7.4 /10 1 Votes
Final episode date 10 June 2011 | 7.4/10 IMDb Directed by Colm McCarthy First episode date 6 June 2011 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Starring James PurefoyRobert WhitelockLisa DiveneyDervla KirwanNathaniel ParkerCharlie Creed-MilesObi Abili Cast | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Injustice is a five-part British drama television series about criminal barrister William Travers, who has lost faith in the legal system following a traumatic series of events. The one-hour drama premiered on 6 June 2011 on ITV. The series was released on DVD on 13 June 2011 via Acorn Media UK.
Contents
Plot
Barrister Will Travers (James Purefoy), his wife Jane (Dervla Kirwan), who teaches at a Young Offenders' Centre, and their younger daughter live in the Suffolk countryside. Natalie Chandra (Sasha Behar), a London solicitor, asks Will to defend Martin Newall (Nathaniel Parker), an old friend, accused of murdering his secretary and lover but protesting his innocence. Jane is not happy when Will takes the brief on as they had left London years earlier after his last murder case, with Jane leaving behind a successful career as a publisher.
The killing of a reclusive farm worker, John Jarrold, takes place near to the Travers' home, and the investigation is led by the hardnosed D.I. Wenborn (Charlie Creed-Miles), who strongly dislikes Will after the barrister showed that one of his men lied in court to get a false conviction.
Reception
Catherine Gee of The Telegraph said of the first episode; "It’s such a nice treat to find decent drama on ITV1 – and since Downton Abbey it seems to be happening more and more. Anthony Horowitz’s new five-parter falls into this category. It manages to be intriguing without overplaying the drama or sentiment and it boasts some decent performances as well. James Purefoy is a successful barrister with a dark past. Once a high-flyer in London, a murder trial that went wrong caused him to have a nervous breakdown and he has opted for a more peaceful life in Ipswich – dragging his reluctant family along with him.
Dervla Kirwan stars as his wife – a former literary commissioning editor now working part-time as an English teacher in a young offenders’ institution and thoroughly unhappy about having to live the rural life. Understandably she's rather miffed when her husband is called upon by an old friend and returns to London to defend a murder case. The result is a nicely complex and multi-layered drama – even if it does resort to the occasional cliché (I fantasise about the day we get to see a police drama without a smart-talking, jaded copper). Kirwan’s character is given depth and her own storyline rather than being reduced to the two-dimensional role of the worried wife and we’re given just enough background to pique the interest for a return on Tuesday."