Guilt Episode One review

BBC Scotland has been in the headlines since its creation for supposedly average content and viewing figures, but average is not a word that you’d use to describe its first drama, Guilt. Written by Neil Forsyth, this dark crime comedy owes much to the films of Hitchcock, as two characters get embroiled in a situation that seems destined to consume them. There are lots of laughs and tension, and it makes for compelling viewing.

They take their eyes off the road for just a minute – long enough, it transpires, to hit an old man and kill him

Contrasting brothers Jake (Jamie Sives) and Max (Mark Bonnar) are driving back from a wedding, slightly over-the-limit and arguing. They take their eyes off the road for just a minute – long enough, it transpires, to hit an old man and kill him. Jake wants to call an ambulance, but Max talks him into covering up the crime. They take the old man’s body back to his house, where they discover that he was the perfect victim – an elderly loner with a terminal disease. Jake is haunted by what the two of them have done and, when he learns that he left his wallet at the old man’s house, the brothers are forced to revisit the scene of the crime. But can they convince the victim’s sole relative, an American niece called Angie (Ruth Bradley), who doesn’t seem convinced by the ruling of natural death?

Much of the comedy comes from the dynamic of the two brothers. Sives and Bonnar have a natural chemistry (apparently they’ve been friends for years, and that really comes across), and in manifests in the clash between the gentle record shop owner Jake and the amoral attorney Max. Bonnar’s aggressive delivery – he speaks as if through gritted teeth, controlling his anger but only just – is particularly hilarious as the more farcical elements begin.

Max tries to use Jake as a way to prevent Angie from asking any questions or – worst case scenario – demanding an autopsy

Going to the dead man’s wake, Max stresses the simplicity of his plan – you go in, you get the wallet, you leave (angrily stating that “there are no other steps. I can’t stress enough, Jake, the lack of other steps”). The look Max gives Jake when he enters the funeral and sees him serving canapes and flirting with Angie is dark comedy gold. Jake gets less to do in regard to humour, instead developing a nice romantic attachment to Angie and battling with his guilt, especially as Max tries to use him as a way to prevent her from asking any questions or – worst case scenario – demanding an autopsy. The relationship is really sweet, and it’ll be interesting to see how it gets pushed when the situation begins to unravel.

While Max tells Jake at the end of the episode that they’re okay, we know that that’s certainly not the case

This first episode takes a while to get going, and the nature of a series means that we leave with most of the plot threads hanging. There are hints that Angie may not be all that she seems, and suggestions that Max’s wife (Sian Brooke) may have external desires. We also have one neighbour with a security camera, and another neighbour called Sheila (Ellie Haddington), who gets just two words at the episode’s close, telling Max ominously: “I saw”. While Max tells Jake at the end of the episode that they’re okay, we know that that’s certainly not the case.

Forsyth’s writing is razor-sharp and carefully treads the line between drama and black comedy. The dynamic between the actors is finely balanced and after episode one ended, I really wanted to know what would happen next. Guilt is shaping up to be one of the year’s best dramas, and I’m looking forward to seeing how the brothers react to even more developments and problems.

All four episodes of Guilt are now available on BBC iPlayer.