Case Sensitive (2011–2012) User Reviews

Excellent murder mystery drama-thriller

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 15 May 2011]

I do love a good drama/murder mystery/thriller, and Case Sensitive was exactly that. The whole drama is stylishly filmed, with the photography excellent and the location shooting beguiling. The story is very gripping and interesting, while the writing is wry, intelligent and sometimes tense too and the direction is solid. The acting is as good as can be, Olivia Williams and Darren Boyd are both outstanding and their subdued chemistry shines through loud and clear. And when it comes to the support acting, Rupert Graves in very strung-up mode especially stands out, and the lady who plays Sally is very believable. The drama goes along at a good pace with each explanation unfolding nicely, but here come my only complaints of Case Sensitive. Pacing wise, the first half is better and more compelling than the second, whereas the first half goes quite quickly during the last thirty or so minutes the drama slows down and I will admit my interest wavered slightly. My other complaint is the ending, I understood most of the explanations leading up to that point and the revelation of the culprit was well done and clever, but it did feel slightly rushed through and some of it did come across as far-fetched making me reach towards the rewind button. Overall though, Case Sensitive was excellent. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Solid ITV murder mystery

[Tweekums · 8/10 · 3 May 2011]

When Mrs Bretherick and her daughter are found dead in the bath the police think it is a clear case of murder/suicide; when they find what appears to be the woman's dairy on her computer and a suicide note they are even more certain despite Mr Bretherick's protestations that she would never do such a thing. The plot thickens when Sally Thorne hears what has happened on television and goes to see Mr Bretherick as the two of them had had a brief fling while away at a conference… only when she meets him it is clear that the two of them have never met before. She flees and he goes to report her to the police although this leads them to suspect he might be up to no good. As the case progresses the police come to believe that Mrs Bretherick might have been murdered after all and Sally's life becomes endangered.

Olivia Williams and Darran Boyd did well as DS Charlie Zailer, the policewoman in charge of the case and her sidekick DC Simon Waterhouse; other notable performances were provided by Rupert Graves as Mr Bretherick and Amy Beth Hayes as Sally. The story was taut and for much of the first episode; I was unsure whether is would turn out to be a suicide after all. When we learnt who was responsible it came as quite a surprise to me which is always good in a murder mystery although it did seem a little far fetched for reasons I won't spell out here to avoid spoiling it.

Family Annihilation

[lavatch · 7/10 · 11 February 2022]

There were some slick production values to "Case Sensitive" with interesting location filming. The interior of the Bretherick home was the principal site of the ghoulish murder of the wife and daughter of Mark Bretherick. It was a sterile environment that contributed to the film's atmosphere.

Olivia Williams is the show-stealer in the role of the detective "Charlie" Zailer. The subtext-laden relationship of Charlie and her subordinate Simon Waterhouse led to a complicated partnership, especially since the couple had a short-lived tryst.

While there were some creative twists and turns in the narrative, the film was overly violent and included some loose ends. It was never made clear how Sally Thorne was kidnapped and taken to an outlying farm as the captive of the killer.

The film was at its best in a set of interesting characters and solid performances. The granite-like figure of the police chief Proust provided a touch of comic relief. But it was disappointing that the poor, bereaved Mark Bretherick essentially dropped out of the final portion of the film. He deserved some closure on what was called in the film a "family annihilation."

Case: Very Average

[PippinInOz · 11 October 2011]

English police drama attracts me like a fly to left over cake - I see the trailers and immediately organise to watch or record them, sometimes they are less like cake and more like old vegetable peelings. This is one. An example of the latter that is.

I have seen much much worse so if you are having a quiet day and just want something that is well acted with a bit of a tale - then go for it. Just don't expect anything even close to the calibre of early Prime Suspects or the early Cracker series. I realise that even the best police dramas have their 'plot holes' - I mean, take 'Waking the Dead,' another one of my addictions, even this has episodes where too close a look at the story line afterwards leaves you scratching your head as to just how the script writer got away with it.

So, if you are a similarly obsessive viewer of this genre, you know these 'plot holes' are an occupational hazard in your viewing don't you.

Okay, this could have been really good. Why? Well, apparently it is based on a successful book, which usually means the story will be strong. Secondly, there is absolutely nothing to fault with the acting. Olivia Williams is excellent, although......although.....

Is anyone else getting a bit tired of seeing a female detective / police officer character who is just soooo miserable and terrified of 'relationships'? Well, I am.

It is far from the only cliché here, the entire viewing experience was made much more entertaining by actually ticking them off. You will recognise moments from every UK police drama you have seen over the past ten to fifteen years. The idiot cop who is always stuffing his face when he isn't making some sexist 'jokes' (yep, there he is.....), the 'big boss' who is always on his way to a posh dinner (yep, there he is too.....), the loony psychologist ('hello again!'), the useless blond who 'can't go to the police' but who will traipse about getting into a pickle. A 'foreigner' who is also (surprise surprise) a 'bad mother'! Police who seem very very slow at picking up on stuff / leads. The outcome should surprise us as much as the police, instead this is one of those programmes where you sit there shouting: 'How is this, that and the other not obvious to you??' Not a good sign at all.

Oh......and did I mention the weird kid? Of course there is a weird kid.......who screams very very loudly at the camera at one point.

Just feel I should warn you, because after watching the trailer felt disappointed with this. Even found myself pressing the Fast Forward button a few times, never a good sign is it. There is something 'unfinished' about it somehow, which is a shame, because it could have been so much more.

OK, but not up to Scandi standards

[pawebster · 6/10 · 16 July 2012]

I've only seen one story so far (series 2, first two episodes), and it seems moderately good, if lacking in originality. It's the common-or-garden English type of police series, featuring a pair of cops, of which there have been hundreds over the years. This one adds a watered-down Scandinavian touch. Darren Boyd's character is somewhat akin to the female leads in The Killing and The Bridge - but not as good. His version of slight autism/Asperger's is to act like a plank of wood. It may not be all his fault (he has been good in other things). However, he, the director and whoever else need to watch those Scandinavian thrillers and weep.

The relationship between him and the female detective is weird and implausible to say the least (I won't say more, so as not to give spoilers), and her jealousy is presented in a ridiculously crass fashion.

It's worth watching, but don't expect anything memorable.

The 2 stories are good

[mikejade · 7/10 · 14 February 2022]

The acting is good. That storylines are good. Humans are damaged. The police are like bulls in china shop. They could care less about what they break. I guess this is okay but I don't like it much. I recommend them both.

Very decent mystery/murder mini series

[joannpl · 9/10 · 16 August 2018]

I watch mostly murder mysteries or thrillers and I don't like it when everything happens too quickly. Therefore Case Sensitive was a perfect choice. Moderate pace and some sharp turns in the story were balanced to the perfection. The acting was good if not very good - Olivia Williams as a woman in a male-flooded job was amazing. Same goes to Rupert Graves - highly emotional performance, with beliavable outrage, shock and other feelings. The series made me purchase from Amazon two first books by Sophie Hannah from "The Culver Valley Crime series".

Good, not great.

[movieliker1 · 8/10 · 22 February 2022]

Season 1

Case sensitive: Point of Rescue

I thought it was good, entertaining, good acting, dialogue and photography. I liked the camera angles, and interesting settings. And I liked the ending. I thought it was intelligent and realistic. Not some cliche action BS. (Amy Beth Hayes (Sally Thorne) is gorgeous. Man, she looked good in that nightgown her kidnapper put her in.)

But it had some huge plot holes and movie cliches.

• Mother clutches 6 year old daughter's hand as they search around outside daughter's friend's home for anybody. Supposedly there is a scheduled play date. But it appears no one is home despite the mother's car being in the carport.

Husband comes home unexpectedly. They all go in the house together. The mother who wouldn't let her daughter's hand go outside, allows the 6 year old to wander off alone to search somebody else's house, despite things being mysterious and possibly dangerous. Contrived setup for the 6 year old to discover the dead bodies. How often have we seen that? How cliche and unrealistic. You just knew the 6 year old was going to find something terrible.

Nobody who clutches their 6 year old's hand outside is going to let them run free unattended through somebody else's house. Especially when things are weird.

• Police always tell us one of the best ways to stay safe out in public is to be aware of one's surroundings. Lady walks blocks down a street being followed by a car. Never looks around to notice a strange car following.

She turns into a parking lot with an entrance barely big enough to accomodate a small car. Suspicious car pulls in behind her. Unlike any normal person, she never turns around to notice this suspicious car.

She stops to check her cellphone. Cars pulls up about a half a car length behind her. She never turns around to look.

She eventually gets to her car. Suspicious man gets out of suspicious car, and kidnaps her. It's hard to feel sympathy for such an unrealistically clueless blind and deaf nimrod who makes herself so easily victimizable.

• Married lady comes home to an empty house. She calls out to announce her arrival and for other family members. Nobody answers despite a soccer ball strangely rolling down the stairs to the front door. Balls don't just roll themselves down a flight of stairs by themselves. Never explained. Never addressed.

• Husband of dead wife and child's acting improved as movie went on. But his original reaction to finding his family dead, and the police inquiry was extremely cliche. So impatient and uncooperative. "Dude? Have you never seen a detective movie or TV show before?"

Season 2

Case Sensitive: The Other Half Lives

I thought season 2 was better than season 1. Idiot lady leaves her good husband for an idiot boyfriend with an incestuous psychopathic sister.

I didn't see the massive potholes and cliches present in season 1. But I agree with reviewer (PippinInOz) that it's getting to be a cliche that the woman detective has to have relationship problems.

It always amazes me that people think people with emotional, psychological or mental problems are more interesting than competent people of normal mental health. Not just the antagonists. The protagonists too.

This could be the start of something big - if ITV keep their nerve...

[ianlouisiana · 10/10 · 5 May 2011]

In "Case Sensitive" the performances are paramount.The actual storyline is intriguing enough but the actors take this production by the scruff of the neck and run off with it. Miss Olivia Williams is outstanding as D.S.Zailer,bruised and vulnerable,treated with patronising tolerance by her superior officer and ill - concealed disdain by some of her peers,she - like every other female detective has to be twice as good as her male colleagues just to keep her job. Rxcently transferred from the Met - hardly a by - word for sexual equality in the C.I.D. - she is still trying to deal with the after effects of a drunken sexual encounter with her new partner the wonderful Mr Darren Boyd,a performance of quiet subtlety cleverly showing his character's basic decency and modesty combined with a determination and detective ability that should have earned him a Commendation from the Chief Constable. When a woman and her daughter are found dead in the bath it soon becomes clear after a peremptory investigation that the police have decided that her husband(Mr Rupert Graves impressively strung out) is the murderer and put all their efforts towards finding evidence against him rather than keeping a more open minded approach.This kind of tunnel vision of course has accounted for several miscarriages of justice,a fact not lost on Mr Boyd who delves more deeply into the case than D.S. Zailer and her boss deem necessary. It is he rather than Zailer who opens the enquiry out,albeit her gentle humanity coaxes the final vital bit of information from a reluctant child witness. Miss Williams and Mr Boyd have a wry,subdued chemistry that could develop into something interesting and involving should ITV try to turn "Case Sensitive" into a series.They are definitely a class act. With high production values and careful casting it is clearly not done on the cheap.If the makers can hold their nerve,something very substantial could be on their hands.

Huge mistake

[barbara-87-906972 · 1/10 · 22 June 2011]

Case Sensitive seemed OK at first until right at the end. I am normally not one to watch these kind of series, but this one kept me with it somehow; The acting wasn't too bad, and the story seemed alright too. But then a huge mistake is made! Maybe I missed something but if I didn't it is pretty shocking that such a large error was missed by so many people. That no one noticed it while making these series. The breaking of the case is partially based on the secret of a little girl that she never could have told. Apparently this girl Amy told her friend how her mother died and the friend repeats it to the police officer. A very important fact in the plot. Shortly after this we are told Amy actually died together with her mum! How could she tell her secret? Very annoying to discover after watching the thing for over an hour...

Lovely Actors, Not So Lovely Characters

[Chenanceou · 16 February 2022]

The Olivia William's character is so pathetic, it pains me. Yes, please show women as insecure, paranoid or just plain blond and dumb. It got to the point I wanted her to go back to archeology.

The actors are great, but the material is so lame. How can women write these female characters?!

If you like convoluted plots and difficulty spotting the villain, this one's for you.

[rcwatts-1 · 9/10 · 4 April 2022]

No spoilers.

This one is for those who like try to outsmart the cops. If you like complications and trying understand the plot days later... try this one. Most convoluted plot since "Blood Simple" and "Memento"

well worth a watch

[myriamlenys · 8/10 · 22 August 2023]

Although she loved and loves her own family dearly, a married woman has had a fling with a man called Mark Bretherick. As a result she is distressed upon learning that Bretherick has lost his wife and daughter in what seems like a murder/suicide. She is even more distressed upon learning that Bretherick is not Bretherick...

So far I've only seen the adaptation of "The point of rescue". "The point of rescue" was written by the fiendishly ingenious Sophie Hannah, THE woman to beat when it comes to devising brilliant, utterly surprising plots. The book tells a creepy tale about a casual fling leading to a harrowing confrontation with full-blown madness.

Now this is a good adaptation, made with obvious respect. Acting is good and many of the characters, especially the various policemen and women, actually look and sound more grounded than in the book. The plot remains splendidly bold and unpredictable. However, a part of the underlying theme gets lost in translation. Unlike the adaptation, good as it is, the book delves deeply into the anger and frustration felt by mothers who are temperamentally unsuited for parenthood and/or who have been saddled with particularly difficult children. It's an unsettling examination but also a necessary and salutary one, given that our culture relentlessly promotes the idea that motherhood is all bliss and chocolate chip cookies. It isn't.

QUIRKY WITH CAPITAL Q

[daftrancenergy · 9/10 · 28 November 2021]

JUST AS THE CHARACTERS DEVELOP THE SERIES WAS ENDED. THIS HAD GREAT QUIRKY CHEMISTRY BUT WAS PROBABLY TOO CREATIVE TO CONTINUE. THE TENSION AND AWKWARNESS BETWEEN THE DETECTIVES COMBINED WITH THE EXTREMELY DRY CALOUS BANTER WAS REALLY GOOD. BOTH SEASONS HAD GOOD TWISTY PLOTS AND RED HERRINGS THAT MADE IT WORK WELL AS A MYSTERY. EXCELLENT CAST!

Huge plot hole

[nhermida · 1/10 · 18 February 2022]

I was enjoying this story, however, it has such a tremendous plot hole/error that it was awful to try to finish the last few minutes.

How can the little girl who told a big secret to one of the other girls in the story have communicated this secret if, we find out, she is actually dead at the time the secret happens???

Do the author of the book and writers of the program think the viewers are so feeble or will watch anything regardless of logic?

Hate it it!!! But apparently, judging by other reviews, people didn't notice or didn't care.

H.