Slick plot unfolds in gripping BBC thriller Inside Men
Inside Men is the fascinating new four-part thriller showing on BBC 1 this month.
Inside Men is the fascinating new four-part thriller showing on BBC 1 this month.
It stars Steven Mackintosh as the mild-mannered cash-counting depot managing director John Coniston, whose branch is raided by a violent armed gang in a daring heist.
They were of course given a helping hand in the venture and as the plot unfolds it is clear all is not as it seems at the heavily guarded warehouse which holds millions of pounds for big businesses like supermarkets and banks, who don't want the cash on their premises.
John's wife is taken hostage at gunpoint to get him to the secure depot where with trembling hands he unlocks the doors to the huge vaults and the gang clear out the loot.
As the story is played out the characters flashback six months and in the second episode shown last night writer Tony Basgallop skilfully reveals how John and two of his colleagues had been planning the robbery for some six months before it was carried out.
But from the opening episode last week we know the robbery did not go to plan with the armed gang indulging in blood-letting by shooting off the leg of security guard Chris, played by Ashley Walters.
This was not part of the plan hatched by John, Chris and warehouse manager Marcus played by Warren Brown who are at first left nonplussed at the unforeseen turn of events.
But we should not have been surprised. The preparation stage did not exactly run smoothly either with the men, not being seasoned criminals, quickly realising they needed muscle from outside to get the job done. They needed to trust hard men whom they did not know to pull it off.
And to his later regret, John unwisely left it up to Marcus to make the contacts with the underworld for guns and muscle. He steals £40,000 from the safe for the younger man to use to persuade the shady fixer Kalpesh, played by Irfan Hussain, that they could deliver the goods.
But Marcus who is mouthy in the pub, turns out to be quite inept at wheeler-dealing. He foolishly leaves the dough behind and it's left to John to assert his authority over the group and tighten the reins on the planning.
He shows a gritty side to his normally almost whimpish demeanour and manages to play hard ball in negotiations with Kalpesh to get the money back to the depot before it's missed, which would have left all their get-rich-quick plans in tatters.
He actually uses the advice given in a pep-talk by his company boss to take control of the situation.
Chris though, after the robbery, ends up in intensive care with his devastated pregnant girlfriend Dita at his bedside.
By the end of the episode I couldn't help but feel quite sorry for them. But that is what clever scriptwriting does. Instead of your run-of-the-mill heist drama where you get the story from the police investigations viewpoint, Inside Men plots it from the angle of the offenders and follows their emotions and that of their wives and girlfriends and their backgrounds.
One could be forgiven for forgetting that they had been part of a very bad thing.
John even deliberately fluffs an internal promotion just so he could mastermind the heist and you wonder how far he will go to get the ill-gotten cash.
The main characters have so far put up some brilliant performances.
Mackintosh has a lengthy track record as a TV baddie. He was a double-crossing detective in another BBC drama, Luther, appeared in The Jury and was the killer in Prime Suspect 5, starring alongside Helen Mirren.
Brown also appeared in Luther while Walters, who made his name as Asher D in rap band So Solid Crew, has appeared in Hustle and wartime drama Small Island.
Such exploits are never worth it, even in the make believe world of TV. As the police investigation starts we are left pondering over whether the trio's friendship will hold or will they be finally unmasked by the pressure of what's really inside men.
Deborah Stewart
