The script,in concert with Graham,does a masterful job of understating these themes,making the reality clear while never overplaying the hand or falling into the trap that so many dramas do,of characters who behave as if they know they’re in a TV show.The Walk-In is grim,but never excessive,blending the chilling darkness of the world it confronts with everyday domesticity that comes as a bracing relief.
It’s not feelgood TV by any means. The very existence of the racist brutes that Collins opposes,shown planning their atrocities and training for the “war” they believe themselves to be fighting,is frightening and incredibly depressing. There is no glamourising of the evil here:the fascists in the show are monstrously loathsome while at the same time disturbingly ordinary – and in some cases,entirely pathetic.
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In fact,the ordinariness of it all is the striking feature ofThe Walk-In. There are no dashing spies or charismatic finger-steepling villains here:just a battle of massive importance between decent people struggling for a decent world,and others who have had their minds broken by hate. It’s all playing out on real streets,in real homes,with real people who feel the crushing impact of bigotry and violence in a very real way.
Graham is the standout here,as covered,but mention must also be made of Andrew Ellis,whose turn as Robbie Mullen,the committed fascist who grows conflicted and turns on his comrades when the reality of their plans starts to bite,is a performance of tortured,conflicted courage. Also shining is Dean-Charles Chapman as Jack Renshaw,the young would-be martyr to the white supremacist cause,providing a portrait of deep self-loathing twisted and turned horrifically outwards into a savage bloodlust.
It’s not cheering stuff at all,but in this often glum and saddening depiction of recent history,there is to be found hope for a fallen world,and even among the wreckage,real heroes.
The Walk-In is on Thursday,9.20pm,on SBS and SBS On Demand.
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