Unforgivable is a new one-off Jimmy McGovern drama which deals with the tough issue of child abuse.
Joe Mitchell (Bobby Schofield – The Walk-In) has been in prison for sexually-abusing his nephew, Tom (Austin Haynes – The Responder Series 2), which drove the whole family to the point of despair, not least the boy’s mother, Anna (Anna Friel – Marcella). So much so, that when Joe and Anna’s mother dies, he’s been refused the possibility to attend the funeral.
But once out of the clink, Unforgivable doesn’t quite humanise the abuser, but shows the rehabilitation process to a degree that we haven’t seen before, as Joe goes to the only place that’ll take him in as a halfway house, Christian hostel St Maura’s, run by Katherine (Anna Maxwell Martin – Until I Kill You).
Coming from Jimmy McGovern, Unforgivable is very well acted and written, as you’d expect, and has ‘Gritty BAFTA’ stamped all over it, dealing with the thorny issue, such as Joe going on to confront his own abuser (who I obviously won’t spoil), while wanting to bring them to book. Meanwhile, there’s the contrast with authorities having to be polite to Joe, since it’s the British way, despite his despicable acts.
So, it’s difficult viewing, but well worth a watch.
Unforgivable is now on the BBC iPlayer.
It’s not yet available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD, but if it is in future, it will be listed on the New DVD, Blu-ray, 3D and 4K releases UK page.
Director: Julia Ford
Producer: Donna Molloy
Writer: Jimmy McGovern
Cast:
Anna McKinney: Anna Friel
Joe Mitchell: Bobby Schofield
Katherine Farrell: Anna Maxwell Martin
Brian Mitchell: David Threlfall
Paul Patterson: Mark Womack
Sammy Mcveigh: Paddy Rowan
Peter McKinney Jnr: Finn McParland
Tom McKinney: Austin Haynes
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.