A three-part miniseries, Manhunt tells of the investigation into the murder of Amélie Delagrange, a young French woman attacked on Twickenham Green in South West London one summer evening in 2004.
Based on the memoirs of Detective Chief Inspector Colin Sutton, Manhunt sees the unexpected appointment of Sutton (Martin Clunes) as lead officer into the case. Believed by some to be too inexperienced to head the investigation, the Metropolitan Police stand by the appointment – although there is a ‘suggestion’ as to who might be the second-in-charge (Nicholas Burns).
What follows is a keenly crafted procedural drama as the task force leave no stone unturned, no ‘t’ uncrossed, no ‘I’ undotted. Working mainly with his own aide-de-camp (DS Jo Brunt – Katie Lyons), Sutton quickly establishes a possible link with a second murder and even a third. But the police play down the idea of a serial killer in an attempt to avoid panic.
Watching of hours of surveillance camera footage, painstakingly following up seemingly minor leads, tracking down vehicles purely on make and model is the order of the day as Sutton deals with a degree of mutiny in the ranks. But he sticks to his guns – even if, by missing family weddings and birthdays, it puts him at odds with his wife (Claudie Blakley).
Manhunt is an intelligently well-crafted, unglamourised police drama. There are few fireworks, absolutely no shootouts and a car ‘chase’ involving a Ford Fiesta. Sutton will get his man but more through cross checking the paperwork. And there’s something oddly pleasurable in its watching.
Rating: 64%
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