Britz

I watched the entire four hours plus of Britz in one bum-numbing session. It delivers exactly what you expect from a Channel 4 mini-series – hard-hitting, topical, well-made edgy drama. Sadly it is also overwritten, more than a little preachy, and some of the acting is uneven.

Episode one, Sohail's story, plays like an endlessly drawn-out episode of Spooks. It has it's moments, and Riz Ahmed is rather good, but the highlights are few and far between, and an awful lot of scenes feel padded. Part two, Nasima's story, is more compelling and at the same time more predictable. The ending is a long time coming and you may spot it a mile off, yet the motivations and attitudes set up for the character lead one to feel that the outcome doesn't ring true. I won't give away the game, but I didn't entirely buy it.

This is the first of Kosminsky's celebrated contemporary dramas I've seen and while the quality of his writing and the power of the subject matter are enough to maintain interest for much of the story, it's hard not to feel he could have achieved more at half the length.