Clean Break kicked off with a tightly-wrought, atmospheric and dramatic opener that lived up to the hype.
Warning: This article contains spoilers for the first episode of Clean Break.
There's been a lot of buzz around this new Irish drama from acclaimed playwright and writer Billy Roche and Love/Hate producers Octagon Films and, luckily, the first episode didn't disappoint.
Directors Gillies MacKinnon (Behind the Lines) and Damien O’Donnell (East is East) have served up a slick, beautifully shot, cinematic piece of drama which immediately draws you into the story.
Frank (Adam Fergus) is the central character - a genial, dapper car dealer whose charmed existence is under imminent threat. He hides his mounting debts from his teenage daughter Corrina (Kelly Thornton), while under increasing pressure from the bank to cough up some cash or have his home and business repossessed.
With bank manager Desmond (Aidan McArdle) breathing down his neck, Frank is driven to the brink and hatches a plan to make some money, fast. It's a premise which is sure to resonate with many people, as financial worry and desperation steadily mount - leading to a chain of events that can't be undone.
Frank gets involved in some dodgy dealings
He gets involved with local criminal Noel (Ned Dennehy), hatching a reckless plan to kidnap the bank manager's wife (Simone Kirby) and young daughter (Amybeth McNulty) and hold them to ransom. His employee, and daughter's secret boyfriend Danny, gets caught up in the plan due to his own gambling debts.
Danny cosies up to Corrina
The acting is top notch all round - with Fergus perfectly pitching Frank's combination of charm and corruptibility. The kidnap scene offers up some particularly terrifying and visceral moments, with Kirby and McNulty managing to convey terror, vulnerability and strength in equal parts.
Annette cries out during visceral kidnap scene
Reaction of mother and daughter in kidnap scene is painfully realistic
It's the small details that make the show really hit home. When we see Frank lying awake in bed staring at the ceiling before his alarm goes off, signifying the sleepless nights caused by worry. The look of resigned envy on the face of bank manager Desmond as he observes his wife Annette and Frank, former flames, who touch hands for just a moment too long as they catch up in a restaurant.
These fleeting moments are all perfectly captured, adding up to a intricate study of the character's relationships and of life in a community where everybody knows everyone else's business.
Bank manager Desmond is the victim of a tiger kidnapping
Clean Break continues on RTÉ One at 9.30pm on Sunday October 4.
Sarah McIntyre
