Power Play and Legacy || Review Of Thriller Series - Criminal Record (2024)

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(Edited)

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Nothing makes an enjoyable weekend watch like a brilliant and action-packed crime thriller. And even better a detective sergeant locking horns in a dangerous cat and mouse game with a detective chief inspector!

A mixed-race detective sergeant, June Lenker (played by Cush Jumbo), attends to the first file on her desk one morning and it's a domestic violence report based on an anonymous call made to their emergency number. The caller alleges that her abusive boyfriend assaulted her and while in the heat of anger, confessed to a twelve year old murder, revealing that the wrong person is in prison for the murder.

This sparks June Lenker’s interest. She sets out to investigate this old murder case and meets the officer who secured the conviction, detective chief inspector Daniel Haggerty (played by Peter Capaldi) informing him of a possible wrong conviction. A subtle but secret war begins between these police officers. What is Daniel Haggerty trying to cover up? Who is the man wrongly convicted and why?



A most brilliant plot and well executed storytelling that keeps viewers on the edge of their seat. I wasn't expecting this when I started to watch this eight-episodes British crime thriller but seeing Cush Jumbo as one of the lead, I knew it would be worth watching. Her performances in The Good Wife, a spectacular American legal drama and its spinoff The Good Fight are so good and leave no room for doubt about her acting skills.

I applaud the creator of this series, Paul Rutman, for an outstanding job thanks to the two leads, Cush Jumbo and Peter Capaldi. They are just the best and fitting for this thriller. Their performance is impressive, realistic and gives this series some authenticity. A junior or rookie officer going against a possibly corrupt and sinister senior officer will most likely bring up conflict and abuse of power and these two actors delivered spectacularly. I'll say they both deserve an award for their roles.


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I admire Cush Jumbo's character in this series. Pushing against a strict system that is historically white and male-dominated while being a woman and mixed race is no easy feat. She's tough, uncompromising yet emotional and empathic when she needs to be. Everyone can relate to her rather than if she was cast to be a badass police officer.

Peter Capaldi on the other hand does the great job of being sneaky, sinister with those eyes, calculating and using everything within his power as a senior officer to frustrate Jumbo's efforts to overturn the conviction. That's what a corrupt senior officer would do. So I'll say they both played their parts well.

Though much attention and screen time were given to the two leads, there were some supporting cast members that I feel deserve good attention such as the lawyer, Sonya, working with June Lenker and Errol Mathis, the convict, and his mother. Their acting are great but their roles deserve to be explored.

Every episode is charged with complex storylines, intrigue and suspense and admirably, Rutman ties them up neatly at the end without leaving plotholes or cliffhangers. Themes of race and racial profiling, politics, and corruption are addressed in this series.

The only area I would fault this series is the visuals. They are dull and give a gloomy vibe. I wish Paul Rutman had invested in more lighting or changed the style of his cinematography to give the series a sleek and clear look.

Overall, Criminal Record is a phenomenal thriller series that explores the power balance in the police force and the length people would go to protect secrets buried long ago. I enjoyed binge-watching and highly recommend it to fellow crime thriller lovers. I'll give 4 stars out of 5.

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Other images are screenshots from the movie

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5 comments
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I think, English tv shows never disappoints. Unlike Netflix or Hollywood shows sometimes. Its been a while I have watched something from British production. I will check this one out it seems very interesting with lots if twist and turns.
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You're right. British shows are often fantastic to watch. This one is spectacular and keeps the wheel of the brain spinning when watching. Hehe. I hope you get to see it some time. Thanks so much for your visit and support.
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