Trauma (ITV) Episode 3 Review

 

As with Doctor Foster, you can tell that a playwright is responsible for the machinations of Trauma. Mike Bartlett likes to focus on the consequences of actions. There are no grand set pieces here. Most scenes have two people face to face, sitting opposite each other across tables, or squaring up to each other in a wild state. There are four sections of tonight’s closer that involve Dan in every one. It’s easy to visualise them all taking place on a small west end stage. At least you wouldn’t get any ad breaks in the theatre.

The first act sees Dan lie his way into Allerton’s home. He deceives Alana with a story about picking up a suit and in a nine minute scene manipulates his way, both into the house and her opinions of her father. After the game playing, Bowker goes dark, stealing her phone and cutting the landline before pulling a knife on her.

Act two find Lisa arriving home to find Jon there. Through the method of a different lie he gets back into the house and gradually twists the metaphorical knife before revealing the actual one. It’s the small details that stand out for Jon as he becomes obsessed with the grandness of their home, taking in the interiors such as expensive light fittings. His hate seems to be deepened by the family’s money and comfort.

The third installment sees Lisa and a not dead Alana face off with Jon before Allerton crashes through the door. “I want you to know how it feels to have your child about to die. A stab wound, under the ribs, left hand side.” An eye for an eye. A daughter for a son. A lot of Jon’s rage is directed at authority and the system he’s been fighting against for years in a working class family but as his weapon presses the neck of Alana the truth comes out. Jon admits to making a mistake that night. Someone does end up in hospital and it’s Dan at the hands and feet of Jon’s snapping point. Other than a few bruises there is no blood shed, no lives lost and refreshingly it feels like a realistic end for a drama.

The final act finds Jon visiting Dan at his hospital bed and the conversation is essentially two stubborn men at loggerheads. Neither press charges because they both want it to be over. In this case the truth is as important as justice and there’s truth in both sides of their arguments. Allerton offers plenty of words but sorry is not one of them. The truth is, none of these people are bad people. Dan was a man lost in grief, carrying out the actions of someone not in their right mind. He won’t take it further because he’s got the only justice he felt capable of achieving – the truth . Making Allerton lose the respect of his family was the game plan all along. Temporarily affecting his career was just an added bonus.

As the “ghost” of Alex takes leave of Dan’s imagination he soon symbolically emerges in Jon’s home. As if the guy hasn’t been stalked enough already.  It’s a happy ending of sorts for Dan and Susie in that there’s the promise of future happiness but for Jon, Lisa and Alana the family portrait has been smashed firmly onto the floor by distrust. Last night’s meat in this three part sandwich was average at best but the plot points proved to be necessary in setting up a strong, emotional denouement. 7/10

 

 

Trauma (ITV) Episode 2 Review

 

The groundwork laid out by last night’s opener hits rocky terrain as the intrigue turns into predictability. Jon’s descent into madness is the biggest example. Not content with gaining work at the coffee shop right at the hospital entrance in order to keep his beady eye on Mr. Allerton, he’s breaking into private meetings (again, unchallenged) at the exact time they discuss Alex’s death. He files complaints to the hospital and to the police. He takes a picture of the surgeon being supported by colleague Nora and the clinch looks deceptively romantic. Naturally Bowker sends them to Jon’s wife Lisa but not before the highlight scene from an episode that mostly struggled to escape its own limitations.

It transpires that Lisa is a psychologist and guess whose booked an appointment with her? Wee Jimmy Krankie. Only kidding, it’s Jon, obviously. In a tense and uneasy few minutes Simm conveys a hinged man unravelling. The door is coming loose and revenged has entered. He’s passive aggressive, edgy and creepy when he eyes up her dress and admits he’d like to have sex with her.

The strengths of part two lie away from the duelling men. We get more of Jon’s wife Susie too as their marriage struggles. She nonchalantly says “Do you wanna try fucking each other at some point?” and when he does try he buys her a dress. You know full well it’ll be the same dress that Lisa was wearing. Well, hopefully not the exact same one or she’ll have a rather cold walk home. His dirty talk could do with a bit of work though. In the clinch of highly awkward passion he admits to losing his job. Yeah baby.

Dan isn’t the only one spiralling out of control. The strain is showing on Jon. The pressure his nemesis puts on him makes him feel claustrophobic. He snaps at a patient’s relative and visits Susie at home but the crunch comes when he sets up a plan with his manager to make the problems disappear. There are strong hints that Allerton is a functioning alcoholic. His jittery hands are focused upon and later we get a close up shot of a wine glass in his hands but is it actually a medical condition he is trying to hide?

Dan has lost someone close to him and by the time the credits roll, it’s clear he knows justice will fail him. Targeting the surgeon’s family is the back up plan. Hurt the people close to him and he will suffer more. With that, he lovingly looks at a knife (with more lust than he looks at his wife) and heads to their home where daughter Alana answers the door. Some good twists in the finale should save Trauma from critical care. 6/10

 

 

Trauma (ITV) Episode 1 Review

Perennial drama stalwarts John Simm and Adrian Lester come face to face in a battle of wills that’s more concerned with morality than anything else. It’s a hospital procedural without the technical lingo and west country accents. It’s a crime drama without any of the forensic detective work. Simm, who is omnipresent on the day Trauma airs because he’s also appearing in Collateral on BBC1 at the same time, plays Dan Bowker, a father of three down on his luck. On the same day he’s given notice of redundancy his son ends up in hospital after a knife attack. The cause of the crime isn’t the main issue here, it’s strongly implied a school friend did it as an act of girl related jealousy but the focus is placed on the cause of his death in hospital and the fallout from it.

As a panicked Dan comes to his son’s side in the hospital halls he’s alerted to trauma surgeon Jon Allerton’s (Lester) casual approach. He’s assured his son’s condition is not going to be fatal. In true TV fashion he breaks in (or rather walks in unchallenged) to the surgery room to witness the operation and finds himself further concerned by the man in charge of a loved one’s life. Of course, he needed to see this for the sake of the storyline but it is an overused cliche. Minutes later Dan and wife Susie, played by the brilliant but thus far underused Lyndsey Marshal, are told of his death and what follows is a battle of wills in a similar vein to last years Liar. It’s not like a character played by John Simm to distrust a Doctor is it?

Of course, we know Dan isn’t hiding anything but is he imagining something that isn’t there? Like he did when picturing his dead boy in the park? The harassment by Bowker is unnerving at times but it’s understandable given his situation. Simm plays the heartbreak  and bitterness well, never leaning into unsympathetic territory. Yet. He stalks Jon on the internet, he hangs around the school of his daughter and he makes the surgeon’s words come back to bite him. From little things like “I’ll be be back in five minutes” to the acceptance he had drinks on his birthday which, due to internet research we soon find out was the same night of the operation (Jon was called in on a night off). Will all this boiling resentment and bitterness result in Dan doing something incredibly stupid and/or dangerous?

Allerton is holding his cards close to his chest but as Dan spotted, his eyes are telling a different story entirely. the surgeon walks and talks with charm and confidence but guilt covers him like paint on a canvas and Lester shows the two sides of the canvas well. We’re never quite sure what he’s thinking. The powerful funeral scene is an excellent example of this. Bowker stands in front of everyone (including a certain medical professional) to express how angry he is, how he wants to hold someone responsible, how the loss of such a young life is a waste. Yet despite this, Jon approaches them afterwards with kind words before the accusations fired at him show worry behind those eyes.

It’s not clear what relevance Allerton’s family have in all this but they have much more screen time than Dan’s. In particular, daughter Alana’s relationship and work ambitions. As this is written by Mike Bartlett, a playwright and the man responsible for Doctor Foster, it’s likely the seeds have been planted with good reason. It’s a compelling opening that sets up plenty of intrigue. At times the music may be almost as intrusive as the offending knife but that’s a phase gritty dramas are going through. At least there weren’t any shots of people staring out to sea. 7/10