Last updated on June 7, 2015
Luther is a fascinating little crime procedural. I’m not sure whether I would call it “revolutionary” or “beyond peer”, but it certainly flips elements of the well-worn genre on its head far more than many of its ilk. Perhaps that’s just myself coming off from The Killing, which focused far more on the emotional weight and depth of how murder affects everyone in its circle of contact. Luther prefers a more philosophical, detached stance from the proceedings, as it spends much more of its time showcasing the lives of its characters in addition to a “case of the week” boiler plate standard structure.
Idris Elba plays the titular character, a protagonist you often see in these kinds of crime dramas – hey, our resident genius boy/girl with unteachable natural abilities of just-right epiphanies and supernatural feats of deduction! Thankfully, the show tends to downplay these elements by demonstrating how such gifts can be, at the very least, isolating. Luther’s obsession with justice, apart from bringing people to that point by the law, eventually leads to his potential questioning after he lets a criminal he chased fall without aid. After that, his marriage starts to fall apart and people believe him mentally unstable (along with the “prone to violence” vibe you tend to get from a guy bashing up any and everything in sight). Also, Idris Elba’s subtlety in the role betrays an actor’s mind. Such a character, as written, could clearly descend into caricature, but he makes it seem natural.
The series really starts, though, when they introduce Alice, played by Ruth Wilson. She is, simply put, the best part of this whole series, and it’s a shame the first season really didn’t take advantage of her quirky, dangerous, and quite frankly scary characterization of a…serial killer? Maybe? The whole first episode establishes that she may/may not have murdered her parents, and she’s smart enough to get away with it. Unlike other shows in this vein, she eventually becomes an established member of the cast, because she provides a view from another angle. Luther, day to day, consumes the darkness to bring it to his ideals of good, but one can only do this so long (or so the show believes) without being engrossed in it. Alice, weirdly enough, understands this. She might be a sociopath, but she’s a pretty charming one, and for being a murderer you actually grow to like her character as a sort of confidante for the troubled Luther. She isn’t used nearly enough (and things between them don’t turn out at all the way you’d expect), which saddens me a great deal!
Unfortunately, I think the structure of the series as of the first season holds it back a bit into what territory they traverse. Part of the reason why so many people probably found it trading in stock police procedural plots comes precisely from the use of those plots. They are the focus, indeed, but I believe they exist to parallel what’s happening in the character’s personal lives. Luther’s marriage falls apart, so the main case involves a failed marriage. Luther can’t nail this occult dude to the wall for a number of reasons, and so his reach needs to extend outside the law if he hopes to save the next victim. His genius, unlike in something like Sherlock, often ends up coming short, and he fails to “save the day”; usually, they just catch the guy. The futility of it all remains a common theme: how does one stop evil when it’s in everybody, from the rich playboy to the blue collar worker? The show does not provide the answers to this, thankfully, and leaves that open ended.
In subsequent seasons, they tend to bring a greater focus on singular cases as well, which helps to provide that same vibe. Unfortunately, at the same time, said cases become quite cartoonish in their idea of “criminal” behavior that could realistically happen. I mean, seriously, a serial killer who wants to become a real-life boogeyman? LARPers who kill people for points? The second seasons becomes a bit too much like Batman (Luther is basically British working class Batman, after all), and it was just a little too much on the side of unbelievable. Thankfully, the third series brings things back into focus much more like the last season, with a plot that makes sense in some fashion. Luther does often make leaps of logic impossible for ordinary men, but what police show wouldn’t work without Epiphany Guy, right? Real police work is boring; near-genius, yet tortured, police work makes for fine viewing material.
It is also in later seasons that, somehow, Luther (the show) actually provides some genuine moments of suspense, almost to the point of a horror movie. I’d hate to point out anything in specific, but the series knows how to stage an effective scene of tension and pad it out to just the right length. Thankfully, these fit with the overall “London is really dull” color palette, among the general dour mood, so it never gets in the way of tonal consistency.
There’s also the strange Englishness of the setting, which will come up if you’re America. Strange questions such as “why do police officers not seem to carry guns in England” will run through your mind, making you think you’ve gone half mad and/or the writers became perposterously lazy for the machinations of the individual stories. Suffice to say those elements may well turn you off right from the beginning (if the idea of murder doesn’t throw you off right from the get-go), so know that going in.
Thankfully, the series is taut, short, and never too drawn out. You can watch the entirety of its run in about ten hours or so, which means nothing ends up unresolved or short-changed. Certain plot lines could use some additional insight, but I don’t feel much disappointment. I’m happy to have watched it, but know this: sometimes Luther remains on the side of pulpy, downcast fun over meaningful social commentary. It’s revels in age-old procedural plots and characterizations, but often remains compelling regardless. If that sounds up your alley, I can’t say enough good things to you!
