What a waste of my time!!!

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

Alternating timelines - the 'go to' plot device that the people who make TV love - and people who watch TV hate! But in this case, it works well and actually makes sense. Also - it's not too confusing for the viewer!Some well-known faces from every other TV drama are wheeled out in this above average drama. Some will find their faces reassuring - others (like me) will find them annoying... especially Juliet Stevenson who is just too overexposed to the point where I can no longer see past the face of an actress into the soul of a character.But that aside, this is still a pretty captivating addition to the library of British commercial television drama... even though the ending is pretty silly and very implausible.The story is about a documentary maker (Stevenson) who delves back half a century into the mystery of a missing child for which her step-father was hung for murder.Greg Wise who plays the stepfather is the stand out here. He's another seemingly never out of work actor who shows up several times a year on TV in something or other. But this role is a true masterclass. His expressions of initially evil and eventually fear are worth a thousand words.There are themes of family skeletons and police evidence tampering played out against a backdrop of domestic friction. The investigator is having a tough time ignoring her daughter as she seems to be a wannabe goth! But she plows on with her important work anyway. Meanwhile, in another life, a young detective on his first missing persons case, struggles with his colleagues as he is determined to hang a man for murder despite having no body. The court scenes are very intimidating and the hanging is also very dramatic.So - if you can stomach seeing the same old faces on your TV and you're willing to put up with a rather convoluted final act then it's worth your time.

British suspense mini-series are a kind of trade mark, always giftedly thought through, directed and performed using distinct and mostly character actors able to provide new angles even when the background or matter are not fully to your taste.Place of Execution is another good example of the above, with past and present thrillingly intertwined, when viewers can ponder on and over what really could happen and what answers could the present bring along... Actors like Juliet Stevenson or Lee Ingleby are catchy both appearance-wise and performance-wise, and all the cast, even in smaller roles, are just fit for them, providing realistic atmosphere. On the other hand, some pace and some logic of events left to be desired, but it may well be so that I am just "spoilt" by similar other British and Scandinavian series...Nevertheless, the work in question is definitely above average, but the length - 3.5 hours - requires you find a time for this. Preferably in succession.

A TV journalist revisits a 45-year-old case in "Place of Execution," a 2008 British series. On Netflix, it is released in two parts.A young girl disappeared from her village 45 years earlier and was never found. Her stepfather was convicted of murdering her and hanged, after her blood was found on his shirt and in a cave, and pornographic photographs of him molesting her were discovered.The detective on the case, George Bennett (Philip Jackson) agrees to cooperate when TV journalist Catherine Heathcote (Juliet Stevenson) revisits the case for a documentary. However, it soon becomes clear there was more to the case than perhaps was revealed at the time, and the question comes up as to whether the aggressive young detective (played by Lee Ingleby) doctored some evidence."Place of Execution" is beyond excellent and leaves one with a moral question to which there is no answer: Does the end justify the means? The acting is wonderful, but first, a word about the amazing casting, particularly of Philip Jackson and Lee Ingleby as the older and young DI Bennett. Completely believable and uncanny - what a resemblance. All of the old/young casting is carefully done.Juliet Stevenson is excellent as the reporter, who has no idea what she's walking into, Ingleby and Jackson are great as the persistent Bennett. A real standout is the handsome Greg Wise as the missing girl's stepfather. Again, regarding the casting - he had the perfect look for the role - arrogant and cold - and played the role to perfection.Very satisfying, very absorbing, and the music will keep you on the edge of your seat.

While watching Place of Execution (2009), I kept thinking that the best mysteries/psychological thrillers/police procedurals I've read or watched adapted to the screen, are British. Starting with Sir Conan Doyle and Dame Agatha Christi, the tradition of excellent mystery writers continued, just to name a few, with Dorothy Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, Ruth Rendell, Peter Robinson, and the new name for me, Val McDermid. I did not have pleasure of reading any novel by McDermid before watching the 150 minutes PBS production of her novel Place of Execution but I believe, the film is a success. The story that takes place in the past, 1963 and present, never loosens its grip. In the center of the film and the novel, there is a story of the disappearance of 13 years old girl named Alison Carter who one day left her house in the English village of Scarsdale to walk her dog in the nearby moors and never was seen again. It happened in November of 1963. In the present days, a documentary film maker, Catherine Heathcote (Juliet Stevenson) is finishing up the film about the case that shook the nation and the man who was in the center of investigation, highly respected and decorated Police Inspector, George Bennett. It was the very first case for young Bennett and the more he learned about the circumstances of the case, the more he got obsessed with the desire to find what happened to Alice and to bring her murderer to justice. Bennett with the help of a local policeman DS Tommy Clough, was able to find a suspect and to gather the evidence that had led to trial and death sentence. In the beginning, Bennett supported the production of Catherine's film but just as the film was about to be aired, something happened that made Bennett call Catherine and inform her that he wanted to withdrew because the film would make more harm than good and that "mistakes were made". Catherine drives to Scarsdale accompanied by her teenage 13 years old daughter Sasha to try to find out what happened and why George changed his mind so suddenly. While in Scarsdale, she tries to make the locals talk to her and to find out what secrets have been hidden behind the wall of silence. I was riveted to the screen all the time. I was impressed by acting, the pace of film, the dark atmosphere of the horrific sordid secrets from the past that still cast the shadows on small seemingly peaceful village, by the flashbacks and by the authentic details of the time long passed. I can't talk much about the plot without giving away the obvious similarity with one of the most famous novel written by the Queen of Mystery, Agatha Christie. Like many viewers, I figured out the guilty party very soon and it was obvious that he was guilty of the terrible crimes but was he guilty of Alison's death? If yes, why was not her body ever found? You will have to stay with this wonderful film to the end to find out along with Catherine Heathcote the truly shocking revelations. The only problem I have with the adaptation, the film shifted the focus from the original story of the Allison' disappearance investigation and the controversy of George Bennet's obsession with the case to Catherine's own problems and demons of her past. As much as I admire Juliet Stevenson's performance and her acting talent, I believe the film should have stayed faithful to the excellent book which I read after watching the film.