Midnight Man (miniseries)
Midnight Man | |
---|---|
Genre | Thriller |
Written by | David Kane |
Directed by | David Drury |
Starring | James Nesbitt Catherine McCormack Rupert Graves Reece Dinsdale Ian Puleston-Davies Zara Turner Peter Capaldi Alan Dale |
Composer | Ben Bartlett |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language | English |
No. of series | 1 |
No. of episodes | 3 |
Production | |
Executive producer | Gareth Neame |
Producer | Alan J. Wands |
Cinematography | Simon Richards |
Editor | Chris Ridsdale |
Camera setup | Single |
Running time | 180 min. |
Production company | Carnival Films |
Original release | |
Network | ITV |
Release | 8 May 22 May 2008 | –
Midnight Man is a 2008 British television serial produced by Carnival Films for the ITV network. The three-part serial stars James Nesbitt as Max Raban, a former investigative journalist who discovers an international conspiracy involving government policy groups and death squads. It co-stars Catherine McCormack as Alice Ross, a policy advisor who helps Raban, and Reece Dinsdale as Blake, the head of the death squad.
The serial was written by David Kane in response to national paranoia in the wake of the
Reaction to the serial was generally positive; critics believed the drama was formulaic and uninspired, but appreciated the direction and acting. Nesbitt received a Best Actor nomination at the 2008
Plot
Max Raban (played by James Nesbitt) is a former investigative journalist who lost his job when he named a source in a government scandal. The source killed herself and Raban's guilt left him estranged from his wife, Carolyn (played by Zara Turner), and daughter. The guilt manifested itself as phengophobia, a fear of daylight, which Raban seeks to cure by regularly visiting a therapist, Trevor (played by Peter Capaldi), at unsociable hours. To earn money, Raban scours dustbins for celebrity scandals, which he sells to his former editor and best friend whom he has known since university, Jimmy Kerrigan (played by Ian Puleston-Davies).
In Part 1, Raban discovers that two Iranian cousins have been murdered. Some investigation links the killings to a policy group called Defence Concern, headed by Daniel Cosgrave (played by Rupert Graves). Raban believes that Defence Concern had something to do with the killings, and recruits Cosgrave's policy advisor Alice Ross (played by Catherine McCormack) to help him uncover the truth. That night, Raban is approached in a cafe by Blake (played by Reece Dinsdale), a member of the death squad Pugnus Dei ("God's Fist"). Blake tells Raban to keep out of their business. Raban is amused and remains so as Blake makes a telephone call ordering Carolyn's death. As Blake leaves, Raban's smile fades and he runs to Carolyn's house.
Part 2 continues directly from Part 1. Raban finds Carolyn lying dead in her front doorway. The police arrive and suspect Raban of killing her. As his daughter is taken away to stay with her aunt, Raban flees the scene. He arranges to meet with Kerrigan to tell him what he has discovered. Ross accesses a confidential file that she downloaded from Cosgrave's computer and discovers the name of one of the Iranian cousins, proving Raban's claim of Defence Concern's role in the killings. She arranges a meeting with him and Raban meets with Kerrigan. Raban is forced to flee again when Kerrigan double-crosses him and brings the death squad to kill him. He arrives at the meeting place and finds Ross submerged in a bathtub.
In Part 3, Raban revives Ross and they discuss the implications of Defence Concern's actions. Raban believes that Pugnus Dei is being funded by the Validus Group, an American private equity group and a significant global arms dealer. It is headed by Donald Hagan (played by
Production
Writer David Kane pitched a story to
Filming began the week beginning 22 October 2007.[5] To keep production costs down, filming took place at a time of year when the nights began earlier, allowing the cast and crew to work half-days instead of all night. Extras and minor characters were drawn from those attending an NFL game taking place at Wembley including a sterling debut performance from the unknown Phillip Wright. The production crew arrived to set up locations in the afternoon and worked with the cast through to 11 p.m. The initial script drafts included 49 separate locations. Director David Drury and producer Alan J. Wands worked through the script and, by merging the settings of some scenes, reduced the locations by a third. Drury scheduled time for the actors to rehearse on location, saying, "I'm a great believer in rehearsals to find the characters. I work a specific way, sitting down in 'family groups' with the actors and script and talking about relationships. I go onto the set with just myself and the actors and nobody else, so that they can get to know the space. Only when we are comfortable will I invite the crew in."[1] He did not want to film London as a cliché, so did not include shots of Big Ben and other major landmarks: "I want to give [...] the action a contemporary edge in an environment that was recognisably London without looking film noir."[1] In contrast to other contemporary thrillers that feature the use of hand-held camera, Drury and director of photography Simon Richards used traditional single-camera movement to emulate the style of The Godfather ("rich colour and classical style with no trickiness"). Unlike other Carnival Films television series such as Hotel Babylon, Midnight Man was not filmed in high-definition; Richards believed that film offered the highest definition for locations that used natural street lighting.[1] Instead of spending part of the budget on a second unit crew, Richards and assistant cameraman Jim Jolliffe filmed establishing shots and pick-ups during principal photography while there was a break. They sometimes stayed behind after the cast and other crew had wrapped in order to shoot scenes of London nightlife.[1]
Reception
Reviewing Part 1 the day after it aired, Tim Teeman of
Critiquing Part 2, Harry Venning of The Stage felt cheated that Raban had overcome his fear of daylight by simply putting on a pair of sunglasses. Echoing Teeman and Eyre's reviews, Venning called it "low on plausibility" but praised the soundtrack and the pacing.[10] Alison Graham, the television editor for Radio Times, reviewed all three episodes. Part 1 was selected as "Pick of the Day" for 8 May. Graham called the premise "tiresome" but expressed surprise that Raban was a "maverick journalist" instead of a "maverick cop".[11] Reviewing Part 3, Graham described the characters' quirks (Raban's phengophobia, Ross's obsessive-compulsive disorder) as being "grafted on" in order to flesh them out. She concluded with "By the end [of the episode], you probably won't care who's chasing whom, much less why."[12] In an extended column, Graham presented a faux script draft of "Maverick Man" having a conversation with a psychiatrist, where he describes himself as "a one-dimensional character trapped in a needlessly complicated and unbelievable conspiracy thriller".[13]
Part 1 won the 9 p.m. timeslot, with overnight ratings of 3.8 million viewers and an 18% audience share, beating
References
- ^ a b c d e f Wood, David (25 April 2008). "Shot in the dark". Broadcast (Emap Media): pp. 22–23.
- ^ Parker, Robin (22 October 2007). "Nesbitt stars in ITV thriller". Broadcast (Emap Media).
- ^ a b Dickson, E. Jane (3–9 May 2008). "Of Muck and Men". Radio Times (BBC Magazines): pp. 22–23.
- ^ Wylie, Ian (22 May 2008). "Being headline news". Manchester Evening News (M.E.N. media).
- ^ Staff (18 October 2007). "ITV1 conspires with Carnival on thriller". C21Media.net. Retrieved on 3 August 2008.
- ^ Teeman, Tim (9 May 2008). "Midnight Man; Out of the Blue". The Times (Times Newspapers).
- ^ Eyre, Hermione (11 May 2008). "Flood, ITV; Midnight Man, ITV; Shrink Rap, More 4; Clarissa and the King's Cookbook, BBC4". The Independent on Sunday (Independent News & Media).
- ^ Smith, Aidan (11 May 2008). "On the box". Scotland on Sunday (The Scotsman Publications).
- ^ Hoggart, Simon (7 May 2008). "Homer's wisdom Archived 5 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine". The Spectator.
- ^ Venning, Harry (19 May 2008). "TV review". The Stage.
- ^ Graham, Alison (3–9 May 2008). "Today's Choices: Midnight Man". Radio Times (BBC Magazines): p. 98.
- ^ Graham, Alison (17–23 May 2008). "Today's Choices: Midnight Man". Radio Times (BBC Magazines): p. 114.
- ^ Graham, Alison (17–23 May 2008). "Losing the plot". Radio Times (BBC Magazines): p. 63.
- ^ Holmwood, Leigh (9 May 2008). "Strong debut for ITV1's Midnight Man". guardian.co.uk (Guardian News & Media). Retrieved on 9 May 2008.
- ^ Holmwood, Leigh (16 May 2008). "Invisibles trio challenge Midnight Man". guardian.co.uk (Guardian News & Media). Retrieved on 16 June 2009.
- ^ Conlan, Tara (23 May 2008). "TV ratings: Chelsea Flower Show blooms". guardian.co.uk (Guardian News & Media). Retrieved on 16 June 2009.
- ^ "Weekly Viewing Summary: Terrestrial Top 30". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Retrieved on 25 January 2009.
- ^ "ITV3 Crime Thriller Awards: About the Awards Archived 25 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine". itv.com. Retrieved on 10 October 2008.
External links
- Midnight Man at Carnival Films
- Midnight Man at IMDb
- ITV Press Centre (22 April 2008). "Midnight Man press pack". Press release.