Inside Man
Genre
Created bySteven Moffat
Directed byPaul McGuigan
Starring
ComposerDavid Arnold
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes4 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
ProducerSue Vertue
Running time60 minutes
Production companyHartswood Films
Original release
Network
Release26 September – 4 October 2022 (2022-09-26 – 2022-10-04)

Inside Man is a drama-thriller television serial developed by Steven Moffat. The four-episode series premiered on 26 September 2022, and was broadcast on BBC One. It was released on Netflix in the US on 31 October 2022.[1]

Cast

  • David Tennant as Harry Watling, a British vicar forced into a difficult situation
  • Stanley Tucci as Jefferson Grieff, a former criminology professor on death row in an Arizona prison
  • Dolly Wells as Janice Fife, Ben's Mathematics tutor
  • Lydia West as Beth Davenport, a crime journalist
  • Lyndsey Marshal as Mary Watling, Harry’s wife
  • Dylan Baker as Casey, a prison warden
  • Atkins Estimond as Dillon Kempton, a serial killer on death row in Jefferson’s prison who acts as Grieff's assistant
  • Louis Oliver as Ben Watling, Harry’s teenage son
  • Eke Chukwu as Keith, a guard at the prison
  • Kate Dickie as Morag, an acquaintance of Jefferson’s in England
  • Mark Quartley as Edgar, Harry’s deeply troubled verger
  • Tilly Vosburgh as Hilda, Edgar’s mother
  • Boo Golding as DS Clyde

Production

Filming locations included St Andrew's Church in Farnham, Godalming Railway Station, Godalming, outside the Beehive Pub in Bedfont Middlesex, Broad Street in Wokingham, John Hanson Community School in Andover and Welcome Break Fleet Services in Fleet.[2]

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUK viewers
(millions)
1"Episode 1"Paul McGuiganSteven Moffat26 September 2022 (2022-09-26)3.93
Former law lecturer Jefferson Grieff is on death row for killing his wife. He gives advice on cold cases, saying "Everyone is a murderer." Reverend Harry Watling picks up his teenaged son’s mathematics tutor Janice Fife; Janice has recently befriended journalist Beth Davenport after a harassing situation on the Tube. Watling is reluctantly looking after a memory stick with porn from Edgar – a suicidal parishioner who was hiding it from his mother. Back home, Harry drops his keys and the memory stick in a dish. His son Ben gives the stick to Janice when she has computer problems. She sees the porn, which includes child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Ben innocently asks for it back, pretending that it's his memory stick and not his father's. Janice confronts Watling, who denies that the stick belongs to Ben but won't explain whose it is. Janice insists she is reporting Ben to the police. Not wanting his son to be accused of being a pedophile, Watling assaults Janice in his attempts to stop her from leaving the house, and locks her in the cellar.
2"Episode 2"Paul McGuiganSteven Moffat27 September 2022 (2022-09-27)3.09
Journalist Beth visits death-row Grieff in prison as research for an article, but returns when she gets an odd message from Janice, who seems to have disappeared. Grieff says she can observe the next case and write about it as long as she never mentions Janice to him again. Beth reluctantly agrees and is given tasks relating to another case. Harry and his wife, Mary, don't know what to do with Janice in their basement. Surprisingly, Janice offers suggestions on how to get away with murder; they need her help. She has also cut herself and bled all over the cellar, so when the police investigate and find her diary and see her last appointment was at the vicarage, there will be evidence. Harry tries to get Edgar to confess that the CSAM memory stick is his, but Edgar, fearing his mother, lies. Harry decides to take the blame for the memory stick to spare Ben and Edgar from being investigated, but Edgar goes home and hangs himself, leaving a note that says, "Don't believe the vicar is a paedo. He's protecting someone else."
3"Episode 3"Paul McGuiganSteven Moffat3 October 2022 (2022-10-03)3.32
Grieff is informed that his execution date has been set. Beth returns to the UK and meets a contact of Grieff's to follow up leads on Janice. Watling is visited by the police regarding Edgar's suicide note, but the note is ambiguous as to whether he was protecting/accusing Ben, Edgar or someone else. With access to Janice's password, Mary drafts an e-mail to Janice's sister with an excuse for the cancellation of their next Skype call. Grieff volunteers to provide the location of his wife's head - having mutilated her body and hidden the head in an undisclosed location - in exchange for a stay of execution. Harry forces his wife to leave the house, intending to kill Janice by suffocating her with a leaking gas heater, but he is unaware that Ben has found Janice in the basement and is now locked in with her. Mary realizes that she has played into Janice's hands by sending the alibi e-mail.
4"Episode 4"Paul McGuiganSteven Moffat4 October 2022 (2022-10-04)3.18
Grieff approaches his ex-father-in-law, offering the location of his daughter's head in exchange for using his criminal connections to delay the execution. Grieff's confession is manipulated by the warden to secure an extension. Janice urges Ben to call the police. Mary contacts Harry, discussing the need to handle incriminating laptop evidence. In passing the laptop to Mary, Harry inadvertently connects her to Janice's flat. Confronted by Beth, Mary's heated exchange ends tragically as she steps into the road and is fatally struck by a truck. In the basement, Ben's questioning of Janice escalates as both suffer the effects of a carbon monoxide leak. He strikes her with a hammer, but fails to deliver a fatal blow. Beth intervenes, saving Janice. In a final Skype call, Grieff deduces Harry's involvement, hinting at the motive behind his own wife's death. With two weeks left before execution, Grieff hints at revealing the truth behind his actions to Harry, highlighting their shared connection and the vicar's role in events. In a post-credits scene, Grieff is visited by Janice, who asks for his help in murdering her husband, who is implied to have faked his death and/or wronged her. When Janice points out that Grieff is unsurprised by her request, he acknowledges that, on death row, everyone is a murderer.

Reception

Critical reception

Inside Man was rated 67% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 24 reviews, with a score of 6.9 out of 10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Inside Man's ambitions are undercut by clunky and predictable plotting, although Stanley Tucci and David Tennant's performances are welcome compensations for viewers who enjoy twisty thrillers."[3] Top critic Graeme Blundell from The Australian writes, "It's superbly acted by a bunch of experienced actors who know just what kind of heightened style is required here, directed in immersive style by the accomplished McGuigan, and thoroughly enjoyable. Just hold that wine glass." Charles Hartford from A Geek Community writes, "Inside Man Season 1 delivers a gripping tale that is well worth its short, four-hour runtime...The series pulls the viewer into its depths as it explores how far people will go when they are caught in the wrong place at the wrong time." The Guardian described it as being a "funny and typically meaty mystery from Steven Moffat".[4] Pat Stacey, writing in the Irish Independent said, "Probably the most foolish scene of all came in Tuesday’s finale when Mary threatens journalist Beth (Lydia West) ... with a breadknife while making 'whoosh' sounds. This nudged Inside Man into full-blown sitcom territory. Strange, that, since Moffat seemed to want to say something serious about human nature and people's capacity for violence."[5] Anita Singh of The Daily Telegraph said, "Moffat can throw any amount of good lines or clever little plot twists into this show, but it is built on a flaw so fundamental that it's impossible to get past it."[6]

The series features Steven Moffat's own son, Louis Oliver, whose performance as Ben, the vicar's son, was described by Radio Times as "show stealing".[5][7]

Viewing figures

The first episode was watched 5,028,000 times on iPlayer alone during 2022, making it the 7th most viewed individual programme on the platform that year.[8]

References

  1. ↑ Moore, Kasey (10 October 2022). "'Inside Man' BBC Series Sets October 2022 Netflix Release Date". What's on Netflix. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  2. ↑ "Inside Man filming locations - St Andrew's Church - Find That Location".
  3. ↑ "Inside Man (2022)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  4. ↑ "Inside Man review – Stanley Tucci goes full Hannibal Lecter in rollicking death row drama". The Guardian. 26 September 2022. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  5. 1 2 Stacey, Pat (5 October 2022). "Inside Man review: Silliness swamps thrills in a deeply foolish finale". Irish Independent. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  6. ↑ Singh, Anita (3 October 2022). "Inside Man, episode 3, review: The bizarre choices of David Tennant's vicar are impossible to overlook". The Telegraph.
  7. ↑ "Inside Man star's real-life son appears in new BBC drama – get the details". Hello. 26 September 2022.
  8. ↑ "World Cup wins 2022 in record breaking year for BBC iPlayer". BBC Media Centre. 31 January 2023. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
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