Southcliffe [Channel 4]

JP Liz V1

http://www.channel4.com/info/press/programme-information/southcliffe

Southcliffe is a stunning new four part drama from Warp Films (This is
England, The Stone Roses: Made of Stone) for Channel 4 penned by award-winning
writer Tony Grisoni (Red Riding, The Unloved) and directed by Sean Durkin
(Martha Marcy May Marlene – winner of Sundance Film Festival Directing Award) in
his British television debut.


Starring a wealth of British talent from stage and screen including Rory
Kinnear (Black Mirror), Eddie Marsan (Tyrannosaur), Shirley Henderson (Anna
Karenina) and Sean Harris (Prometheus) Southcliffe tells the story of a
fictional English market town devastated by a spate of shootings which take
place over a single day; a tragedy that has ripped apart the community. The
inexplicable chain of events at the dark heart of this four-part mini-series
shatters time and space for Southcliffe’s inhabitants.


Further names include rising stars Kaya Scodelario (Wuthering Heights), Joe
Dempsie (Game of Thrones), Anatol Yusef (Boardwalk Empire) and Nichola Burley
(Wuthering Heights).


Commissioned by Channel 4’s Head of Drama, Piers Wenger, the drama explores
tragedy, grief, responsibility and redemption seen through the eyes of a
journalist (Kinnear) returning to the small town of his childhood, and those
closest to the victims of the tragedy. Violence and sudden bereavement confronts
the residents of Southcliffe with emotions they are unequipped to understand or
deal with; testing their resilience as individuals and as a community.


Writer Tony Grisoni says; “Southcliffe is a fictional market town inhabited
by fictional characters, but with similarities to many actual people and places
in Britain today. Invisible people, anonymous places. Rather than analyse or
moralise about our characters’ actions, we share in them. Southcliffe is an
anthem to ordinary people’s ability to reinvent themselves in the face of
ultimate darkness.”


Piers Wenger adds; "Tony Grisoni's unique ability to convey the darkness and
subtleties of human behaviour is in full evidence in these four brilliant
scripts and I'm delighted that Warp Films and Tony found a world class director
like Sean Durkin to bring them to life."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2bdwXQLXg4

Starting 4th of August 2013 at 9pm

smurfs5

Brand new drama series starting tomorrow night (Sunday the 4th) at 9pm. It continues on Monday night and there are four parts in total.

There's real hype around this series, looks compelling. Well worth a watch I'd say. It has received widespread critical acclaim as well.






The Guardian's review : http://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/aug/02/southcliffe-channel-4-dark-homegrown-success

The Independent's review : http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/television-choices-absorbing-and-muted-drama-southcliffe-takes-apart-a-killers-motives-8744077.html






And there's a trailer here : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2bdwXQLXg4

Mr E

Threads merged.

lolly0306

I've found it very slow moving and a bit confusing so far. I'm not sure i got what happened when they were training in the woods!

Skid X

Very bleak so far (as any drama about a mass killing would be) Not much dialogue at all, but it is gripping.

I wonder if the name Southcliffe was chosen deliberately as it sounds like Sutcliffe, as in the Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe?

Episode two is on tomorrow, then episode three is next Sunday.

Kiwi_knock

Sean Harris has a great screen presence. Intriguing show so far, I presume the next episode will have more dialogue.

Addle

This show is so dark, I shouldn't like it so much.
Great performances, and really atmospheric.
I'm looking forward to seeing how it concludes.

PaulCorcoran

Does anyone know the choral piece sung at the funeral in Episode 2?

Watching episode 3 and really enjoying the show. From all the reviews and word of mouth I was expecting something drastically different, people keep using the word grim to describe it and while it's rather dour and covers dark subject matter I've yet to find it depressing or overtly grim. It's a very well made adult drama that's not afraid to deal with weighty topics and issues and isn't afraid to try and offer a little insight into the mindset of the man.

The nonlinear narrative is a little distracting at first but it really adds to the sense of unease and helps create quite a nice bit of tension.

this was the grimmest thing that I've seen in ages.

ringadingding

Watched this yesterday, outstandingly gritty tv.
British drama at it's best and as good as anything from Shane meadows!

Mr E

Southcliffe threads merged.

charlie_says

Excellent stuff. Not a particularly nice place where a terrible thing happens. The way the story deals with the fallout of the event rather than the drama of the act itself is handled very well.

The director, Sean Durkin, is behind the camera in a film well worth watching Martha Marcy May Marlene.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1441326/