Outsiders often make the same kind of observations about people involved in real life trials, that they aren’t as sad or angry or upset as they think they ought to be. The truth is, there is no right or proper level of any particular emotional reaction at any given moment; it’s different for everyone for a multitude of reasons that don’t necessarily make sense to anyone else. I think the way that’s portrayed in Broadchurch is realistically unpredictable.
Anyhoo. I grew up in an area a lot like Broadchurch, a tiny seaside town full of eccentrics keeping secrets. They nailed that aspect of it exactly.
I always thought the small town eccentrics was the best part of the show. Nick Nolte’s character in Gracepoint was that show’s highlight for me. The lady with the dog who lives on the beach is just a normal cranky lady. And no, it doesn’t have to be a seaside town, any small town has its share of cranks. The seaside setting does make it a lot more picturesque than my home town in South Dakota though.
It was continued this past week, mostly when the defense attorney yelled at the prosecutor for not taking her son’s case. How could she have? She was a prosecutor. They don’t defend (Unless she (D) had asked her friend (P) to be the prosecutor for her son and throw the case, which is a weird request all over the place). It’s a stupid source of conflict. Real stupid.
There was also bad witness handling on the stand and improper witness handling outside of the courtroom and it really is very badly done. Instead of making it more emotionally powerful which I think was their intention, it makes the whole story seem cheap and fake.