Flipping from Baltimore to London, from ghetto slang to estuary English, from cold criminal to emotionally vulnerable detective, Idris Elba confirms in Luther what an electrifying actor he is.
The BBC's new psychological crime thriller is dominated by his prowling, tortured performance. He plays DI John Luther, just returning to work after a dubious episode in which a serial killer he was pursuing fell several storeys and ended up in a coma.
Child Genius Alice
His marriage is fracturing and he is trying to mend his relationship with wife Zoe (Rome star Indira Varma). The first case on his desk is a double murder. The parents of child genius Alice – also a freshly challenging departure for Prisoner and Jane Eyre star Ruth Wilson – are found shot to death by their daughter, along with the family dog.
Luther is not a whodunit, so it's giving nothing away to reveal that Luther quickly – unbelievably quickly – suspects that Alice killed her parents. He is extremely sharp (how many coppers read books on astrophysics?) and is soon locked in an intellectual joust with Alice, played with creepy, seductive menace by Wilson.
Writer Neil Cross
The problem for Luther is that he can't prove she did it. And this becomes the running theme for this six-part drama. While Luther confronts other cases, Alice is always there. He knows she is a narcissist who may endanger his wife. She is spitefully clever at goading and stalking him.
It's a great set-up, written by Neil Cross, who has penned episodes of Spooks and novels such as the acclaimed Burial. The drama is strong, particularly Luther's wrenching scenes with the wife he still loves – 'Go home, John;' 'This is my home.' And the cast is extremely watchable: Paul McGann (Withnail and I, Doctor Who) is Mark, Luther's rival in love; Saskia Reeves (Bodies) is Det Supt Rose Teller; Warren Brown (Occupation) is DS Justin Ripley, Luther's loyal partner.
Iconic Copper
The BBC basically commissioned a 'modern detective icon', according to Neil Cross in the publicity notes, which is a tall order for any writer.
Does Luther succeed in this regard? One episode is not enough to judge by. It is strong, but detectives with troubled private lives coming up against TV's favourite bogeyman, the serial killer, are hardly groundbreaking.
Strong character-driven UK police dramas have faded from view since Prime Suspect. But Cross seems determined to develop a complex, compelling anti-hero for Elba, who of course shone as Russell 'Stringer' Bell in HBO's ensemble of characters in The Wire.
Genius Detective
The writer says in the press release, 'In crime fiction there are two broad genres – one is the mystery genre, the puzzle-solving genre, and that's where there tends to be a genius detective, a lone maverick, or an eccentric. This is the tradition best exemplified by people like Sherlock Holmes.
'The second tradition involves a much more morally committed, a much more beaten and bruised central hero figure. That's the tradition best exemplified by people like Philip Marlowe. What I have never seen, what I've never read or seen on television, was a character who exemplified both of these primary traits.'
Iconic or not, Luther's got the acting firepower, the moody look, the strong writing and the coolest opening credits to make it one of British TV's strongest crime yarns of the year.
- Luther starts on BBC1, Tuesday 4 May 2010, 9pm.
Robin Jarossi - London-based journalist and editor specialising in TV, sport and books. I was the editor of 'Cable Guide' and have worked at 'Radio ...
