24 Frames of Dreaming

Forget Holmes and Watson - Detective Sergeant Miller (Olivia Colman) and DI Hardy (David Tennant) are Britain's new favourite detective duo.

It's not often that I actually sit down at the good old TV, but this Sunday evening will find me with tea and chocolate in hand, glued to the screen. Because Broadchurch Season 2 is here! After the phenomenal success of its first season, the Former Detectives' Club is back, with our favourite indomitable Detective Sergeant Miller and her sidekick DI Grumpypants set for another round of seaside drama. I can't wait.

I've had a couple sleepless nights lately, which have been a good excuse to re-watch Season 1. I originally saw it when it first aired on TV, but I wasn't paying much attention. I'm glad I went back and watched it again, because it definitely wears repeat viewings. If you're new to Broadchurch and thinking of tuning in for Season 2, I'd suggest you go back and watch Season 1 first. It's well worth your time.

Season 1 introduces us to the seaside town of Broadchurch, an idyllic English backwater where every one of the picture-perfect residents hides dark secrets. When local boy Danny Latimer's body is found on the beach, Ellie Miller (Olivia Colman), the resident police sergeant, must cooperate with a new and decidedly unfriendly Detective Inspector to solve the murder. As Danny's family grieves and the detectives struggle with the case, paranoia begins to fester in the small town with repercussions for innocent and guilty alike.

Broadchurch boasts some impressive acting talent. David Tennant stars as Alec Hardy, the haggard, misanthropic DI on a grim quest for justice. He's a cynical bastard but we know those big sad eyes are hiding a compelling motive for finding Danny's killer. The camera often takes his point of view, but the touchstone performance belongs to Olivia Colman. DS Miller is the salt of the earth - a competent, compassionate officer juggling the job she loves with an idyllic home life and a perhaps too-perfect house husband. She's our and DI Hardy's way in to Broadchurch's close and claustrophobic community. Colman reminds me a little of Martin Freeman - they both share an exquisite ability to bring to life ordinary people with great subtlety, poetry and integrity. In a way the whole plot rests on our belief of her integrity, and she is utterly convincing. The supporting cast is no less impressive - Jodie Whittaker and Andrew Buchan give courageous and untiring performances as Danny's grieving parents, and Arthur Darvill, as the town priest with an inconvenient past, is another stand-out. 

Broadchurch's cinematography is delicious, too, making the most of the exquisite location with dreamy, hallucinatory shots of sun-washed beach and sea. Be prepared for plenty of moody slow-motion passages, complete with haunting Scandinavian soundtrack, as the camera shows us exactly how the grieving town has been caught in stasis in the aftermath of the murder. Its unflinching gaze shows us all the grief, love, selfishness, and courage of people struggling in the wake of tragedy.

David Tennant gives an intense performance as DI Hardy, Britain's grumpiest cop and a man running out of time to solve the case of his career.

I'm excited to see what direction Season 2 is going to take in terms of screenwriting. Chris Chibnall, the writer for Season 1, is on board again this time, and I can't wait to see where he'll take this season's plot. Aside from Broadchurch I only know him from his four Doctor Who episodes - three extremely average ones (Dinosaurs on a Spaceship, anyone?) and one outstanding (42, a well-cut real-time thriller where the Doctor is trapped on a cargo spaceship with failed engines and 42 minutes left before they fall into a sun). Broadchurch Season 1's script is almost perfect. All the colours of grief, the complexity of life with its mundane and humorous and human moments all mixed together, make it just as much a study in loss as a compelling whodunnit. In a world full of action films with hundreds of people dying per film and deaths which only serve as plot devices to ramp up the tension, it's refreshing and so human - if rather harrowing- to have eight hours of film devoted to the effect of a single death. It's unflinchingly and compassionately human, embracing the messiness of grief and loss, and exploring the unsettling depths and labyrinthine motives of the human heart.

It's all intensely grueling - and if you binge-watched, like me, you'd be in serious need of some comic relief afterward. But unlike so many murder dramas, it never even approaches feeling exploitative - everything rings true.

Like I said, Broadchurch can definitely stand multiple viewings. In fact I enjoyed it more the second time around, knowing who the murderer is. It's chilling to see the killer hiding in plain sight - in one scene, both detectives even locking eyes with him/her in a moment of unconscious knowing, and then the moment passes. It's a chilling meditation on, dare I say it, the banality of evil and how it coexists with more mundane affairs within the human heart.

If I have a criticism of Season 1 it's that occasionally in the middle episodes the story lags a little. My interest in some of the minor characters - especially the selfish, conniving reporters bent on getting the ultimate scoop - wasn't enough to distract from wanting some new leads on the murder. However, overall the more pacey crime investigations are well balanced with the unremitting grief of Danny's family and the intertwining lives of the minor characters. The score, too, can err on the side of repetitiveness - but all the same it's a haunting masterpiece - it seems to seep out of the malevolent sea and grey sky and into the characters' unconscious fears, especially those of DI Hardy - who has a special connection to the town he detests.

As you can imagine, I'm busy formulating my guesses for Season 2's plot. Here's my take - I'm glad I don't have to wait long to see if I'm right. We know from Chris Chibnall that this season isn't going to be another body-on-the-beach whodunnit. Which is the right call, definitely. So I'm guessing that since DI Hardy is the character with by far the most backstory, this season is going to delve into his past and, more specifically, the unsolved Sandbrook murders. I'm guessing Episode 1 will open a few months after when Season 1 ended. Hardy has survived his pacemaker operation (it would be a bit rough to have him threatening to die on us for another season!) and he's back in the seaside town he loathes because he's on to some new leads for Sandbrook. Where poor shell-shocked DS Miller comes into this I'm not sure, but since the trailer shows several new female characters, I'm going to guess that she has some relatives arriving in town, and some of them may be connected to Sandbrook. She's going to be reluctant to get back into police work (who can blame her?) but Hardy is going to need her help. I'm sure the first few episodes at least will spend plenty of time dealing with her traumatic aftermath of last season - and the character deserves it. I'm guessing the new plot direction will be set against the backdrop of Danny's killer's trial - which is bound to put a strain on the people of Broadchurch. Also, the Latimers will be dealing with their grief and the imminent arrival of the new baby. Regardless of details, I've got my money on the fact that the Sandbrook murderer has ties to Broadchurch - perhaps he even lives there.

So bring on Sunday! And if you haven't seen Broadchurch, add it to your watchlist. It's some of the best TV to come around in the last few years, and I'm betting Season 2 will be just as brilliant.