STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning
In a small Welsh village, a group of delinquent children trespass into a construction site, only for a gas canister to explode, killing several of them, and severely injuring Leona (Jade Croot), the daughter of Polly (Sarah Lancashire.) As the town mourns the tragedy, attention shifts to who to blame, in the shape of the corporation who set up the site, represented by Harriett Paulsen (Sidse Babett Knudsen.) As Polly gets determined to fight for justice, spurred on by claims investigator Phillip (Adrian Scarborough), her world is tested to the limit, especially her marriage to husband Iwan (Mark Lewis Jones), who's involved with the company at the heart of the accident.
Writer Jack Thorne, the man behind the excellent The Virtues and National Treasure, said in a (promotional?) interview for The Accident that he was trying to shine a light on how the working class are trampled all over after a big accident, in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower tragedy. That incident, however, is one of a number of instances (most notably, the Hillsborough tragedy) that are referenced in this four part production. However, it pales in comparison to TV and NT, examples of what the guy is capable of producing when he puts his mind to it.
The setup has potential, and it's reliably well acted by TV stalwart Lancashire, and Croot as her hormonal daughter, with strong support from Lewis as the husband/father figure. However, none of the unfortunate kids feel developed or fleshed out enough to really get under their skin, or care about them in the way that you're supposed to. There's just not enough of an emotional impact to it all, despite the heavy subject matter, and any connection to Grenfell fails to translate that much.
While Thorne hasn't made a complete hash of it (as many have said!), he has sold himself and his (evident!) talents quite short. ***
