THE FALL

BELFAST SERIAL KILLER TAUNTS POLICE BY CAREFULLY SELECTING THE CLUES LEFT BEHIND

by PETER THOMAS BUSCH

A serial killer on the loose in Belfast likes to make a phantom visit to his victims prior to the murder.

The women may become known to Paul perhaps by chance in a bar over drinks, but he likes to do his research as well, having been trained as a grief and trauma counsellor.

The first murder has already occurred before the series even gets started. DSU Stella Gibson gets called in to oversee the investigation But before Stella can get started a second murder occurs in the episodic television crime drama, The Fall (2013-2016).

Gillian Anderson plays the special investigator who quickly takes step by step control of the investigation, convinced the initial murder will be just the first of many by a serial killer.

Anderson plays Stella as an Alpha female who likes being in charge and recruiting police officers for her investigative team. Anderson creates a character who has an eye for the details, such as the red nail polish found on the fingers of victim number 2.

Paul Spector, played by Jamie Dornan, has carefully washed his victim and prepared her body for the eventual police discovery.

Series creator Allan Cubitt identifies the serial killer as Paul in the first few minutes, but he keeps the killer narrative separate from the murder investigation narrative, making the three seasons compelling by keeping everyone guessing if and how the killer will get caught, and how many more victims there will before the police can stop him.

The camera follows Paul around and about his life in great detail. The grief counsellor has his own life, with a wife and children, as well as a career. In the other narrative, the camera follows Stella about, but her whole life is her career, including the constant struggle in the office with politics and gender stereotypes, apart from her taking a few moments for guilty pleasures.

The story does not seem worthy enough for three seasons, but sure enough the 17 episodes pile up, especially with the development of subplots, such as Paul becoming emotionally entangled with his children’s 16 year old babysitter.

Aisling Franciosi plays Katie, a typical teen growing up too quickly and developing an infatuation with an adult male who shows an interest in her. Katie wants to get closer, and she soon discovers that Paul might be the killer everyone is looking for. Katie gets drawn into Paul’s crimes even further, eventually helping him elude the police a bit longer.

 A few episodes go by that ask how long Katie will last before she becomes the next victim.

Stella has a backstory as well, but the camera only goes into the details enough to maintain the interest already created in the character. Stella’s story remains about her career, and whether she can catch Paul. Although Stella clearly has the expertise, Paul is careful in not leaving too many clues behind for the police to catch him.

The director creates internal tension in each independent narrative. Paul comes into conflict with his wife, Sally, played by Bronaugh Waugh, as the need to kill again begins to leave gaps in his cover story as a devoted family man. And Stella jeopardizes her career by becoming involved with a detective she meets at one of the crime scenes.

The series runs more like a forensic crime drama, as opposed to a dramatized murder mystery, or perhaps a bit of both.

The series does eventually get to the point where the police know who the serial killer is, but “Operation Music Man” still must collect enough evidence, and then also physically catch the killer, to obtain a successful conviction.

The series is worth watching, with all three seasons, and 17 episodes proving to be just enough to tell the story and answer all the questions.

The Fall is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.