good but the screenplay suffers by trying to fit reality to a fictional template. Following Inspector Whicher's investigation as a whodunnit simply doesn't work. Partly because of the lack of twists and turns to maintain tension. Partly because Whicher is unable to prove whodunnit and therefore the denouement is thoroughly unsatisfying.Ultimately it turns out that fiction is often more compelling than reality. This isn't bad TV, just thin material stretched too far.