32/44

He attacked her before evading capture

Line of Events

Delia Balmer, a nurse at the agency, met with Sweeney, who confessed to killing his ex-girlfriend. Balmer rebuilt his life, only to confront Sweeney seven years later after he was arrested for another murder.

Based on a true crime story

The bodies were dumped in the canals of Rotterdam (not Amsterdam) and London. Not only is this a compelling, uncomfortable drama, almost unique in that it doesn’t seek to exploit misogynistic violence for fun, but it’s also an indictment of a justice system in which everyone participates.

He is clearly compromised, seeing sacrifice as a means to his professional goals

The police want a conviction, the criminal is the target, and the victim is merely ammunition to help him achieve it; a passive cipher, best forgotten later, unless it becomes useful again. The viewer is also forced to confront his own expectations of the real victim of crime.

Delia Balmer/Anna Maxwell Martin does not bend to this convention, and the drama without syrup presents the victim all the better

They are usually sensitive and rather passive people who lack self-confidence and are often attractive because film and television producers try to manipulate the empathy of their viewers by any means at their disposal.