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Dom Robinson reviews
Mosaic Movies
- Cert:
- Cat.no: MMD 30121
- Running time: 148 minutes
- Year: 2001
- Pressing: 2001
- Region(s): 2, PAL
- Chapters: 13 plus extras
- Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 (Dolby Surround)
- Languages: English
- Subtitles: None
- Widescreen: 16:9 (1.77:1)
- 16:9-Enhanced: Yes
- Macrovision: Yes
- Disc Format: DVD 9
- Price: £15.99
- Extras: Behind-the-scenes, Photo Gallery, Deleted Scenes, Cast and Crew Notes
Director:
- Diarmud Lawrence
Producer:
- Louise Berridge
Screenplay:
- Boris Starling
Music:
- Michel Colombier
Cast:
- Red Metcalfe: Ken Stott
Eric Metcalfe: Kieran O’Brien
Kate Beauchamp: Frances Grey
Duncan Warren: Neil Dudgeon
Jez Clifton: Jamie Draven
Alison Reeves: Serena Gordon
Susan Metcalfe: Michelle Forbes
Rev. Stephen Hedges: Edward Woodward
DCS Emerson: Art Malik
Helen Warren: Gillian Taylforth
Bart Miller: Boris Starling
Messiah is the recent BBC drama that’s made a very swift transition to video and DVD and all credit to Mosaic Movies for it.
This two-part story stars Ken Stott as Chief Inspector Red Metcalfe, a determined cop presented with a serial killer with no suspect and no motive. Bodies are turning up either hung, sawn in half or stripped of their skin and the only thing linking each case is that every corpse has its tongue removed and replaced by a silver spoon. The problems are increased when someone on the case is letting slip the details to a journalist.
Those surrounding Red include his deaf wife Susan (Michelle Forbes, who I didn’t recognise at first), Detective Inspector Duncan Warren (Neil Dudgeon), a family man without a family since his wife Helen (Gillian Taylforth) divorced him, lives with another man and has custody of their child. Other work colleagues include the reliable Jez Clifton (Jamie Draven) and newcomer Kate Beauchamp (Frances Grey).
Also here is Red’s deranged brother Eric (Kieran O’Brien, Robbie Coltrane’s son in Cracker) who has recently been released from prison and is staying at the church under the guidance of Rev. Stephen Hedges (Edward Woodward, doing his very best ‘Harold Bishop’). There are also roles for Art Malik as DCS Emerson and scriptwriter Boris Starling took great delight on telling the BBC’s Breakfast how he played the skin-stripped Bart Miller.
This is, essentially, the BBC’s version of Se7en, which starred Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman, but it’s far too derivative and doesn’t include the same kind of spectacular pay-off ending. The two hours or so that preceeds it does provide interesting, if occasionally gory, viewing.
Ken Stott’s going slightly mad. Shot in 16:9 for TV, it is presented in the same ratio and is anamorphic. Given that it was only shown in early June, you’d expect a perfect print and that’s what you get. No damage, no artifacts (unlike the BBC’s dumbing down of the bitrate of their output via digital TV!) and no complaints. The average bitrate is 5.59Mb/s.
Given the religious title the soundtrack contains some choral music and the Dolby Surround soundtrack plunders along as you’d expect with few surprises. A Dolby Digital 5.1 remix would’ve been nice, but given that this is the first title I have seen from Mosaic that’s actually in widescreen then we must be thankful for that.
The extras begin with a 29-minute Behind-the-scenes piece containing interviews with the cast and crew, but it must only be seen after you’ve watched the main programme. A 12-picture Photo Gallery is here, as are two Deleted Scenes, the details of which I won’t give out as it will spoil part of the plot, but the Cast and Crew Notes are disappointing as it only saw a few words about each member in turn.
Only a measly 13 chapters break up the show, with two reserved for the closing credits, the main menu contains music and, sadly, there are no subtitles which is a shame given Stott’s strong Scottish accent and that they will have been prepared for the broadcast.
PICTURE QUALITY
SOUND QUALITY
EXTRAS
OVERALL 
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.