"Des" is the chilling story of the case of Dennis Nilsen, a serial killer who somehow evaded capture for years while murdering at least 12, and maybe as many as 15 or 16, young men, chopping up their bodies and disposing of the remains in various gruesome ways.
As the eponymous Des, David Tennant does a great job, portraying the utterly cold blooded Nilsen and accurately conveying his almost unbelievably calm and sanguine approach after his arrest and during interrogation by the police. He comes across as a man wholly lacking in any moral sense of right and wrong, and completely obsessed with himself.
However, the accompanying cast and dramatisation is less compelling and also seems to fall a little short of the reality, which was even more shocking than shown. "The Real Des : The Dennis Nilsen Story", an accompanying documentary, includes film of Nilsen himself and interviews with police officers and others who were involved in the case. The revelations here give more background to Nilsen's life and character and are significantly worse than included in the 3-part drama. However, it has to be added that the actual footage of Nilsen is barely more frightening than is the performance of Tennant, a great tribute to the later.
Nilsen was a monstrous psychopath, totally devoid of any normal moral sense. David Tennant does his role justice and deserves top marks for it, but the rest of the production is simply lacking in depth or power. The police appear more confused, helpless and worried about budgets than anything else and the court scenes towards the end are far too truncated and even contrived. The meetings between Nilsen and his biographer are little more than opportunities for Tennant to demonstrate his ability to mimic the extreme psychopathy and egotism of his character.
Overall "Des" isn't bad but it's not brilliant either. 7 out of 10, mostly for Tennant without whom it may have struggled to be more than 5.
As the eponymous Des, David Tennant does a great job, portraying the utterly cold blooded Nilsen and accurately conveying his almost unbelievably calm and sanguine approach after his arrest and during interrogation by the police. He comes across as a man wholly lacking in any moral sense of right and wrong, and completely obsessed with himself.
However, the accompanying cast and dramatisation is less compelling and also seems to fall a little short of the reality, which was even more shocking than shown. "The Real Des : The Dennis Nilsen Story", an accompanying documentary, includes film of Nilsen himself and interviews with police officers and others who were involved in the case. The revelations here give more background to Nilsen's life and character and are significantly worse than included in the 3-part drama. However, it has to be added that the actual footage of Nilsen is barely more frightening than is the performance of Tennant, a great tribute to the later.
Nilsen was a monstrous psychopath, totally devoid of any normal moral sense. David Tennant does his role justice and deserves top marks for it, but the rest of the production is simply lacking in depth or power. The police appear more confused, helpless and worried about budgets than anything else and the court scenes towards the end are far too truncated and even contrived. The meetings between Nilsen and his biographer are little more than opportunities for Tennant to demonstrate his ability to mimic the extreme psychopathy and egotism of his character.
Overall "Des" isn't bad but it's not brilliant either. 7 out of 10, mostly for Tennant without whom it may have struggled to be more than 5.