The Tunnel Review

A superbly acted edge of your seat thriller!

The Tunnel already has a legacy in that it’s an Anglo – French remake of the successful Scandinavian noir drama, The Bridge. Having never seen the original I am lucky enough (or disadvantaged depending on your viewpoint) to have nothing to compare or prejudge it against, and instead thoroughly enjoyed being able to review the production on its own merits.

The gripping ten-episode story begins with the discovery of the body of a prominent French politician whose body has been placed in the Euro Tunnel directly on the borderline between the UK and France. Two very different detectives Karl Roebuck (Stephen Dillane) and Elise Wassermann (Clémence Poésy) are brought in from their respective countries to investigate. What follows is a gripping and tense cat and mouse chase to find the killer who continues to murder believing he is highlighting five ‘truths’ about our moraly bankrupt society.

The superbly acted, edge of your seat thriller keeps you wanting more as each episode delivers a cleverly elaborately designed web of intrigue, murder, discovery and humour from our two leads. Stephen Dillane and Clémence Poésy act their parts wonderfully, consistently and with feeling. Even after watching the thrilling finale you will want to watch it all again, not just for the high production values, stunning scenery of the two countries or the wonderfully scripted plot from Spooks writer Ben Richards, but for the growing friendship that unites two polar opposite people. From Elise’s cold unfeeling asperger’s type character versus family man Karl with his dad jokes, laid back attitude and chequered romantic past, grows a shared respect and platonic love between two people who begin to understand the other completely.

Supported by a talented supporting cast, including Joseph Mawle, Keeley Hawes, Tom Bateman, Tobi Bakare, Jeanne Balibar, Thibault de Montalembert, Mathieu Carriere, Angel Coulby and Jack Lowden, The Tunnel is perfectly cast with an interesting set of characters. What The Tunnel also does is create a truly terrifying villain in the Truth Terrorist (who I wont reveal the identity of so as not to spoil it), who on one hand creates valid points about society but executes them in very shocking and gruesome ways.

A television series and DVD definitely worth watching. And if a second series is on the cards, this viewer will be ready for more surreal twists and arresting character moments. Maybe I will watch The Bridge after all…

Joseph Mawle talks ‘The Tunnel’ and the axing of ‘Ripper Street’ – Interview

The Tunnel is released on Blu-ray and DVD on 13 January 2014.