Film Reviews & Movie Analysis

Created and Written by Jed Mercury

Broadcast: BBC One
Concluded: 23/09/18
Synopsis: A private security officer is tasked with looking after a prominent Government official.
Cast: Richard Madden, Keeley Hawes, Sophie Rundle, Gina McKee, Stuart Bowman
Episodes: Six

David Budd, a private security officer quietly suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, is placed in charge of the welfare of a government official; Julia Montague. He may not believe in her politics but David is dedicated to his job, even when it’s made ten times harder by Julia’s take no prisoners attitude, and clandestine agreements, which places target after target on her back.

The draw for this show was clearly the actor Richard Madden (Game of Thrones, Ibiza) – but I like that it wasn’t made that obvious. There were events that happened without his direct involvement, and characters that had some dimension, as opposed to being bodies for him to interact with…. Except for his wife Vicky played by Sophie Rundle (Peaky Blinders, Happy Valley). She could definitely have been given more to do than just playing the role of the disgruntled and worrisome ex.

The series was a little hit and miss for me. Yes I watched all six episodes but there were times where I seriously considered calling it quits, but it’s hard to put my finger on why.

It had the correct amount of suspense, it was written will enough, and I didn’t hate the principal two characters, and yet – it lacked in a level of depth that kept me from fully engaging. There were conspiracies that I never really grasped the importance of, and copious amounts of white men worried about their secrets, that all sort of blurred into one.

I will however admit to being taken by surprise by the graphic events that occurred in a lot of the earlier episodes – it helped to up the ante. The series also managed to touch on mental health in a way that didn’t come across as too scripted and therefore patronizing, and finally there was a nice loop between the first and last episode which I appreciated, because I’m a sucker for things coming full circle.

I never got into Line of Duty (but I’ve heard good things!) so I can’t compare Bodyguard to it in that respect. However, in the vein of “Detective based Drama” that British television is fond of producing; with Madden’s Scottish accent and by including political themes, Bodyguard stood out from the crowd…. However all in all: It was still another police drama.

Sigh.

Trailer Below…..