The Catch

I'm a big fan of Jason Watkins, he's a very watchable actor in my opinion. He's very safe and dependable with what I would describe as a raw vulnerability. He really carries the weight of this show although the other actors are decent too. Okay it's not the most surprising murder mystery drama I've ever seen but I found myself happy to coast along and watch to the end. A few more twists would have been good and the final episode is perhaps the weakest which is a shame but it's a solid seven out of ten. If you want to pick holes this is going to provide a few but otherwise just go for the ride.

This was most disappointing. The cast was unlikeable, the acting was awful, the whole thing was just pretty rubbish. The book I enjoyed but certainly wouldn't reccomend this! Was like some kind of mid afternoon made for tv film! The plot changes were either pointless or weren't as good as the original. The main characters didn't seem believable and wee all just a bit weird. Even the daughter didn't come across in any way that made you really care about her, it's quite a feat to make a cast all so I likeable but they managed it. That's all surprising considering the cast, I was expecting more!!

You know that thing where you can't concentrate on what someone is saying because you're struggling to place their accent? This whole thing is like that. I don't just mean the actor's accents (real or imagined). The whole thing lacks a clear sense of place which I suspect will drive a lot of British viewers round the bend, while viewers from other countries might not notice anything strange. It starts off feeling like Cornwall - then you realise that's just your own assumption because it's a popular setting for films, and some of the accents certainly could be Cornish ... or maybe we're in Devon ... or is it Dorset? Ultimately, this made it difficult for me to suspend my disbelief and enjoy the ride.

Moving on - the main character Ed and his wife, daughter and mother in law were all well acted and believable. The boyfriend actor, with his confusingly Welsh accent (wait! Where are we?) not so much. He was seriously wooden and, I felt, poorly directed.

I personally liked the way the film looked and was constructed, with longish scenes (by today's standards) with significant dialogue. That's a win, in my book. The first couple of episodes were a lot of fun, as things got weirder and weirder, but the massive spoiler at the end of episode 2 was disappointing. It turned the final two episodes into a standard "pretty young woman in danger/desperate man falsely accused" piece of schlock, which I've seen enough of in the past twenty years. Can we please have something else? And an ordinance survey map?

I had no choice but to put on the subtitles, as the music background was swamping 50% of the dialogue.

And there was no need for the foul language. Are scriptwriters so lacking in vocabulary that they need to add such contamination?

The scenery and locations added much to the plot, and the general presentation was well above standard. Brenda did well as the dementia-stricken grandmother.

I'd say that the origination of Ryan was rather too obvious, and his story, once revealed as the plot unfolded, was no surprise.

Well done to the production team in concealing the location - carefully not showing any boats' sterns, where the harbour 'home' would have been visible.

I guessed what the storyline turned out to be from the beginning! Love Jason Watkins and the scenery lovely, the only reason to watch. Terrible script, a child could write it. Ridiculous coincidences, weird characters, but still must've held my attention because I watched it all! Glad it was only spread over four episodes, the usual six would have been too much. Give it a chance if you have nothing else to watch, at least it's not long winded. But if you actually listen to the dialogue/ script you may laugh out loud! Makes me want to visit Ireland where it's filmed though, beautiful beaches!!!