Prime Suspect 7 - The Final Act
by Philip Martin
(Click here)
Canada
DVD details
Actor: Eve Best, Gary Lewis, Helen Mirren, Laura Greenwood, Stephen TompkinsonDirector: Philip Martin
Brand: Prime
Cinematographer: Julian Court
Editor: Trevor Waite
Producer: Andrew Benson
Producer: Andy Harries
Producer: Claudine Sturdy
Producer: Rebecca Eaton
Writer: Frank Deasy
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.66:1
Running Time: 182 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-09-11
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Acorn Media
DVD Reviews of Prime Suspect 7 - The Final Act
DVD Review: Helen Mirren inhabits this character brilliantly.
Summary: 5 Stars
I finished Prime Suspect. It was great all through, and Helen Mirren is such a great actress. The last episode makes it equal to what is regarded as the best television ever done, such as the 3-d episodes of Third Rock, or the last episode of 6 feet under. Many great series fizzle at the end, which separates out the outstanding from the just-okay.DVD Review: Not one of my favorite Prime Suspects
Summary: 3 Stars
I own the first five Prime Suspects. I taped this off television, and I rewatched it once. I still dislike it. In fairness, Mirren is her usual (for the past 15 years or so, anyway) supurb self. I love what she does with Jane in any of the Prime Suspects. The other actors also did a fine job. I also liked that Jane's career started with Bill Otley(sp?) and ends with him, basically, taking a bullet for her. That made sense; despite their conflicts, he was that kind of cop. (I believe the actor playing was dying even then, but I may be wrong on that.) What I did NOT like was Mirren (and as I understand it, she had a signifigant say in the storyline) and the writers deciding to make Jane an alcoholic; further, one so out of control she shows up at work and around interviewees drunk! Why is it when a successful, once ambitious, single woman decides to retire, she has to have SOME addiction????? It's a cliche I am heartily sick of! I also felt the general storyline--in terms of the crime involved, I mean--was not nearly as interesting as Marlowe in Prime Suspect 1 or the Prime Suspect about the child pedophile ring (the one with Cieran Hinds as Edward Parker Jones).DVD Review: One of the strongest portrayals of a female detective on television
Summary: 5 Stars
Det. Superintendent Jane Tennison (Helen Mirren) starts her morning with vodka she can barely swallow. Then, she goes to work to discover a 14 year old girl, Sallie Sturdy, is missing.
Tennison's furious no one called her, but they did. She can't remember.
As the case progresses, so does Tennison's dealing with her alcoholism, impending retirement, and the death of her father. Her superiors want her to leave the force, go into rehab, but she is determined to find Sallie's killer before she does.
The story's riveting and as you can imagine, Mirren's acting is just spot on. Well worth watching and owning.
Rebecca Kyle, February 2009
DVD Review: If not the best, close to it.
Summary: 5 Stars
This one will not lift you up. It's not a feel-good movie, but it IS a feel-real one. Of the whole series, it is the only one with decent extras - well, a decent extra. The father's part is a bit over-written, and I could nit-pick a few other things, but I was glued to this, unwilling to endure my usual sporadic watching of movies until the end. It's treatment of alcoholism nicely balances the hopes, progress and setbacks that accompanies treatment programs, from what I've gleaned from others. Finally, the acting is superb. Mirren made this her part and her character.DVD Review: Prime Suspect #7
Summary: 5 Stars
Sorry to see Helen leave the series behind her! Her acting abilities would have carried he far beyond #7, but all good things must come to an end. The series is worth watching over and over again, something I would not normally do. Wonderful acting and directing.
Description of Prime Suspect 7 - The Final Act
"Perhaps the greatest role and performance of a female police detective, ever"--San Francisco ChronicleIn yet another subtle, powerful performance, Oscar? winner Helen Mirren truly inhabits the role of Detective Superintendent Jane Tennison. The Final Act finds her searching for Sallie Sturdy, a 14-year-old girl presumed murdered. Facing the hospitalization of her father, descending deeper into alcoholism, and resisting pressure to retire quietly, Tennison vows to bring Sallie's killer to justice before ending her career. Along the way she forges a surprising friendship with Penny Philips (Laura Greenwood), the missing girl's best friend. In the teenager's longing and fierce independence, the aging cop sees something of her younger self.
Jane Tennison emerges as a deeply flawed but ultimately sympathetic human being--one who accepts responsibility for her choices, knowing full well the price she and others have paid for each. The Final Act serves as the perfectly fitting conclusion to what some critics have called the best crime series ever televised.
DVD SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDE 50-minute behind-the-scenes feature, photo gallery, and cast filmographies.
Some coarse language and graphic content
Detective Superintendent Jane Tennison (Helen Mirren) has dedicated her life to pursuing criminals and, as she nears retirement, the stresses of the job and of proving herself in the man's world of law enforcement have taken their toll: she has virtually no life of her own as well as a serious alcohol problem. Ever dedicated to her job, Tennison is determined to solve one final case, that of a 14-year old girl Sallie Sturdy (Maxine Barton) who's gone missing, before she retires. Even as Detective Superintendent Tennison's father takes seriously ill and alcohol-induced blackouts hinder her investigative capabilities, Tennison remains resolute in her determination to solve the case. As the investigation progresses, Tennison develops an unusually close relationship with the missing girl's young friend Penny Phillips (Laura Greenwood), seeing much of her younger self in the headstrong girl, and struggles to maintain her focus and use her crime-solving instincts and sharp eye for detail to bring Sallie's killer to justice. In the end, Tennison must also find a way to come to terms with her own alcoholism and impending retirement.
Prime Suspect was a groundbreaking British television series because of its portrayal of a powerful woman who dared to aspire to a leadership role in the man's world of police detective work. In the 15 years the series ran (1991-2006), every season tackled politically volatile subject matter, from sexism to racism and homophobia, while maintaining an intense attention to detail and a steadfast commitment to the accurate portrayal of law enforcement's investigative process. It was, one could argue, the precursor to modern crime series like CSI and Law and Order. Fittingly, these final episodes in the Prime Suspect series deal head-on with the controversy of inappropriate relationships between minors and adults. Oscar-winner Helen Mirren gives an incredibly strong performance and is backed by the considerable talents of Laura Greenwood, Stephen Tompkinson (as Sean Phillips), and the rest of the cast. Bonus features include a 45-minute behind the scenes featurette about the entire series, photo gallery, and cast filmographies. --Tami Horiuchi
Beyond Prime Suspect 7: The Final Act
 Essentials by Actress: Helen Mirren |  British Mystery Theater |  The Prime Suspect series |
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