In This Section
|
« Masterpiece Theatre
November 12, 2006: Prime Suspect 7, Part 1
Shiver me timbers, DCI Jane Tennison is back, in a performance as chilling as the crime she’s now investigating. The seventh and final chapter of the venerable Prime Suspect series opens with an aging Jane, as she steadfastly downs a glass of straight vodka by the light of an early morning. Her professional reputation these days, however, is not served neat — it’s on the rocks, and in a big way. She’s suffering alcoholic blackouts, and suspects have even noticed her boozy smell during interrogations. To add to her mounting pressures, her father is weeks away from dying of cancer, she’s got only two weeks left till her retirement date, and she’s investigating the brutal murder of a teenage girl with a very frightening father. Does Detective Superintendent Jane Tennison have enough kick left in her before her pension kicks in? Oh, you know that she does.
This final installment is a meditation on the past, shame about one’s mistakes and the troubled nature of the parent/child relationship. As Jane’s father lies dying, she must now grapple with the fact that she spent 35 years choosing her career over her parents and over building a family of her own. After hitting it off with 14-year-old Penny, the best friend of the murdered girl, Jane shows her rarely- or, to be more accurate, never-seen nurturing side. Yes, it exists, and it’s adorable! She is witty, understanding, self-mocking, encouraging and totally nonjudgmental — she would’ve made a great mum. Unfortunately, she doesn’t take care of herself as well as she does young Penny — her diet is poor, she is relentlessly guilt-stricken, and then, of course, there’s the little problem of the bottle.
What struck me most about this PS was its nostalgic feel and its focus on the past. The people around Jane put up with a lot, because they’ve known her for years now. And the film has that well-worn tone of a frustrating but ever-enduring friendship. And talk about a blast from the past — that “chauvinistic bastard” Bill from PS 1 is back, and he actually feels regret about his jerky little past. His shame is so bad, in fact, that he offers to become her AA sponsor, and he’s the only one she ends up turning to when her father dies. The scene in the coffee shop between Jane and Bill was one of redemption and real, hard-earned friendship — and it made me weep like a willow.
Other scenes that pushed my softie buttons? That heart-wrenching mother’s “No, she’s not” performance. Also: Penny’s incredible eulogy for Sallie, and every last one of Mr. Tennison’s flinty but sweet hospital scenes — it’s pretty clear now where Jane gets it from. And the chemistry between Jane and Penny was magical, as they sat in Penny’s basement hideaway and gossiped about tattoos and boys. (How great was that line about Jane with a big anchor tattoo on her bicep?) But the killer scene for me happened in Jane’s childhood room, when she danced and sang to the pop songs of her boy-crazy girlhood. Just try for a moment to imagine a giggling, boy-crazy Jane Tennison: It’s like envisioning the borders of an expanding universe. It defies human capabilities.
But of course, as we dangle over the cliff of Part 2, many questions are left unanswered. What exactly is Penny’s relationship with Curtis? Is Curtis as evil-minded as his criminal record would imply, or is he as kindhearted as he seemed to Jane in that first scene? Also, is the school principal a scumbag? And was that “Nite, nite” to Penny the very first text message Detective Superintendent Jane Tennison has ever sent? All this we’ll learn next Sunday. Until then, nite nite.
|
TVGuide Links:
|
|
|
|
Nov 13, 2006 12:10 AM
|
|
One of the finest performances of (I think) the finest actress of our time. Helen Mirren just blows me away. I see another Emmy in her future.
|
|
Nov 13, 2006 2:45 AM
|
I want to be Helen Mirren, seriously. This woman rocks, I smell another emmy nod for her. I was rooted to my seat for the entire program. I felt so bad for Tennison, but I also wanted to shake her to her senses.
The end scene with Bill getting shot, had me screaming to not let it end there. What a cliff hanger.
I have a feeling Penny is in on it. I don't know why but I do. I got a feeling that she found out something about her creepy principle dad and did her in, of course I could be a 100% wrong, which I probably will be.
|
|
Nov 13, 2006 1:03 PM
|
|
Helen Mirren is so talented she deserves an Emmy for her performance. Great writing excellent all the way around i wish there were more like this on TV
|
|
Nov 13, 2006 5:18 PM
|
|
That was so amazingly fantastic! I can only imagine what part 2 will bring. Helen Mirren completely wows me and the supporting cast is superb too. Why aren't 10 million people watching this!?! It's smart and yet accessible and completely riveting - better than so much else on television. I'm sad this is the last Prime Suspect but Helen and Company sure are going out on top!
|
|
Nov 13, 2006 11:31 PM
|
|
I love the show, and I am now driving myself crazy trying to figure out who did it. Right now, I think it was Penny, and that it was an act of jealousy, maybe because Curtis liked Sallie but not her, or her dad was interested in Sallie etc. I also think that whoever stabbed Sallie might not have known that one stab would kill her, which it did only because she was pregnant. If this is right, then it would be the perfect foil for Tennison, given her personal demons and forebodings about what adolescence and society do to girls and women.
|
|
Nov 14, 2006 7:55 PM
|
|
|
