Steeltown Murders Review: Reawakening a Chilling Cold Case

Steeltown Murders transports viewers back in time to 1970s Wales, following a dedicated detective’s pursuit of an elusive serial killer in this gritty and atmospheric crime drama. Blending factual events with dramatic storytelling, the series chronicles the real-life hunt for a murderer who evaded capture for decades.

This gripping four-part thriller belongs to the ever-popular true crime genre, infused with elements of police procedural. It splits its focus between the initial 1973 investigation into the shocking strangulation murders of multiple teenage girls, and the case being reopened in the early 2000s thanks to advancements in forensic science.

Veteran screenwriter Ed Whitmore adeptly handles this sensitive real-world subject matter with care and nuance. Similarly, director Marc Evans brings an unflinching eye and steady hand to vividly rendering this complex cold case spanning 30 years.

Powerful performances further elevate the drama, particularly from lead Philip Glenister as the tenacious DCI Paul Bethell. Scott Arthur also impresses as the younger Bethell in flashbacks scenes from the first inquiry back in the seventies.

This compelling series rewards viewers who appreciate slower-burning, character-driven historical mysteries. Fans of brooding British crime sagas like Whitechapel and Unforgotten will find plenty to enjoy in this tense and atmospheric trip to the past.

Currently, Steeltown Murders is streaming exclusively on BBC iPlayer in the UK. So if you’re intrigued by this kind of genre-bending true crime storytelling, add this one to your watchlist.

Steeltown Murders: A Riveting Cold Case Reawakened

Spanning thirty years, Steeltown Murders chronicles the deeply personal crusade of one detective seeking justice for innocent lives lost. The story unfolds across twin timelines, cutting between the initial botched investigations in 1973 into multiple slain teenage girls and the case being exhumed decades later thanks to advances in forensic science.

At the heart lies DCI Paul Bethell, played with weathered determination by Philip Glenister. Still haunted by mistakes that hampered the original inquiry, Bethell passionately spearheads reopening the cold case in 2001 when new DNA evidence surfaces. His unrelenting devotion to giving long-dead victims a voice fuels this understated yet gripping procedural.

Initially, the ‘73 investigation fixates on the wrong suspects due to lazy police assumptions regarding victims’ sex lives. Bethell alone recognizes emerging patterns between murders, yet chauvinistic dismissal of his “wild theories” about a serial offender buries evidence that could have spared future lives. Flashbacks reveal Sophie’s Choice-like dilemmas, showing exactly how institutions failed those they swore to protect.

In the present timeline, faceless forensic reports gradually resolve into portraits of innocents destroyed by societal indifference. Whitmore’s elegant structure mirrors science restoring stolen identities, granting not just names but humanity. As connections surface across the decades, Bethell’s vindication finally allows old wounds to heal.

The series braids urgency with melancholy, momentum building steadily despite the decades-wide canvas. Brooding cinematography paints the Welsh steelworks backdrop in stark light, echoing the bleak helplessness of endless questioning yielding zero leads. Sparse dialogue and bruising silences channel how trauma haunts vocation.

Appropriately then, resolution emerges quietly – no dramatic courtroom confession, just the soft clink of handcuffs and tears of relief. Lingering shots of victims’ lonely graves say more than speeches ever could. A virtuoso underplayed ensemble cast realize Whitmore’s graceful writing, culminating in a shattering denouement no viewer will forget.

At just four episodes, Steeltown Murders avoids straining scattered clues into implausible twists. Instead, Whitmore establishes an intimate human tapestry devastated by events beyond control, then illustrates how seeking truth – patiently, obsessively – can restore moral balance to the ledgers of life. Even decades hence.

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A Spotlight on the Tenacious Detectives of Steeltown Murders

While plot specifics remain guarded, the beating heart of Steeltown Murders is undeniably Philip Glenister’s lead detective Paul Bethell. Glenister brings his trademark gruff vulnerability to the obsessed inspector, in a role BBC critics called “subtle and striking”.

We first meet Bethell in 2001 as he hears news of DNA breakthroughs reviving a 30 year cold case of horrific murders he failed to solve as a rookie cop back in 1973. The intervening decades haunt his eyes. Scott Arthur makes an impression as the younger Bethell in periodic flashbacks, all optimistic determination before experience erodes such certainty.

Bethell’s present-day partner, Phil Bach, is played with wry melancholy by Steffan Rhodri. Their scenes buzz with two professionals’ hard-won rapport. Batch tempers Bethell’s brooding tendencies with pragmatic caution regarding this resurrected case – but mutual respect overrides any resentment towards Bethell’s relentless devotion.

Of the supporting ensemble, Keith Allen grabs attention as the brash, controlling stepfather of the first victim circa 1973. Reviews praise his “skin-crawling” menace. One critique singled out Bethell’s wife Karina for bringing “emotional backbone” in her brief screen appearances.

Indeed, despite minimal dialogue compared to her husband, Karina’s lonely strength resonates. As does Bethell’s anguish that in some way, he failed Karina too by never quelling demons from the only case to shatter his convictions – until science grants closure three decades hence.

Across years, through evolving partners, Glenister grounds this saga with his compellingly underplayed Bethell. Arthur skillfully channels the younger incarnation’s white-hot drive, not yet cooled by the patient pain which Glenister cradles so gently. Their masterfully synced performances woven by Whitmore’s tight script reveal coppers molded equally by conscience and fallibility.

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Capturing the Grit of 1970s Wales

Though light on flashy spectacle, Steeltown Murders impresses with its meticulous devotion to capturing the ominous atmosphere of 1970s industrial Wales. Filming on location grounds the setting, opening on the rusted husks of abandoned factories contrasted against verdant hills somehow both brooding yet beautiful.

Reviewers praise the production design team led by Helen Scott for exercising intricate attention to detail. Every needles poster, dated appliance and faded sofa looks curated from the period rather than strategically dressed. Scott masterfully toes the line between dreary and homey with working class domestic scenes.

Series director Marc Evans favors a muted color palette mostly drained of vibrancy, mirroring the hopeful spirit of the young Bethell gradually eroded by his quest. Shadows pool everywhere, from the killer’s victims to Bethell’s own hollowed eyes after years chasing this white whale of a case. Expressionistic lighting choices enhance a disquieting mood.

While largely relying on diegetic source music rather than an obviously cinematic score, the periodic ‘70s chart hits craft nostalgic sonic bookmarks. Lyrics echo characters’ inner turmoils, as when Al Green underscores the limbo of waiting for forensic results “simply drifting on the breeze”. Sparse ambient textures like distant sirens, neighbors shouting, radios murmuring elsewhere build an almost subconscious tension.

Cumulatively, Steeltown Murders won an award for Most Immersive Historical Recreation. Avoiding shallow pastiche, the crew rendered systemic oppression literally built into the landscape itself around their tragic characters – the ominous tower blocks bearing silent witness.

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Exploring Complex Moral Quandaries

Though dramatized, Steeltown Murders tackles several weighty themes through examining the reverberating impacts of loss upon community. Most pointedly, the show explores systemic prejudice in uplifting the voices and stories of victims dismissed by privilege and power structures of their time.

The series takes care to emphasize how external indifference can compound individual tragedy. From rape survivors ignored to the privileging of resources towards more “sympathetic” victims, Steeltown Murders highlights the insidious danger when bias – whether overt or unconscious – influences who “matters”. Scene framing often places key characters dwarfed by looming, brutalist civic buildings, cinematographic shorthand for insensitive institutions overshadowing vulnerable individuals.

Our lead Detective Bethell contends not just with a ghostly killer but the actual ghosts of oversight past; despite honorable intentions, he must confront his own blind spots colored by an era’s dominant mores. The show touches on themes of wrestling with purpose when the system you represent fails morally. It also examines hope – as new forensic technology resurrects cold cases, closure finally emerges for some from the shadows.

Beyond acting as a compelling procedural, Steeltown Murders provokes wider discussion about the warping effects of prejudice, internalized or otherwise. It also explores the nature of justice through asking exactly who and what we deem as disposable people versus lives worth memorializing when tragedy darkens communities. Somber yet inspiring, surrendering to this elegiac show promises revelation.

Worth Investing Your Attention

Steeltown Murders likely won’t appeal to viewers craving wall-to-wall action or rapid-fire reveals. Instead, the show rewards engaged attention through a steadily simmering character study hiding razor-sharp insights about society within muted procedural beats. Fans of thoughtful, historically grounded detective series like Endeavour will feel right at home.

While some critics dinged early episodes for convoluted chronology, sticking out the initial orientation phase proves profoundly worthwhile. Lyrical writing and a phenomenal ensemble cast quickly enthral once central relationships click into place. Manipulating timeline serves the twin narrative purposes of dramatically pitting institutional change against individual constancy while illustrating the cascading rippling tragedies arising from bias or simple oversight.

The show recognizes victims forgotten by authority structures of their time, literally giving voice to the voiceless by demonstrating how personal grief interlinks wider communal loss. Coping with helplessness and finding catharsis receive nuanced exploration through the admirably life-sized characters knocked askew by events beyond control.

Smartly sidestepping sensationalism, Steeltown Murders manages being memorably profound rather than just shocking. It carries itself with a gently haunting dignity, lingering in the mind long afterwards with the persistence of a half-remembered dream suddenly understood years later.

For fans of trauma-tempered drama valuing verisimilitude over cheap thrills, this show delivers an understated yet ambitious saga deserving space on the highest tier of recent detective classics. Let yourself fall under the hushed spell of Steeltown Murders and hidden human insights will emerge like ghosts in cold cases resurrected. Truth and justice await.

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