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Like Heartbeat, this wonderful bit of nostalgia is certain to entertain those who don’t require gun play, gratuitous sex and overacting to keep them enthralled. This is truly a warm cup of cocoa on a quiet evening.While one of the others who criticized this show suggests it took viewers from Heartbeat, I disagree. All the people I know who love Born and Bred also would not miss an Heartbeat episode for the world. He also sought to offer a comparison to the show “24″, which is hardly fitting. Born and Bred is what it is and 24 is what it is and the existence of either one does not take away the enjoyment of the other. The difference is that both my son and daughter feel warm and positive at the conclusion of such shows as Born and Bred and Heartbeat, a far cry from their reaction to the constant intensity of other action oriented (read reliant on fast camera moves, two dimensional characters and flashbacks) offerings.While I don’t suggest you ignore your action fix or your dose of the cult of personality presented by other genres, I certainly recommend this warm cup of tea.If you can stand great acting by all concerned and not having every move explained to you as if you are slow witted, then this warm and meaningful show is for you.I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

At last, a British movie with a degree of ambition, even if the ambition remains unfulfilled by the film’s fade-out. Basically, this is the old tale of the blocked male protagonist becoming enervated by an encounter with his dark side before ultimately realising the error of his ways (see also FIGHT CLUB). As a meditation on machismo and the male psyche, this certainly passes muster, with the dark side manifestation Billy (a truly scary and, hopefully, career-defining performance by Marc Warren) proving that the devil really does have all the best tunes (literally, as the soundtrack really rocks when the characters get down to their darker doings). However, the invention and insight runs out around the halfway mark leaving us with some sub-Georges Bataille musings and a conventional wrap-up which seriously detract from an interesting series-up which promises much but delivers merely a light cuff when a sucker punch is needed. Still, it’s dark, challenging and occasionally disturbing work (the corruption of innocence theme is particularly well handled, as is the direction of all the child actors), and the explicit sexual detail will almost certainly result in a truncated or unrated version being released Stateside. On the basis of this, director Penny Woolcock and saturnine star Marc Warren look to be emergent talents well worth watching. Recommended, albeit with reservations.