Landscapers

This show held me until episode 4, when it all but descended into farce and got too clever for its own good.

It could easily have been told in 3 taut episodes. For me the breaking of the 4th wall in ep4 (which began in ep3) didn't belong, and was an unnecessary distraction.

"Landscapers" four episode HBO miniseries tells the desperate, surreal, and very human love story surrounding a grisly double murder found fifteen years late. While based on a true story, and ultimately containing chilling elements, "Landscapers" remains a complex and touching dramatization however it might lean into the overly ideal. But it's an artful idealism which also reflects the character of the perpetrators and which may factor into the nature of the crime just as much as "mercenary" motives might.

Whatever was the truth behind the crimes of Susan and Chris Edwards (they maintain their innocence until this day), the version this TV drama does tell a meaningful and multifaceted story that sheds light on compulsions, brokenness, and unconscious choices which may lead people to choose prison over the struggles of their lives, even while not necessarily meaning to either.

Whether or not the portrayal of this true crime is accurate doesn't undermine that this is a very earnest attempt to find some decency in what is two people linked by sadness, care and a terrible secret, all while being too hapless to manage their affairs or their own trial. The question might always be would the crime of the Edwards remain undetected after elapsing fifteen years if not for the betrayal of a troubled conscious, or the lack of wherewithal to make ends meet?

I often find British crime dramas to either be so desaturatedly bleak that they're a slog to watch, or too cartoonish to take seriously - Landscapers is neither and instead takes its filmic cue from the murderous couple's adoration for old romance and westerns. As such the four episode miniseries is alive with action scenes, arch fourth wall deconstructions, monochrome melodrama, soft focus romanticism and everything in between. Its layered restlessness accompanied by some charged performances and a deep empathy for the characters (and people) gave it a strange charm and I found myself completely won over by it. Definitely worth a gander.

This is a rather frustrating movie. The story it tells is interesting. The performances are terrific, especially Olivia Coleman who is brilliant. But the whole movie is done with all these strange film references that I don't think make any sense.

I suppose it's some message about their fantasy Life or how they tell stories and how the police tell stories or something but it doesn't really work and it doesn't really make the story better. It's just this weird distracting thing. Every once in awhile it works when it doesn't go too far. But things like the big Western sequences that fill up one episode seems more like a way to get a TV movie length show up to four episodes.

Still, it's worth watching just to see Coleman as the genial and slightly off housewife.

My Review - Landscapers

My Rating 9/10. On Stan

This Crime Drama I found fascinating for a number of reasons from the very beginning we discover that it's based on a true life crime and that the devoted and mild-mannered British couple Susan and Christopher Edwards who are the focus of this extraordinary story are still serving a long 25 year old prison sentence for murdering Susan's dysfunctional and abusive parents and burying them in their back yard . ( it's not a spoiler that's made known to the viewer from very early on.

What's more extraordinary is that they both still proclaim their innocence even though they were were found guilty .

The verdict was passed on the couple in 2014 for the crime of killing Susan's parents, with the judge calling Susan "an accomplished liar and a fantasist".

The sensational acting from Olivia Coleman as Susan and David Thewlis as Christopher is spellbinding as we see the story unfold from their perspective . The story left me feeling some sympathy and empathy when you consider the background story of the couple as presented in the fine Screenplay by Ed Sinclair and Will Sharpe .

Ed Sinclair the Co Creator of this 4 part drama series is actually Olivia Coleman's husband so who better to write a role that I think is one of the finest of her career so far.

Olivia Coleman's portrayal of this mousey and insecure woman who is obsessed by the Golden Years of Hollywood and French Cinema . She especially loves romantic movies and the Western films of Gary Cooper . Her performance is so sensitive and touching in parts no wonder I related to her love of Cinema.

Her obsessive collecting even goes to the extent of buying a poster for over £200 when her husband is practically penniless and out of work . Her love and dependence on husband Christopher is so complex and fascinating and even leads to a wonderful plot twist that involves the famous French Cinema Star Gérard Depardieu.

A woman who can be gentle and sweet one moment and then erupt like a benevolent volcano when harshly criticised or feeling confused or betrayed.

David Thewlis is equally fascinating as the stoic and loyal husband Christopher Edwards . His wife as he correctly describes to police is a fragile woman who freely admits she is the cause of their dilemma . Even before their arrest after returning and surrendering he advises Susan to be calm and just tell the truth according to him anyway and not divert from their account of the incident that they both have agreed to.

I really enjoyed the technique that Director Will Sharpe uses of mirroring the plight of the couple in total fantasy Western movie scenes it sounds bazaar but it works beautifully in my opinion as it also lets us enter into Susan's cinematic imagination.

This series was a real surprise and pleasure for me as it more psychological than psychotic with more character development than I've seen in many a Crime drama the creators have cleverly combined a crime murder story with a sad but touching love story top marks to all involved.