The first images of Criminal history (Apple Tv+, a weekly episode; this Wednesday, the fifth) are a small lesson in narrative. They also serve as a preview of what the viewer will find in the following chapters. We see a close-up of Daniel Hegarty (a sinister and impeccable Peter Capaldi, who seamlessly detaches himself from his more charismatic role as Doctor Who). He is a police officer who earns extra money as a driver for VIP clients. There is something murky in his eyes; in the way he talks about it, more information than in many flashback so common in the genre. In the background, London is seen at night and outdated.
The impeccable rhythm of this series then takes us to the phone call that triggers the case: an abused woman claims that her boyfriend has confessed to her that he committed a murder for which another man is serving a 24-year sentence in prison. Managing this alert is a young and ambitious detective, June Lenker (a Cush Cumbo whom the followers of The Good Fight They will remember with great pleasure). She is capable of pulling the string no matter how many problems it brings, no matter how much Inspector Hergarty, in charge of the case that convicted an innocent man, belittles her, sets traps, does everything possible so that she does not uncover his tricks and corruption. The rest of the parallel stories (the life of the son of the false accused, for example, and how he tries to get ahead with a father in prison and in a hostile environment) are told in their proper measure and acquire all their meaning when integrated into the story. main plot.
Halfway through the season of this miniseries, the story unfolds after the murder of a 9-year-old boy in a park. Lenker enters the lion’s den and incorporates the investigation team led, precisely, by Inspector Hergarty. Here we see another side of the bad guy: that of a corrupt and fearsome police officer, but also a man willing to do whatever it takes to catch the murderers. He gives chills, but by giving him edges, he becomes uncomfortable and exciting for the viewer. “Despite appearances, Dan is one of the good guys,” a boss tells Lenker about this shadowy cop. The final judgment on this phrase is left to the viewer.
That procedure measured to the millimeter, which the British know how to do so well, would be enough, but Criminal history knows how to go much further. It is a story of women who fight to stay alive and denounce and put an end to those who kill them. It is also a drama about sexist violence, so measured, so intense, so well written and performed that it gives you chills. And about the power of the mafias in some big cities and the pain and incomprehension felt by the innocent people caught in the crossfire.
The viewer should not expect a series of theses or heavy sociological analysis: the twists of the plot and the elements to generate interest are measured to the millimeter in an almost perfect puzzle, which knows how to accelerate in the last third without derailing. She is tenacious, she is close to the truth, but all this crime stains those who investigate it, it affects their families, their way of seeing the world and inhabiting reality. It fills their existence with darkness and drama, whether they are young police officers with a magnificent family or lonely and tainted individuals, already at the end of their police career. It is the most difficult thing to show in crime fiction and, again, those responsible for Criminal history They nail it.
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