In 2022 the British used the word suspicion, and derivatives, as a trend to title some of their thrillers. First we saw ‘Suspect’ (Suspicion) on Apple TV+, recently we saw ‘Suspect’, which in Spain was translated as ‘Hunt the culprit’, and today Movistar Plus+ premieres ‘Suspicious‘ (The Suspect), an interesting detective story starring Aidan Turner (‘Poldark’).
In fact, the protagonist is the main claim in the campaign for the series. However, for the most connoisseurs, he is not the only one, since he comes from the factory that brought the always recommendable ‘Line of Duty’ and ‘Vigil: Nuclear Conspiracy’, a rather forceful cover letter. The pity is that Peter Berry is not Jed Mercurio.
Throughout five episodes we get fully involved in the investigation of the murder of a girl. Enter Joe (Turner), a psychologist with his fifteen minutes of fame who is willing to offer his services to advise on the investigation. However, soon his behavior raises the alarm bells of the detectives (Shaun Parkes and Anjli Mohindra) who begin to believe that he could be involved.
ambiguous but insistent
In this way, Berry’s script takes us through a story that has its strong point in being ambiguous regarding the behavior of its protagonist. Although as it progresses her innocence becomes slightly clearer, the first bars of the series are dedicated to showing us a number of decisions on your part that would raise an eyebrow even the least suspicious of the world.
here comes a problem: the script tries too hard to maintain this shadow of suspicion, forcing the limit of the pact of credulity with the viewer. Because more than having someone with erratic behavior and certain things to hide (his relationship with the victim, for example), we are facing a protagonist who insists time and time again on fueling suspicions on the part of the police thanks to nonsense .
It is also true that the Aidan Turner’s character is, to say the least, difficult. We could even consider him somewhat negligent with his life, his profession and his family. That is why it is quite interesting to see how intense and dangerous muds come from dust from the past.
That is where the attraction in ‘Suspicious’ really is. In that seeing how to hide things, not knowing how to act in certain cases and fleeing forward causes uncomfortable situations. The double investigation that takes place throughout the series (the official one and its own) leads us through an unexpected story of reckoning, even revenge.
Beyond the fact that ‘Suspicious’ forces its premise a little too much, the truth is that we have before us a quite entertaining and solvent thriller. Is something more direct than it appears with its twistswhich, after all, is appreciated.