The past that changes the present The series “Unforgotten” has a high rating and a rather scanty description of the plot, which, moreover, is not too intriguing: who might be interested in crimes committed decades ago, if not properly investigated crimes committed recently? If the action of the series took place in modern Russian realities, then it would be safe to add “fiction” to the list of its genres, but its action takes place in London, which mitigates this effect of divergence from the harsh reality. But immersion in reality is achieved by those stories that are told in each season. Stories whose heroes you believe, because with any person in life, something happens that you want to erase from memory forever, but remains with him for the rest of his life.
So, a group of detectives for several seasons of the series are assigned to investigate unusual crimes - the murders of people who disappeared many years ago, whose bodies are accidentally discovered in the most unexpected places. The group is headed by female detective Cassie Stewart (Nicola Walker), whose deputy works Hindu detective Sunny Khan (Sanjiv Bhaskar) - hello to the mandatory Western requirements to prevent sexual and racial discrimination in the creation of characters, which, however, do not affect the positive impression of the performance of both these actors. The series is interesting for its schematic nature: each season begins with a terrible find, and in each season we know from the very first series a circle of potential culprits, whose stories will unfold before us for 6 episodes with a mandatory denouement in the finale. However, with all this schematic and predictable, each season has something to surprise the viewer, and the denouement of each story is not like the others.
Of course, we need to talk about the music and pictures in this series. Music is rarely the strength of detectives, but in this case, the soundtrack authored by Michael Price, a cross-cutting theme passing through all seasons, in many ways creates the atmosphere of anxiety and light sadness, against which the stories of the characters develop. The picture is also at its height, whether it be the green landscapes of the urban outskirts and suburbs or the cities themselves with their offices and slums. All together this allows you to dive deeper into the plot, which, of course, is the main advantage of the series, for which it is necessary to watch.
Is the truth hidden in the past worth the ruined life in the present, and who decides whether this secret should be revealed? Does time change people, and does the multitude of good deeds done in a lifetime redeem that one, evil, committed decades ago in a fit of anger or a fit of weakness? Do we know people close to us, and are we willing to forgive them and accept them as they are if they are not who we think they are? Does the pain of the violence or the mistakes of the past ever pass away, or does it stay with us forever? Detective in form, “Unforgotten” is, first of all, a deep drama about a man and his past, which does not disappear and quietly waits for its hour to burst into the present and become for someone a long-awaited redemption, and for someone an inevitable retribution.
The stories we see over the course of several seasons of this series, about racial hatred, homophobia, greed, lust, cowardice or cruelty, which cause the very murders around which the action takes place, do not seem to be invented, they are written off from the reality that surrounds us and occur daily in the real world. Having committed a crime, according to the apt expression of one of the heroines, a person is waiting for a knock on the door all his life, and over time he ceases to notice that his whole life is the expectation of this knock, punishment for the evil done to someone in the past. But not for everyone, this knock eventually becomes a punishment, for some it also brings the possibility of repentance and a new beginning in life, and perhaps this idea of rebirth, healing a person from phantom pain and finding the opportunity to live further in peace with themselves and loved ones, and is the most powerful and catchy in this series.
The acting work in the series is good, in addition to the excellent works of Walker and Bhaskar, which we see most of the screen time, in the three seasons I watched, all the actors adequately coped with their tasks, although perhaps other members of the detective team came out somewhat faded in the background of their superiors. As for the heroes of the stories, there are really memorable works in each season: Ruth Sheen (Lizzie) and Bernard Hill (Father Robert) in the first season, Lorraine Ashborn (Tessa) and Rosie Cavalero (Marion) in the second, Brona Waugh (Jessica) and Alex Jennings (Dr. Finch) in the third impressed me the most.
As a result, we have a strong detective drama with a great script, good (and sometimes outstanding) acting work, atmospheric music and video, and most importantly (and quite rare today) – meaning that anyone can take from these stories for themselves.
A great way to spend a few nights in front of the screen.