LOW WINTER SUN came and went quickly but it packed a heavy gut punch. It was AMC’s remake of the BBC show of the same name that starred Mark Strong as Detective Frank Agnew. Strong reprises his role for the AMC remake. The show was a conventional, dark cop drama that lasted one season. Strong’s performance as the stoic detective put this show over the top, and Strong was able to show his range as an actor. He wasn’t just another archetypal cop, he was deeply layered. As the show ran its course, we would get glimpses into what made him the man he was.
The storyline was just as layered as Strong’s character. The show starts with his partner (played perfectly by Lennie James), killing a fellow detective, and staging it as a suicide. Agnew was coerced into this by his partner who had told Agnew that the detective they killed, had killed Agnew’s Russian escort of a girlfriend. The first shot we see of the show is a tight closeup on Strong’s face, he is looking into the camera with a tear streaming down his cheek. We can hear his thought: I am not a bad man.
The show progresses with multiple story arcs of police corruption, a young gangster on the rise, and Agnew’s “missing” girlfriend who was presumed dead. The show never overreaches, and all the story arcs are taut and perfectly executed. The build up pays off remarkably in the two part series finale. Strong, who played it calm and cool in the show, spirals out of control so fast, you can’t believe everything you are seeing in the final two episodes.
The first part of the series finale has a remarkable segment. Distraught, Agnew travels to see his ex wife, who we had previously knew nothing about. She’s remarried and has a kid. The latter is as a surprise to Agnew as it is to the audience. This is Agnew’s last stop. He’s lost control of the beast of a situation he helped create. He recounts to his ex wife their previous relationship. He remembering of their marriage is sweet and loving, something he holds very dear. His ex wife corrects him. She tells it like it was, not how Agnew re-remembered it. And there we have it, it’s all out on the screen, it’s the price that Agnew paid for his stoicism.
LOW WINTER SUN ends on a perfect note. While I would have loved to have seen a second season to see where the characters progress onward, the arc is neatly buttoned up, and Agnew’s season long journey has come to a close. This show is a slow burn. It’s brooding and dangerous, and Mark Strong gives the finest performance of his career in an amazing tour de force.
LOW WINTER SUN is available to stream on Netflix.
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