TV-MA | 3 episodes | Crime, Drama | Sept. 28, 2023
How did a stone-cold killer like Raoul Moat become a cult hero for an admittedly tiny fraction of the English population? Largely, it was a shared hatred of law enforcement. Round-the-clock media coverage of his success eluding the police dragnet only made things worse for his traumatized victims, especially when the incompetence of the Northumbria department comes to light.
Mindful of surrounding controversies, screenwriter Kevin Sampson squarely focuses on Moat’s victims, including the cops he deliberately targeted, throughout the three-part “The Hunt for Raoul Moat,” which premieres on BritBox.
Christopher Brown (Josef Davies) was exactly the kind of nice guy Samantha Stobbart (Sally Messham) needed, after her violently dysfunctional relationship with Moat (Matt Stokoe). Moat was convicted of abusing their little girl, but he is due to be released soon.
Moat still expects to pick back up with Stobbart, despite her best efforts to make a clean break. Out of desperation, she tells Moat she is dating a policeman, but instead of scaring him off, it provokes him to gun down Brown (an innocent karate instructor) in cold blood. He also blasts Stobbart, but with a weaker shotgun shell, to supposedly show his “mercy.”
At first, the Northumbria cops assume Moat’s shootings were an isolated “domestic” incident that would have little impact of the general public. Then, he shoots the unsuspecting Police Constable David Rathband (Dan Skinner) in an unprovoked attack. Suddenly, Detective Chief Superintendent Neil Adamson (Lee Ingleby) has a major public safety crisis on his hand, one which threatens his own officers most directly.
To make matters worse, Adamson learns his department received a report from prison officials warning that Moat represented a clear and present threat to Stobbart, but it sat unread in someone’s inbox, because they had already left for the weekend.
The Moat case was a media sensation across the UK, particularly in the tabloids. As a result, dealing with the press became a major challenge for Adamson, especially considering the more sensational pieces stoked Moat’s rage further.
The media is put on trial during the mini-series, even though composite reporter-character Diane Barnwell (Sonya Cassidy) shows considerable empathy for the victims. However, the show’s harshest judgment is reserved for the online trolls who rallied to Moat’s defense.
Wisely, Mr. Sampson and series director Gareth Bryn relegate Moat to a supporting role in his own crime spree. Instead, they concentrate on the victims and their families, while still crafting a tense manhunt thriller.
No Whitewash
Lee Ingleby is nicely cast as Adamson, convincingly bringing the senior official out of his bureaucratic shell, especially when trying to console the gravely wounded Rathband. Ms. Bain and Ms. Wise are convincing as the bereaved Browns. Mr. Davies and Ms. Messham have a lot of appealing chemistry in their initial scenes together as Christopher Brown and Stobbart, which makes Moat’s brutal ambush even harder to witness.Mr. Stokoe does not humanize Moat. He does not have a particularly strong likeness to brutish real-life Moat either, but he makes the thuggish killer’s behavior believable, in a frighteningly nihilistic way. However, Ms. Cassidy does not have much in terms of significant dialogue or dramatic opportunities to flesh out Barnwell, the fictional conflicted journalist.
It might seem bizarre that so many in the feverish corners of the Internet embraced Moat, yet here in America, many media talking heads tried to mainstream the “defund the police” movement. Fittingly, “The Hunt for Raoul Moat” never obscures or whitewashes the nature and consequences of Moat’s attacks.
There will always be complaints when true crimes are dramatized, but Mr. Sampson and Mr. Bryn generally get the balance right between the suspense of the chase and their elegiac sympathy for Moat’s victims, including Officer Rathband. Recommended for fans of British crime dramas.
