Created by Neil Cross
Written by Neil Cross
Starring
Idris Elba
Ruth Wilson
Steven Mackintosh
Indira Varma
Paul McGann
Saskia Reeves
Warren Brown
Dermot Crowley
Nikki Amuka-Bird
Aimee-Ffion Edwards
Kierston Wareing
Pam Ferris
David Dawson
Sienna Guillory
David O’Hara
Michael Smiley
Darren Boyd
Rose Leslie
Laura Haddock
Patrick Malahide
Wunmi Mosaku
Enzo Cilenti
Hermione Norris
Producer Katie Swinden
Original network BBC One
Originally, I was going to write a review of the movie on Netflix, Luther: The Fallen Sun. The title character was complex and engaging, and Andy Serkis as the big bad turned in a psychotically scenery-chewing performance worthy of Anthony Hopkins. It wasn’t movie-of-the-year material, but it was definitely worth blowing a couple of hours watching.
While gathering information for the review, I noted some critical response. Generally speaking, they said, “It’s ok, but it doesn’t really hold a candle to the original TV series.” Given that the movie was superior to pretty much all the police procedural shows in the US, that sparked my curiosity.
I find myself in agreement with the consensus. The movie is good; the original show is utterly outstanding. The BBC production, twenty full-hour episodes spread unevenly over five seasons, is far more sophisticated and complex than the movie. Idris Elba as DCI John Luther consistently turns in a performance worthy of James Gandolfini, a multi-layered and deeply riven character who just happens to be on the other side of the law from Tony Soprano. His main antagonist (“big bad” would be a vast oversimplification) is Alice Morgan (Ruth Wilson,one of England’s most stellar actors, best known in America for her role as Marisa Coulter in His Dark Materials). We meet her in the first episode, wherein she plays a brilliant sociopath. Her parents are murdered in an extremely gruesome manner, and Luther, as a member of what became the Serious and Serial Crimes unit, is called in to investigate. He quickly comes to the conclusion that Alice was the murderer, but Luther is unable to come up with the necessary evidence—one of the few times he is stymied. (Think Irene Adler vs. Sherlock Holmes in A Scandal in Bohemia). Psychosis notwithstanding, she is every bit as complex and multilayered as Luther, and the two end up as unlikely allies as, like Hannibal Lecter, she is good at ferreting out the means and motivations of insane criminals. Luther is good at noticing things, and it’s a near-trope of the show that he looks over a crime scene and says, “No. This isn’t right.” The writing of the show rises to the challenge that such a character as Luther presents, innovative, ingenuous, and complex. Blending him with Alice makes for outstanding drama.
This is the best British police procedural I’ve seen since John Sims’ Life on Mars. My wife and I debated for years over the ending of LoM, and it was almost a disappointment when the sequel series, Ashes to Ashes, explained it all. Luther is every bit as intellectually challenging.
Available on Hulu. The movie is on Netflix.