The Victim

The Victim is about significant and heavy topics like the endless circle of guilt and punishment, conscience, hatred, the right to know the answer, the clash between moral principles and the law, acts of forgiveness versus the Old Testament “eye for an eye" and the unclear boundary between the victim and the culprit. In all circumstances, however, these issues are depicted through the characters and emotions, not through dogmatic declamation. From start to finish, the movie urges us to give some thought to and revise our opinions, and it is as impressive as it is emotionally overwhelming. And all this despite the opening moments that are as shamelessly transparent as the "crime-like" storyline. However, this is not the case and that storyline is fortunately pushed to the side. Which is good, because otherwise one would have to dwell on the way it (doesn't) addresses illogicality. And it really doesn't matter, because this series is meant to be deeply felt. (14/10/2020)

"Detached from our notions of what is right and what is wrong, there is one place. There we will meet." - Rúmi +++ Thought-provoking words as well as the powerful theme of guilt and punishment that this four-part miniseries explores. I could find many more superlatives, of course, but I have to highlight the excellent script with an incredible ending and the perfectly developed psychology of the main characters. The Victim is without a doubt a timeless series that raises a number of disturbing questions, but everyone must answer them for themselves. (95%) (28/03/2021)

This miniseries went straight to my favorites. Not only did the filmmakers offer me a trip to Scotland, but they also crafted a great story of guilt, punishment, remorse and thirst for revenge. They chose a perfect cast for it, added fantastic atmosphere, made sure the story was really fast-paced, and then unleashed it all on my unsuspecting self, totally blowing my mind. The ending was perfect. (02/09/2020)

The gentle and sympathetic face of Kelly Macdonald takes on the form of Nemesis and Judge Lynch in order to enforce her concept of justice and find peace once again. As her husband points out, the guilt and punishment of the person who once cruelly hurt her family were decided by the court. He has served his time, so why reopen old wounds? However, the way in which the British justice system dealt with the loss of her little son seems entirely inconsistent and inadequate to her. She wants confrontation. She wants to stand face to face with the murderer and is not afraid to reopen old wounds in order to inflict new ones, even at the cost of gaining a few scars herself. The Victim is a disturbing British miniseries about the weight of guilt and the boundaries of punishment, which delves deeper into the psychological aspect than we are used to in genre productions. And it is damn good, evoking emotions and provoking thought. True, I was slightly bothered by the attempt to turn the series into a thriller, and some of the characters may have been unnecessary, such as the daughter's friend and his peculiar relationship motivation. But these are just minor flaws in a truly interesting work. Overall impression: 90%. (05/04/2021)