Murphy’s Law Series 1
Movie Review

About the Film
& Synopsis
The EI Index

88%
Fan Reviews

0%
Movie Trailers

Info

Directed By	Various
Screen Writer	Various
Actors	James Nesbitt, Claudia Harrison, Del Synnott, Mark Benton
Genre	Police Drama
Run Time	443 minutes
Producer	BBC
Release Date	October 6, 2009
Studio	Acorn Media, Licensed by the BBC

Detective Tommy Murphy has nothing left to lose. Guilt-ridden over the death of his young daughter, who was slain by the IRA, he flees to London to work undercover for the Metropolitan Police. Hardheaded, hard-drinking, brash, and brooding, Murphy is down on his luck. But he still has more than a bit of the old Irish charm, flashing quick with and a roguish grin.

James Nesbitt is absolutely brilliant in a role created especially for him by novelist Colin Bateman. Murphy accepts the most dangerous assignments and delves into London’s criminal underside – drugs, blackmail, murder – assisted by DI Annie Guthrie (Claudia Harrison), his sexy, savvy boss.

Closed Captioned courtesy of Acorn Media.

EI Indexed Review(s)

Editor reviews

Excellent Mystery with a dash of comedy.

Rating:

3.5

User Review

User Reviews

Writer/actor/director Jon Ted Wynne
and his wife, writer/actress Rhiannon Benedict
watched and co-reviewed the following DVD.

Jon Ted Wynne’s Review:

There is nothing worse than a smart-mouth cop. That is one of the best things about MURPHY’S LAW. James Nesbitt’s wonderful undercover cop Tommy Murphy ISN’T a smart-aleck, rather he’s genuinely witty. In fact, he’s laugh-out-loud funny in places, and this serves as a terrific counterpoint to the drama of this smartly-produced series, created by Colin Bateman.

The five volumes (of an hour and a half each) that comprise set one of MURPHY’S LAW are highly entertaining. Murphy, a grieving father whose little daughter was tragically killed in Ireland, attempts to find solace in work. Dangerous work. His going undercover provides an excellent escape from reality.

The writing is terrific. Plot details and character development are arrived at logically and gradually (at least initially). No obvious exposition here. The show assumes the viewer is intelligent and thus you are masterfully drawn in. Even though, at the very root of it, MURPHY’S LAW is a formulaic cop show with variations, it still comes across as fresh and original.

Much of this has to do with the extremely likable James Nesbitt, whose accomplishments on behalf of various charities and worthy causes is as impressive as his acting resume. Clearly Nesbitt’s personal charisma and warmth are channeled into his portrayal.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first three episodes. However, by the end of episode four, I felt the story resolution was a little strained. And episode five was fine, but seemed a little predictable. Fans of the show will know that following season two, Nesbitt pleaded with the producers to change the direction of the show. Becoming far more gritty and with multi-episode story arcs, the series has achieved almost cult status after moving in this direction. In light of this, as well as the quality of season one, I can hardly wait for more of MURPHY’S LAW.

Season one is very good, and establishes Murphy’s character. It should not be missed. Were the show to continue in the vein of the first series, then it would be fine for another few episodes. But with the promise of a major overhaul to look forward to, it is clear that MURPHY’S LAW evolved into something even better as it went on.

Rhiannon Benedict‘s Review:

Consequentialism: moral theory which holds that the consequences of a particular action form the basis for any valid moral judgment about that action. In other words – the end justifies the means. MURPHY’S LAW is a world where both good guys and bad guys put this theory to practice. The only difference is one practices it covertly, and the other boldly.

Take a man like Tommy Murphy – an Irish cop who has become a victim of this dubious but widely accepted practice – and throw him into the ring with people above and below the law who live comfortably with the lifestyle. This is a man with a hard-found moral centre, living deep in a world with an ever-shifting moral compass. He has nothing to live for, but is driven to continue his quest for justice. But this time it’s Tommy’s justice – MURPHY’S LAW – that will prevail.

Tommy has suffered the brutal death of his daughter and dissolution of his marriage, entirely because he chose to value consequentialism. He has moved to London and works undercover with the London Met. He is widely viewed as unstable and dangerous, but is willing to take on the most dangerous assignments, and so continues to work as an undercover officer. With nothing to lose, he can be counted on to do whatever is needed – or can he?

One of the most fascinating aspects of MURPHY’S LAW is following Tommy’s logic. He risks his cover and thus his life to stop the beating of a criminal at the hands of others. Quick-witted, hardheaded, fast-talking Murphy time and again will change the rules of engagement to avoid falling back into the old habit of doing anything to get a result. He is unpredictable and difficult to handle. Cocky, loud-mouthed, funny at the most inappropriate times, the viewer is left to wonder if he is in fact insane, or perhaps the most sane of the lot. At all times, James Nesbitt’s portrayal of this walking contradiction is marvelous. This is one cop who does not require a sidekick, and one actor who does not require a supporting cast. The supporting cast are very talented (including Claudia Harrison as his boss), but sometimes get in the way of Nesbitt’s amazing timing.

The one thing Nesbitt does require, and does not always get, is strong plot lines. The series was created specifically for the actor by Colin Bateman, based on Bateman’s novel. The episodes in this set are a little uneven, and do not always come to a satisfying conclusion. But Nesbitt is better than the material, and I would happily watch all the episodes repeatedly just to watch the brilliance of his portrayal.

MURPHY is interesting on multiple levels. I look forward to seeing more.

Comments (0)