Search - Inspector Morse - The Remorseful Day on DVD

Oxford Will Never Be The Same....

johnnyrogue | USA | 02/03/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"THE REMORSEFUL DAY is as advertised the final entry in the hugely successful and highly entertaining Inspector Morse series. So, as a reviewer, I STRONGLY DISCOURAGE ANYONE WHO HAS YET TO SEE AN INSPECTOR MORSE EPISODE TO WATCH THIS ONE FIRST. For those of you, however, who have seen the Oxford man in action, naturally you'll be inclined to want to watch this final episode, either when it is broadcast on television or as another purchase at amazon.com. Either way, it will be a time in which you'll be watching a superbly crafted and amazingly charged drama that will surprise even the most well versed in the Morse phenomenon. I state "amazingly charged" because it surprised me upon finishing the viewing that the series was able to sustain the momentum that it did through thirty three (?) episodes, at the end of which is THE REMORSEFUL DAY. The production team on this one, however, delivers what must rank in my mind to be one of the most satisfying in this last season of Morse dramas (a season that I suppose began with THE WAY THROUGH THE WOODS, and continued on through DAUGHTERS OF CAIN and DEATH IS NOW MY NEIGHBOUR and most recently THE WENCH IS DEAD), and although the ensuing human drama between Morse and Lewis is more engaging than the acutal crime that they are investigating, this episode's plot unlike, say DEATH IS NOW MY NEIGHBOUR or even DAUGHTERS OF CAIN, does involve Inspector Morse in a very personal way. It has been this kind of personal connection between Morse as a man and the crime that he investigates that makes a Morse episode especially poignant (I think of others such as SECOND TIME AROUND, DEAD ON TIME, PROMISED LAND which also have this personal connection and which have to rank among the all time best Morse episodes). So, know straight out that THE REMORSEFUL DAY is a mystery that is as personally involving and as complex as any that Morse has investigated. With that being said, however, the real reason to watch THE REMORSEFUL DAY is of course because it is the last episode. And, the last thing I should do as a reviewer is to give away any spoilers, so I won't. Let it just be said that THE REMORSEFUL DAY provides a very touching end to a most complicated character. There are scenes throughout here that recall previous episodes, and nostalgia is a device that the production team here have put to good use. The film also makes several key improvements from the original Colin Dexter novel upon which it is based, and though the original novel is a compelling read, the film is even more so because of these improvements. I think in particular about certain improvements made to the character of Strange that were a bit unbelievable in the book but are made more streamlined and more believable in the film (readers and viewers will know what I mean, so I won't spoil it for those who don't). Also, since this is the last Morse episode, there was always the risk that the film might succumb to cheesy and unnecessary sentimentality between the characters of Morse and Lewis. Viewers know that their relationship is an interesting one, with Morse ever dependant on Lewis but never being able to admit to it. If you have an episode that ends the entire series, any lapses into sentimentality between the two characters might feel forced and even corny (and there are moments in the novel where this occurs). Even thinking back to the unsuccessful film episode THE WENCH IS DEAD, in which Lewis is absent and the relationship between Morse and Strange is too squeaky clean and nice, it is easy to understand the fear of falling into that trap. Not so, in this film. Right through to the finish, the dramatization remains true to the spirit of Morse and Lewis and Strange. And given what these characters have been through during these past thirty or so episodes, it is only fitting that the integrity of the characters remains intact for this final outing. Given all that, given that there are throwbacks to past series episodes, THE REMORSEFUL DAY is amazing in that its film style is audacious and takes chances that end up being very effective. There are new and bold uses of editing techniques (evident in the first couple minutes of the film) as well as intriguing use of sound and light, not to mention the new approach to the incidental music which is very modernistic and rich in style compared to previous efforts. And yet, all these new touches work especially well, even the music. If there were one criticism I could offer, it would be that I felt upon first viewing that the episode ended rather abruptly, but that reaction on my part might signal my general attitude towards the viewing of THE REMORSEFUL DAY: you know that this is it, that this is the end, and yet you don't want the film to stop because the world of Morse is such a familiar one; so there is that feeling in the back of your mind that you'd like this mystery to go on forever, without it having an end after which Morse's end must surely follow. And yet, all good things must come to an end, and even with that, I can't think of a more appropriate way for the Morse series to end than with THE REMORSEFUL DAY."