MovieChat Forums > Collateral (2018) Discussion > Why dilute the detective story with the ...

Why dilute the detective story with the personal relationship plotlines?

posted 6 years ago by roreyking (558)
5 replies | jump to latest

The Carey Mulligan (always first-rate) plot thread was the thrust of the season and the most compelling. The politician's domestic problems with his 2-dimensional f'd -up wife was exhausted, pointless. Not just uninteresting - what did it have to do with the rest of the story? Same with the lesbian minister's "struggle" deciding to stay with her much younger, in-need-of-papers lover or caving to her hypocritical bishop.

If there's a season 2, I hope they just focus on Carey Mulligan. And glad they presented her female DI character as another sharp, overworked cop in the mold of other rule-breaking police like Harry Bosch, and didn't make an issue of her gender.

[–] Renovatio (2990) 6 years ago

Without the interpersonal aspects then it'll be just another detective story, but with a thin veneer of political context... The interpersonal aspects dramatise the political context, but also bring it to a human level...

The fact that the detective is pregnant and committed to her family, but firstly to her duty as an detective adds complexity and depth... we see that her sacrifice and committment is real and not just a diversion away from being just another lonely detectivr cliche...

It's still a TV show and suffers from a lot of filler and pandering to the audience, but that comes with the territory...

I hope there is no second season as I think it would dilute it and probably add to the flaws that you highlighted...

[–] roreyking (558) 6 years ago

"Just another detective story"? How many are there with a female DI? Nevermind one where her gender isn't a main focus of the story? That plot line is, to my knowledge, the first post-feminist detective story in TV history.

[–] Renovatio (2990) 6 years ago

I agree and most of the personal relationship stuff was women centric... the series is very much about immigration and asylum seeking in London, told through the experience of women, both those who seek immigration & asylum as well as those in government and the community who interact with it...

The detective is our window into this world and the genre provides the structure to keep it entertaining, her gender is not an issue, but the personal relatioships of the priest and the various women are central to dramatising the themes of the series, to bring these experiences to a human level rather than just being numbers in news reports... Otherwise it would be an empty procedural.

[–] papamihel (1574) 6 years ago

Just finished episode one and you are really scaring me here...

[–] bounce (62) 4 years ago

I'd agree that Billie Piper's character is the most annoying one in the entire show, closely followed by the au pair whose raison d'etre (see what i did there) seemed to be to tell BP to wake up, and phone the MP, and do nothing else except listen to her phone/music.

I can give some credence (IMO) to BP and MP's relationship storyline as his change of direction in Ep 4 wrt their relationship goes hand in glove with his change of tack wrt political career at the same time. It illustrates he is making big changes in his life - which on the political scale may not be what his stall was set out to be in earlier episodes - has he just given up or will he settle for being a very noisy backbencher? Or head off into media land with his new life committment, andgiven up on "flings" ?

Vicar and girlfriend... agree... not really sure what that plotline brought to the story. The GF's initial use in the plotline is really redundant... it could be any witness to the murder for what that input was really worth. It does slightly entangle the MP - but that is so minimal as to be redundant really. The pizza manageress also had a very weak connection to this sub plot - but again nothing that the plotline overall really needed.

Overall really enjoyed it . I've just one query but I'll open a separate thread on that.

bounce