Southcliffe (2013)

I have become a fan of well-written contemporary British police procedurals, esp. River, Broadchurch, Vexed, and now Southcliffe (listed in order of how gripping and memorable they are). Southcliffe is very good but the nonlinear editing, meant to draw you into the mystery, only distances me from the characters. The journalist, and later, two others, have their individual regrets and meltdowns, which I intellectually know are connected to the reverberations of the tragedy, although I do not empathize with them as closely as in, say, Broadchurch. Aside from the journalist's tirade gone viral, the best line in the show may be "We are just looking for closure." "Come on, we are not Yanks!" Enjoy! 4.5 stars. (7-28-2017)