Sex, Lies And Videotape: Liar, An Evaluation Of Series One And Where The Show Can Go From Here

Given the raw issues at the heart of Liar, whatever route the show followed, whatever conclusion it landed upon, it was always going to be divisive to some. You can’t please all the people especially when a section of the public still, as the credits rolled, believed Andrew Earlham could still be proved innocent. On the very day the ‘Me Too’ hashtag (a way for women to communicate they’d been victims of sexual abuse and harassment) was storming Twitter, the grim reality of Liar’s message could not have been laid more bare. The scale of a societal problem mostly unspoken covered unsuspecting timelines and with Liar, issues not usually given such public attention flickered out of eight million televisions and laptops.

Did it convey the message it was trying to get across well enough? Mostly, yes. It covered the issue of victims living in fear and embarrassment for the actions of someone else, and showed they blamed themselves partly because the legal system and general public perceptions put those doubts into them.  It showed a limp justice system that was yet another barrier to women coming forward. There has been the argument that the women in Liar were all weak but being battered by a system designed to keep their voices unheard means they’re more tired than weak. Yes, they could all have organised together, spoke up as one and put Andrew away but this is television. While it would be a satisfactory ending of sorts, it wouldn’t be an exciting one. They must have wanted Laura to stand on her own as a main character, to be the odd one out and the one that stood up to her oppressor. They referenced her stubbornness and failure to back down a few times as Andrew himself told her “you’re different”. In a her versus him scenario, and that is what the series was set up as, it makes perfect sense that Laura challenged him as an individual, even when friends and family were telling her to move on.

Just one look through the Twitter comments on Liar suggests there are many who didn’t understand these simple messages. They didn’t trust Laura despite all the evidence staring everyone in the face because she wasn’t a very likeable character. To an extent she wasn’t very endearing but that doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be sympathy for what she was going through. At the other end of the scale, Andrew’s charm was always enough to convince some of his innocence despite being shown drugging his targets and filming his crimes. What show are these people watching?! It’s the personification of rape culture and exactly why women stay silent. It’s why Earlham’s past victims never came forward in the first place. If you voiced total disregard for Laura’s plight and sympathised with the attacker you are contributing to rape culture. You are building further barriers for truth to break through.

Liar was by no means perfect. The heightened reality element of the break ins  and abductions maybe took away from the ultimate message but to wait six episodes to reveal the culprit would have tiresome so the show needed to go in different directions. On the surface, secondary story lines involving cheating exes and sisters felt a little incidental to the series and in a way they were – to series one. Without us even knowing the writers were expertly plotting the arc for the second run right under our noses. They’ve built up an impressive list of potential murderers while we were preoccupied with bringing Andrew Earlham to justice. The candidates are:

• Laura: After fighting so hard for justice it would seem hard to believe she’d take the law THIS far into her own hands. But she might have been pushed to far by a failed third attempt to get him locked up.
• Katy: Could she have killed Andrew as a perverse way of getting back in her sister’s good books? She’s lost her sibling and her fella so might feel she doesn’t have much to lose.
• Tom: Hates Andrew for being partly responsible for losing his job, hates Andrew for raping Laura (fair enough on that one) and clearly one who doesn’t like playing by the rules. A big contender.
• Luke: Luke had become increasingly frustrated by his dad and looked sketchy as hell when the cops showed up. Does he resent being an alibi in the Laura case and most of all, does he blame Andrew for his mum’s death. Now he really does have an alibi.
• “G.I Jennifer”: She certainly has the skills to dispatch a man’s body somewhere and her hatred for what he did to Vanessa is clearing tearing her up.
• Vanessa: Unlikely as she plays so by the rulebook as a cop. The same can be said for colleague Rory.
• Ian: Why not? His relationship with Laura may be blossoming and seeing effects of the trauma Andrew had on her might trigger an inner madman.
• Mia: Did she know what was in the shed all along? Does that shed also contain suitable murder equipment?
• Or maybe more than one person? A joining of forces? Mix any of the above.

It can be long debated about whether the murder of a rapist is a satisfactory ending but it has certainly been a big talking point. Many have stated how Liar bears no similarities whatsoever to Broadchurch but everything from it’s seaside set Nordic Noir style to the plots prove the comparisons are more than worthy. It’s just doing things the other way round. A rape case in series one rather than the third, a murder whodunnit in the second rather than the first. By all accounts the next run of Liar will be the last which at least slims the chances of iffy courtroom nonsense. In switching the default setting let’s hope Liar doesn’t lose sense of all the important issues it has tried and sometimes succeeded in getting across. It’s a big ask and even even bigger wait as the eta is late 2019. Does it need a second series? Absolutely not. Will the country be watching? Almost certainly.

Liar (Episode 6 Review)

There’s a moment just a few minutes into this finale where the words “three months later” flash up on the screen and it plays like an instant mood killer. Until that point things had been bubbling up nicely. Andrew’s confident facade about not being caught soon fades as he tearfully crawls to his son, begging for an alibi and he dutifully promises to give one. It’s needed as the very next scene Andrew is walking into work only to be confronted by police officers, only for us to be confronted by those three words.

The momentum feels lost. There’s palpable fear that so many questions will remain unanswered. That Andrew has been locked up off screen and the remaining time we have with Laura will be her moving on and getting on with her life, which is great for her but from a dramatic viewpoint, televisual deadwood. We’re transported to a date between Laura and her mysterious man from the Edinburgh hotel and the staples such a meeting that entails, like awkward small talk and gentle flirting. It feels flat but Harry and Jack Williams have thankfully lulled matters into false sense of security. Befitting of his sinister omnipresence, Earlham is spotted outside with another woman and we soon learn that the charges didn’t stick second time round either. While Ian is a gentleman and kisses Laura goodnight before heading to his hotel bed alone, Andrew is using that trademark creepy charm on a lady named Charlotte.

With regards to the side stories, there are some unresolved issues. Katy steals Andrew’s phone from his locker because Laura asks her to but a reconciliation seems far away. That’s not the only thing that’s still up in the air for her. Liam is in their house with her kids and it’s not looking like he wants to give the relationship another chance. These are the little loose ends that don’t really have a conclusion but it’s not a major issue either way because Liar will ultimately be judged on how the Laura versus Andrew story is resolved because that has been the selling point all along.

In the middle of the night, Andrew not only phones Laura but does it while loitering outside her home saying totally unreassuring things like “you sound scared. Don’t be, because if I wanted to have you again don’t you think I could have you whenever I wanted”. But in a rare moment of guard dropping let’s slip his knowledge obscure details about her bedroom, declaring “I play that back whenever I get the chance” about the night in question.  It’s enough to raise the suspicion he has recorded his crimes and Laura returns to undercover police officer mode and that’s why she requires Andrew’s phone from her sister.

In a very sudden twist (considering we were only introduced to her two short scenes ago), Charlotte is actually an over cover police officer and is working on the case against the villain of the piece. The next phase of her plan being a dinner date at his house. What could possibly go wrong? As it turns out, lots could and does. The finale ramps up the tension in spectacular style from this scene onwards as her attempts to take a sample from the wine glass are foiled. At least Laura never gets found out when searching for information by nefarious means. Speaking of which, she has hacked his mobile with help from Tom, the “I’m sorry about shagging your sister” ex-boyfriend. They find a text from his mum’s carer Mia about picking up his things which leads Laura to the shed of iniquity and all the evidence she’s needed is in her hands. There are heart stopping moments hoping she can get out of the house with the goods as we fully expect Earlham to be walking up the garden path as she does so.

After six weeks of allegations and heartache, we finally have the happy ending within our reach. The SD cards are with the police and “the tech guys” have seen evidence of seventeen rapes, which surely isn’t in the job description at Currys. Andrew Earlham is going down and against his consent, which is rather ironic. It’s all too good to be true though as all those previous aerial shots of marshlands take a darker twist as we float from the sky and down towards the cold, seemingly dead body of Andrew Earlham.

Killing off the bad guy could be further commentary on the ineptitude of the criminal process. Had justice not been so slow and surrounded by red tape, Andrew would be behind bars and rightfully suffering for his actions (sadly chopping rapist’s balls off isn’t legal). It also vindicates the extreme actions Laura has undertaken in her quest for the truth to come out. But it also leaves a void where satisfaction should be, not only in the fact that he won’t serving time for his crimes but in the assumption that he had enough remorse and shame to go through with suicide, if indeed that is what happened.  Since the reveal, Earlham has only shown disregard for the law, constant belittling of his victims and a joy at getting away with it. He felt invincible. The man that has been shown to us would take his day in court and get locked up fighting his corner. It seems an about turn that could prove to be genius or a mistake. It sure as heck makes a second series more difficult to imagine unless his eyes burst wide open in the very first scene before shouting “I’M BACK BITCHES!”. Let’s not rule it out, eh? 8/10

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Liar (Episode 5 Review)

While last week’s effort was in no way mediocre there was a worry that exposing the liar at the halfway stage left the story with very little life left. With hindsight, the trip to Scotland was used as a measure of Laura’s last attempts to get justice through honest means. So far things have had at least two feet set in reality, concentrating on emotions and personal politics first and foremost. Episode five ups the heightened drama element it has mostly avoided. This is not meant as an insult or an implication that what happens in the closing stages couldn’t occur in real life, it’s just the foot has well and truly been put on the pedal.

Everything about the penultimate showing is exaggerated from what has gone before. When the music isn’t even more tense, it’s soaringly beautiful. As for the direction, the claustrophobic intensity grows. The camera lurks in even more distant places. Spying on proceedings from around further flung corners, windows and tables. It’s like they want you to feel like you’re spying in on conversations you shouldn’t be. A voyeur on other people’s misery. It works in a forty five minutes that surprises.

Who knew that an umbrella could cause so much distress? Due to Katy leaving one in Tom’s car and their stories not matching, Laura is told about the affair. It’s something that was expected to be said next week but like Scotland trip, the betrayal of a sister and an ex-boyfriend is used as an explanation for the actions Laura undertakes. The GHB  in Tom’s hand last week proves to be a red herring. rather than going ahead with the plan to plant the drug in Andrew’s locker, Laura resorts to the bottle. Earlham continues his charm offensive, with emphasis on the word offensive. Like everything else, his darkness takes a new level as we discover he has films of all his crimes. What’s the betting some viewers will still inexplicably think he’s innocent?

DI Harmon discovers there are abrasions at a baby scan (‘Abrasions At A Baby Scan’ sound like a long lost Smiths song title but let’s not get distracted) and asks to be tested for any GHB in her system. Despite it not showing up Vanessa knows exactly what has happened to her and who the man responsible is. It’s a chain of events that results in permission to track Andrew’s car being granted. Let’s overlook the logistics and go with the flow because it’s worth it.

This is where a psychological drama turns to an almost Michael Jackson level of thriller. OK, so there are no dancing zombies but Laura has a nefarious master plan. She tricks Andrew into a drink and while he’s unguarded slips GHB into the man’s bloodstream, bundles him into his car and takes him down to the baron marshes. The justification being that she will lie to make sure her attacker is sent down. She will claim he kidnapped her. Why? Because telling the truth got her nowhere. It’s a twist curvier than Kim Kardashian’s backside and in a tale that has already preached of the injustices in a system designed to make victims suffer more, makes complete sense. The tone may have changed but the elements of the message remain the same.

The stand off at the marshes (this has turned into a Morrissey lyric generator) between Andrew and his most recent targets should, in theory, be the moment he is arrested. Having stated that he’s been drugged to the DI, he claims that he can’t be arrested with the GHB in his system. While this may be factually correct, how would one person’s word be construed as fact, especially when faced with the law? Surely anyone could claim that. Robbed a bank? “Sorry guys, there’s still a bit of GHB in my system.. laters”. As we know only too well, the law is an ass and so is Andrew, who walks away without denying his crimes and one hundred percent confident he will evade punishment.  His SD cards might prove to be his downfall but with limited time left, Liar has cliffhanger and a two year wait written all over it. 8/10

 

 

 

 

Liar (Episode 4 Review)

They say the truth will always find you out but Laura takes it upon herself to find Andrew’s truth herself. Earlham is a man with a charm strong enough to get away with the crime and as things stand the charge against him has been dropped. His creepiness in the fourth installment is enough to make anyone’s skin crawl. While Laura is in Edinburgh tracing old footsteps, the villain of the piece is succumbing to his impulses again.

Turning up at the doorstep of Mary’s (Andrew’s ex-wife) mum is a bold step which is understandably rebuked. Laura finds more luck with Catherine, a woman who spent a night with Andrew and her experience matches. She promises to come forward to the police but unfortunately Mary’s mother calls a halt to progress and Laura goes back to square one. There looks to be more to Mary’s death and what follows strengthens those suspicions.

There’s a strong counter balance at play as the effects on the victim are shown through Laura’s interactions with a stranger at the hotel. He is polite yet flirty but her vulnerability is on full display. As she states to him “I am broken”. The assault being a form of physical and mental abuse long after the night in question. Earlham however, feels more indestructible and literally cocksure. Having walked into the office and declared himself fit for work he breaks into a house we soon learn is that of DI Harmon, spikes her drink and leaves before chillingly crawling into her house at night and well, you don’t need the words just as Liar didn’t need to give us the images. It’s not the kind of scene one would expect from a prime time drama. It’s uncomfortable and maybe the point is to take you out of the comfort zone and be shocked. Being shocked surely means the message is getting through. Earlham’s arrogance is magnified by a lawsuit sent through the post. In a doorstep confrontation we find out that his demand is for a public apology or legal action will ensue. It’s more fuel to his fire, more power to the ego and another way of chipping at Laura’s confidence.

Other than the surprising but welcome progression of Vanessa into the story not much else happened this week. With regards to the love triangle of Sam, Liam and Tom, the latter almost confesses to the affair in a drunken state. In words that will surely resonate shortly he insists on having “nothing left to lose”. His list so far is quite impressive: He’s been suspended from the force, about to break up a marriage, about to tear two sisters apart and after stealing GHB at the behest of Laura could be set to damage the chances of justice being served for good. Tom is the shaky ground everyone else is standing on. Where will the drug be planted? Where did he get it from? Did he really steal it at all? Trust no one, but then why would you trust anyone in a show called Liar? 6/10

Liar (Episode 3 review)

It starts with Laura Nielson dreaming but it soon becomes an all too real nightmare by the time the credits roll. She wakes to sounds in her house and is confronted aggressively by Andrew only to then wake up for real. Dreams within a dream are usually a cheap trick but not this time. More of that later..

Maybe, just maybe the way Laura and Andrew are forced into a face to face encounter was a bit forced but as a way of tangling the spider’s web of all the character’s arcs even further it proved effective. Sixteen year old pupil Makeda is pregnant and has wolfed down some pills purchased from the internet in order to lose the baby. Laura sees the bleeding and takes her to hospital but soon learns that Andrew’s son Luke was to be the father. Cue Andrew turning up and a bitter stand off in the corridor. Laura name calling him a “predator” makes sense later. His reply of “I’m not the man you think I am” turns out to be the exact opposite of the truth: He’s not the man everyone else thinks he is. We find out who the real Liar is. There is no one else involved. Andrew did spike the wine. He is the guilty party.

Where last week was all about putting Laura in a bad light, the tables now turn as throughout the course of the hour Andrew Earlham morphs from the perception he shows off to the reality the writer’s were hiding. They made us doubt Laura so much until now and while Froggatt’s performance is purposefully on a level throughout, Gruffudd clearly revels in the two faces he portrays. His charm decaying, increasingly eroded by his arrogance. The nasty underside surfacing in his confrontation with Tom and when he finds out the case has been dropped he becomes downright unbearable. By approaching the detective for a celebratory drink the predator is set loose as soon as it senses freedom.

Hurrah for DI Harmon too, who despite still being frustratingly ineffective is now using that angst for good.  When she looks into Earlham’s eyes and declares “I don’t drink with men who rape women” before the actual reveal, it’s a tense mic drop moment that Liar is built around. The DI also shows up at the school to offer Laura off the record advice, telling her that Andrew could potentially be very dangerous and to stay away from now on. The school hallway isn’t the most discreet of places it must be said. The same thoughts are echoed by sister Katy. Even if Laura does decide to keep a distance the same can’t be said of her attacker who is now set on filing a lawsuit.

The cobweb grows bigger with all the secondary events. Andrew knows about Tom’s affair with Katy, Liam suspects his wife is playing away but is lied to when asking for the truth. If buying concert tickets is this wrong then God help us all. Yes, we do know who the main culprit is but that doesn’t mean the show doesn’t have plenty of potential to explore. We know the truth incredibly early but the proof on just how brave this show is lies in the repercussions that follow. How bitter will things get? Will the truths only ever be known by the viewers? What effect will all this have on Laura?

There has been plenty of worry in many quarters that this could turn into a girl who cried wolf scenario (that is even referenced tonight) and that it would be a dangerous message to send out. Those doubts were understandable but it’s always best to let the story unfold before offering snapshot judgements. As suspected, this is a tale of the injustice of sexual assault victims and the laws that hamper rather than help. The bitter and frankly delusional testament by Denis Walters proves the final barrier for an already helpless police force.

Laura’s mind wasn’t playing tricks to anyone but us. Her dream was right too. She did hear movement in the house while in bed. That bloody earring turns up again, this time on her teddy in the living room. Only one person could have put it there. A man who has invaded her body, mind and now home. A man who wants to inflict further damage on his victim. Time to get #LockEarlhamUp trending.  8/10

 

 

Liar (Episode 2 Review)

It’s not often it can be said that ITV are brave and while the vast majority of their programming will always be reality, talent and quiz shows, 2017 has seen them push the envelope of mainstream dramas. Liar is their second series this year where rape is the subject and judging from last weeks viewing figures it is clearly a premise the public can stomach if approached in a sensible way.

The morality of social media is the running theme in week two. From what it’s acceptable to share in a public forum to the hurtful rantings of internet trolls. Family, friends and (to date) 10,000 strangers now all have an opinion but even worse for Laura, the truth of this corners her in a claustrophobic classroom. In a world where the smartphone is king she stands there full of tears preaching the words of J Gatsby stating “I am one of the few honest people I’ve ever known” as Andrew’s son stares with a burning hatred. So its not just private lives affected but work ones too as Andrew signs himself off.

There is only one flashback of the night in question this time and in a candid conversation Andrew reveals he still leaves a key outside his house despite his wife having passed away. This information mixed with an impatience of the police investigation leads Laura to enter his house in search of evidence. The teacher won’t learn her own lesson though and pressures her ex Tom to force a police raid of the suspects house. A bit of artistic licence is needed when an anonymous tip prompts a raid by drugs squad but the suspicious liquid in question turns out to be insulin.

Of course, while the focus is on the two leads, perhaps the real Liar is elsewhere. What if she really believes she was raped by Earlham but wasn’t? What if Tom has something to with it? That certainly could explain why he’s so keen on the police chasing Andrew with such determination. Did Andrew go home in the taxi after consensual sex only to be replaced later that evening by Tom and how would that explain the likely drugging that took place if the ex was involved? Also, how long before he moved out of her house did they last have sex and would his DNA have showed up in the forensics anyway? We are yet to hear about those test results. Is your brain hurting?

While the main arc is setting the screen alight there are times where events idle somewhat. Katy’s home life with Liam is picture perfect on the outside but we already know the lie that will smash its frame to the floor and nor do we know enough about her husband to be invested. Even less convincing is the pairing of DI Harmon and DS Maxwell who are trudging about like the case is over a stolen milk bottle. Vanessa is pregnant apparently though why we are being asked to care is up for debate.

More clothes are put on the bare bones of Laura’s history of mental illness. Andrew receives a call from a man claiming that she has “done something like this before” and he’ll “be damned if I’ll let her ruin some other poor bastard’s life”. In a show which is rooted in suspense, it needs a great finish for the deep long bass notes to end on and we get it here. As he hangs the phone up and looks to the floor in relief, he discovers an earring belonging to his accuser. Cue titles and a much needed wine to cope with the stress of it all. The writing is throwing more accusations at Nielson than Earlham but maybe that’s the point. It could solely be a commentary on how women are judged in situations such as this. Who knows anything except there’s plenty of head messing twists still to come. On second thoughts, cancel the wine. 7/10

 

 

 

Liar (ITV) – Episode One Review

Typical, you wait for one drama written by Harry and Jack Williams to come along and two show up at once. The brains behind The Missing obviously decided that they do like Mondays and 9pm on a Monday in particular. Penned by their fair hands, Rellik and Liar coincide on BBC1 and ITV respectively.

Liar finds us before, during and after a first date between Laura (Joanne Froggatt), a newly single teacher and handsome single father Andrew (Ioan Grffudd) . We are shown the hope and the despair in parallel as clips from their night together are interspersed with the cold harsh reality of the day after. All the smiles and flirting mixed with a crying Laura removing her clothes and getting swabs in the stark environs of an examination room. It calls into the mind the brave opening to the last series of Broadchurch and if this brutal honesty is the way drama is going then that can only be a positive thing. There’s no fancy tricks at play here, it is subtle storytelling with a heart.

There is also a West Bay vibe in the coastal shots, in the tension boosting rumbling bass of the music and the webs being weaved around the two main protagonists but we can forgive it that and the sometimes overly shaky camera work. Laura accuses Andrew of rape by going to to the police and he vehemently denies the claim but it soon becomes clear this isn’t simply a case of him vs her as the secrets of loved ones complicate matters further. The very morning of the incident Laura’s ex Tom (Warren Brown) moved the last of his things from her house following their split but we later find out he’s having an affair with her older sister Katy (Zoe Tapper). That’s the definition of inconvenient right there. Katy has a family of her own and was full of loving support to her sibling following the events of a date she encouraged by pushing them together. Now Katy is unwittingly right in the eye of Laura’s raging storm and a double dose of guilt may push her to do strange things in search of recompense.

Judging by first impressions, Liar looks set to be a well handled take on personal as well as police perceptions of mental illness. We’ve been teased a small glimpse of Laura’s troubled past involving medication and hallucinations but the full truth is waiting around the corner. Hiding in plain sight. For most of the episode though, the writers want you to sympathise with Andrew. He’s a polite, well-mannered surgeon with the respect of everyone around him. He’s a doting dad who communicates well with his son. With Laura we are asked to question her medical history, her sanity and her intentions especially as her recollections of the night itself are contradictory but the volte-face comes in the closing minutes. There’s the possibility he used drugs knowing full well any traces would be gone from her system in twelve hours and we get the first proper insight into his past – his wife died from suicide in 2006. Naturally triggering the audience to ask if it really was suicide.

Due to the swapping of two wine glasses and the very public accusation on his Facebook profile, things turn an even darker corner. This looks set to be a nasty battle of wills. Liar’s modus operandi is two people manipulating and tearing each other apart rather than a standard police procedural. By taking the law into her own hands has Laura lost any chance of justice? And is the law itself wrong in its handling of sexual assault cases and how much will that be a focus over the series?

The lead actor’s are playing a blinder here. Froggatt aches with vulnerability and you can see the turmoil brooding underneath. Grffudd impresses with a charm that soon cowers into puppy-eyed naivety. They are doing their jobs to perfection by making us evaluate our own prejudice and preconceived opinions of what little facts we have before us. It’s a fascinating opening gambit and already it’s easy to imagine a second series where two different people fight for the truth over a different issue. For now let us hope Liar not only lives up to the promise of episode one but more importantly, continues to handle the sensitive subjects with integrity.  8/10