The Watchman (TV Movie 2016)

The Watchman: Directed by David Nath. With Sian Breckin, Hannah Chalmers, Roman Clark, Mark Christopher Collins. CCTV operator Carl becomes frustrated when the police refuse to tackle a gang of drug dealers. He takes the law into his own hands with devastating repercussions.

“STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eCarl (Stephen Graham) operates CCTV in a little centre all alone. Feeling pretty isolated, his only communication is with his friend Lee (Kieran Ou0026#39;Brien) over the cameras, and taking calls home from his troubled teenage daughter. His mundane existence is spiced up a little one night when he has to deal with a woman who is threatening to jump off the top of a building. But this is just the beginning of a terrifying night where heu0026#39;ll have to save Lee from a gang of drug dealers who have a score to settle with a two grand debt.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAs the most heavily watched country in Europe, if not the world, CCTV permeates pretty much every facet of existence, and can cover many vast areas. The likes of Carl must exist all over the place, and Grahamu0026#39;s portrayal must be typical of the sort that tend to work in jobs like these. Itu0026#39;s the perfect setting for a u0026#39;real timeu0026#39; thriller, and like the best of them, itu0026#39;s (in this case very) short and sweet. As events are playing out literally as theyu0026#39;re happening, itu0026#39;s a result like no other and The Watchman produces fairly hit and miss results.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe mood is impressively dark and grey, with the camera blurred out throughout, which perfectly encapsulates the grim, foreboding world the main character inhabits. There is also a genuine sense of tension and unpredictability about how events will turn out. But itu0026#39;s all also a little untidy, with the womanu0026#39;s suicide bid at the beginning not really tying in with the main story as a whole, as well as an ending thatu0026#39;s meant to come off as unexpected and classy, but just leaves you with a sense of confusion and inconclusion.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eItu0026#39;s still a generally decent effort, though, with lead star Graham perfectly suited to the role and an impressive air of mystery. ***”