Prime Suspect (1991)

Such a frustrating disappointment

Just perfect...

Admirable film.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

A female police detective (Helen Mirren) investigates a series of serial murders while dealing with sexist hostility from her male comrades.Many observers have viewed Prime Suspect as the inspiration for female characters in American TV series, particularly noting strong similarities between this series in general—and the character of Jane Tennison in particular—and the later American series "The Closer", starring Kyra Sedgwick in the role of Deputy Chief of Police Brenda Leigh Johnson.I am not sure about the sexism of the show; were British police really that weird about having a female superior? They had a queen and a female prime minister... was it hard to imagine a female detective? But I suppose it is always a struggle.The plot is great, and you are left questioning along the way if the "prime suspect" is going to be the actual serial killer, or if there will be a curve along the way. You never really do know one way or the other until the end. And even then, are we really sure? You will have to watch it for yourself to see what I mean.

I absolutely love this show, the word brilliant doesn't even properly give it justice. As usual the UK has produced and delivered a series that puts to shame anything that American television has to offer. Helen Mirren is ranked one of the world's best actors-and for good reason. The stories are superb "who dun nits" with outstanding writing and acting all the way around. In addition to being a great crime solving drama, "Prime Suspect" succeeds as a character study of a middle-aged, professional woman who has sacrificed much of her personal life to rise among the ranks of the police force. In a typically understated British fashion, Prime Suspect delivers excellent performances by an edgy, raucous cast of "old boy's club" cops and a steely-eyed, ambitious female Detective Chief Inspector (DCI), Tennison.

PS 1 is fantastic! The intensity of the whole George Marlow storyline is simply brilliant. You can tell why this one started the whole series. PS 2 while not as good as the first, still delivers. PS 3 is also good and continues the same "homicide feel" of 1 & 2.PS 4 is a 3 movie episode season. "The Lost Child" would of excelled all preceding story lines had it not being for "Scent of Darkness" which continues the George Marlow storyline and becomes to me the best PS story of the entire series. It outdoes it's self.PS 5 is purely and simply a disappointment. It goes into an entirely different direction and ambient that makes this series so great. worst of the series.PS6 WOW!! Simply the best episode of the entire series to me. Not because it is the best plot written, the George Marlow storyline is still superior, but I choose this one as the best because it emphasizes into Jane Tenison's ever-growing sense of justice and how she never allows anything/anyone to obstruct justice from being served. In previous season's Jane overcomes obstacles made by her superiors to solve each case. In this season the obstacle is as "high as it can be".PS7 should not have being made. The case is very weak and it focuses far too much into the character's weakness and life misfortunes. Which is not what audiences want to see. We know jane has personal problems but it is her gigantic sense of justice that we fell in love with and we come to admire her for. This is the key to Prime Suspects success. I absolutely love this series and rank it amongst the top 5 best British TV series ever made.By Dedoshucos.

A common problem with great British series is that as time passes, rather than become better they lose their steam or atypicality. By the time Prime Suspect 4 came about, but for the rare scene it had become virtually identical to a common copper flick.The first series, concerning the serial killings attributed to George Marlow (With accomplices), is the most complex and riveting, more so than even Cracker's first series. I have seen the episodes through their completion on several rotations and am still finding subtle aspects of character and plot. Helen is integral and can portray a paradoxical human in every episode consistently. Almost as integral is Marlow who can just about convince you that he's innocent -- but not quite, not in the right way.In the Prime Suspect world, everything is politics. La Plante examines the seperate realms of politics and how they interact; this is what makes up most of the running time and all of my interest. Physical details and clue tables are pushed to the side to examine one person's brain, how it reacts to the world, and how the world reacts to it. Politics, Jane, that's what it's all about.