The Capture (2019)

Watchseries; . . . or a corrected version of the Truth?

The Capture is an excellent mini-series that explores today's prolific dissemination of images captured on CCTV and other devices and questions if what we see is exactly what happened, or not. How far will governments, organisations or individuals go to create or edit imagery to achieve their goals.

Callum Turner plays a young soldier on duty in Afghanistan who is filmed shooting a local. Was it in cold blood or self defence? There is a similar case in Australia at the moment. Then the barrister representing Turner's character appears to be murdered in the street by him and the incident is recorded on street CCTV.

Holly Grainger plays a police officer who has her doubts about the validity of the images in the barrister's murder and conducts her own investigation. She realises she not just dealing with some individual hack, as the involvement of the secret services of two governments and political activities of a protest movement are brought into play. How far can she go and how far should she go in an environment where secrecy and power loom large.

Callum Turner and Holly Grainger are very convincing in their roles and the whole production is high quality. I know some reviewers did not like the ending, but I thought it was consistent with the today's culture of choosing the convenient option, rather than the moral one.

. . . or a corrected version of the Truth?

The Capture is an excellent mini-series that explores today's prolific dissemination of images captured on CCTV and other devices and questions if what we see is exactly what happened, or not. How far will governments, organisations or individuals go to create or edit imagery to achieve their goals.

Callum Turner plays a young soldier on duty in Afghanistan who is filmed shooting a local. Was it in cold blood or self defence? There is a similar case in Australia at the moment. Then the barrister representing Turner's character appears to be murdered in the street by him and the incident is recorded on street CCTV.

Holly Grainger plays a police officer who has her doubts about the validity of the images in the barrister's murder and conducts her own investigation. She realises she not just dealing with some individual hack, as the involvement of the secret services of two governments and political activities of a protest movement are brought into play. How far can she go and how far should she go in an environment where secrecy and power loom large.

Callum Turner and Holly Grainger are very convincing in their roles and the whole production is high quality. I know some reviewers did not like the ending, but I thought it was consistent with the today's culture of choosing the convenient option, rather than the moral one.

The Capture watchseries. How STRONG and solid storyline, sequence of scenes and events form the basis of edge-of-seat thriller. Oh my, how a simple camera footage can be the root of gripping thriller!

No fancy gimmicks, dialogues, shoot-out scenes, computer coding thingies, CGI scenes and whatnot.

The plot on agencies is nothing new. It's all about how the storyline is delivered. It's delivered to perfection!

One of the best BBC shows ever! Great script, loving the twists and turns!

An engrossing and very well made series. Excellent cast, script and very well paced plot.

The plot is fun if somewhat farfetched but it is a TV series.

Definitely worth a binge in iso!!

Former soldier Shaun Emery had been convicted of murdering a man in Afghanistan based on video evidence. On appeal his lawyer proves that the sound may have been out of synch in a way that suggests he could have been acting within legitimate rules of engagement. He is freed and that night celebrates with friends and his lawyer. When she leaves he follows her and the talk at the bus stop. Now things start to get complicated; CCTV operatives see them fighting just after a bus passes; when later questioned he is adamant that she got on the bus. High-flier DI Rachel Carey is given the case and initially thinks the only real mystery is what happened to the lawyer. As the investigation proceeds she starts to wonder if Emery is telling the truth; if that is the case it means that somebody was able to tamper with the live feed from London's numerous CCTV cameras. As the case deepens she finds herself in the murky world of anti-terrorism agencies and wonders who she can trust.

This was a really gripping series. The initial hook in the opening episode grabbed my attention and kept me interested throughout. The idea that London's CCTV might be hackable seems a little unlikely but even a sneaking feeling that it could be possible makes the story feel real and more than a little unnerving. The cast is impressive; Callum Turner's portrayal of Emery makes us believe the character is genuinely starting to question his own memory of the events and Holiday Granger is great as DI Carey; another character having doubts. Ron Perlman is suitably menacing as a shadowy US Intelligence officer. Overall I'd certainly recommend this series to fans of thrillers and conspiracies.

An unsettling story about how images from a multitude of CCTV camera's can be manipulated to produce a "truth" as it is wanted. As the series unwinds you are rocked between fake and real until finally everything falls into place. The various are well cast and well played. It is always delightful to watch another well-made British series.