The True Voice of Murder

A woman whose daughter fell in with a violent boyfriend with fatal consequences. A woman whose long marriage is marred by infidelity. A man who lost his son in an honour killing. These three people talk openly and honestly about their lives and experiences.

Dropped from the 2006 television schedules due to the media coverage of the killings of prostitutes in Ipswich, this film was screened in early 2007. Like the film on rape, murder was always going to be a subject which delivered a film that didn't have a "happy" story in the three. And so it was as each story is touched with emotion of one sort or another. The first story is the most harrowing as it deals with the loss of a child and the mother left behind; it is convincing and the real dialogue is engaging and gripping. The second story is less gripping as it deals with murder from the other side of the law and I didn't think the rather rambling dialogue helped to make the story as strong as the others. The final section is a return to the heights of the first as it is emotional and gripping.

As before Brian Hill directs with an unobtrusive eye but still has good intimate shots that work well with the material and help make us feel like these are the real people talking. Sharp is better than she was in the Prostitution film as she has more to work with in terms of human emotion. She delivers really well and does the true story justice. Reid is convincing within the skin of her character but, like I said, I thought her section was generally weaker than the other two. Shafieie is strong in the final section and responds well to his engaging material.

Overall then an engaging trio of real stories. The middle section is the least of the three but is still good. The genuine human emotion and sense of waste that comes from the first and final sections though are what make the film as gripping as it is.