A State Within (BBC/Telefilm)
Picture:
B Sound: B- Extras: C+ Telefilm: B
Nothing
is what it seems! The politically fueled
and adrenaline pumping miniseries A
State Within just released by BBC Video is energetic and captivating. The dramatic, action packed mini-film seems
almost to be the unintentional love-child of NBC’s West Wing and Fox’s 24. This political thriller takes audiences on a
journey through the legal and not so legal global politics after a terrorist
attack on American soil (a plane bombing).
The series hits close to home at times, but overall is just sensational
entertainment. The miniseries is broken into 6 parts at an hour each on
2-Discs. The storyline is complex, but
not convoluted to the point of confusing.
The story follows around approximately 10 major characters in a series
of different plots. At first the plots
seem autonomous, but before audiences know it they are thrown into a whirlwind
of twists and turns that quickly intertwine all of the chaos. The combination of British politics, American
politics, corporate politics, and terrorism makes for a hell of a series.
Jason
Isaacs (of The Patriot and the Harry Potter films) plays the British
Ambassador in Washington DC, when after the sudden bombing of an airplane
Isaacs finds himself literally in the middle of the wreckage as he fights to
help in anyway he can. After the initial
tragedy Isaacs sets out on a political peace keeping and investigative mission,
as the US government starts to take drastic measures to contain the
incident. Beyond the politics there is a
slue of conspiracies, a death row inmate, a rouge military group, and much more
to wet the taste buds of any action fan.
The cast
is simply amazing, each contributing to the chaotic atmosphere. Jason Isaacs is definitely the forerunner
that keeps the audience intrigued, but with other such great actors as Sharon
Gless as the US Secretary of Defense to add that dash of realism, the
miniseries is undeniably wonderful. This
is not your normal, stuffy, British Film…No Jane Eyre here.
The
technical features of this 2-Disc, 6-part DVD miniseries are very good
quality. The picture is presented in a
1.78 X 1 Anamorphic Widescreen that seems to have been shot in HD. The picture quality is clean and crisp, with
few light/dark issues. The Sound is in a
simple Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo that could have been better for a miniseries
that could have used surrounds. The 2.0
stereo, nevertheless, does ‘POP’ when necessary and has only a few instances of
the sound quality being distant. The
extras are slim to none, only offering an interesting ‘Making of The State Within’ featurette that does give great insight
into the casts, writers and directors feeling and intended film direction, but
there cold have been more.
Overall,
this reviewer highly recommends this miniseries. The
State Within is engaging, tastefully complicated, and the 6 hours of film
quickly flies by making the audience beg for more. Explosively interesting!
- Michael P Dougherty II
