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  • English: Dolby Digital 3.1
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Prime Suspect 6 - The Last Witness
Universal/Universal . R4 . COLOR . 195 mins . Universal . PAL

  Feature
Contract

Well, it's been seven years since the last Prime Suspect, and we find Helen Mirren as DCI Jane Tennyson just as driven, neurotic - and just as totally brilliant. This policewoman is a total bitch - but you can understand why.

Prime Suspect 6 - The last Witness is the final instalment in one of the finest British cop shows of all time. As well as the usually very strong crime-plot elements, the Prime Suspect series as a whole have been marked by great social commentary, most pointedly outlining the war of the sexes, as Jane Tennyson claws her way up a ladder usually dominated by prejudiced, women-hating males.

This final instalment adds seven years to Jane Tennyson's age. She is now 54, and she is now facing non-too-subtle pressure to step down from her high-pressure role in charge of murder investigations.

And she reacts badly. She wants to make a point ... and does so by cruelly wrenching control of a case from one of her subordinates. It's a ghastly case of murder of a ghost -- 'ghost' is the term used for illegal immigrants working in Britain. They do all the worst jobs in society -- scrubbing floors, cleaning toilets -- but officially, they just do not exist.

The murdered girl and her sister are Bosnian Muslims. Are they victims of the cruel fueding that went on in their country between Muslims and Christians; Bosnians and Serbs? Or are there other layers in this tale?

Tennyson does eventually narrow down the suspects and solves the case, but it's a hollow victory for her, achieved only after ... well, that would be telling too much.

This is a beautifully balanced script, allowing as much time to Tennyson's own professional dilemmas as to the broader issue of ethnic intolerance. It's quality all the way, and Helen Mirren again delivers a rich and complex performance as Tennyson. Nobody can do this sort of thing quite as well as the Brits........

Compelling? Well, I started watching on a night when I was down with the 'flu. "We'll just watch the first hour", I told my wife. Three and a quarter hours later..........

Part of the fascination was watching how the writers and acted dealt with one of the pressing issues of our time -- illegal immigrants, as people flee destroyed, war-raped countries to try to find a new life.

This is strong drama, and will be, like all the Prime Suspect<> series, unpalatable to some who like their crime -- and life -- nicely glossed over. This is a piercing view of the real world.

  Video
  Audio
  Extras
Contract

This is an excellent transfer in widescreen anamorphic ratio, far better in general picture quality and colour tones than we saw on free-to-air television.

The three-channel sound delivers all the goods in terms of crisp dialogue and atmospheric effects.

The only extra is a 23-minute interview segment, predominantly with Helen Mirren, discussing her character. It's absorbing stuff, and well worth viewing -- but only after viewing the main feature, as it does contain some spoilers.


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  •   And I quote...
    "It's been seven years since the last Prime Suspect, and we find Helen Mirren as DCI Jane Tennyson just as driven and neurotic as ever - and just as totally brilliant."
    - Anthony Clarke
      Review Equipment
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