National Treasure had an absorbing conclusion rich in nuance: Review

In the dock: Robbie Coltrane as Paul Finchley 

Not guilty then. In the finale of National Treasure (Channel 4), Paul Finchley (Robbie Coltrane) dodged prison thanks to his long-term comedy partner Karl Jenkins, cravenly focused on legacy. An absorbing drama about family dynamics hinged in the end on a relationship more locktight even than marriage or parenthood. “You were 'anded' to him” said Dee (Andrea Riseborough) to Karl.
So Finchley’s judge and jury turned out to be his wife Marie (Julie Walters) who, the scales having fallen from her eyes, vanished while he howled her name to the suburban skies like an abandoned hound.

Andrea Riseborough and Julie Walters Credit: Channel 4

Jack Thorne’s riff on Operation Yewtree could have wagged a crude finger at all those free passes for yesteryear’s celebs. Instead, with forensic diligence, it wriggled inside the psyche of a much loved rapist hiding from himself in deals and denials and, finally, the clichéd narrative of an abused childhood.
Finchley’s assertion that he was incapable of violence was fully embodied by Robbie Coltrane, a gigantic bear of a man you instinctively wished to believe. Another Finchley, angrier and less cuddly, was suggested by Trystan Gravelle as the younger Paul. (The pairing of younger to older actors was one of the show’s many triumphs.)

Andrea Riseborough as Dee Credit: Channel 4

Only now and then did Thorne’s hand feel heavy on the tiller. “Shaving always seemed like a very peculiar kind of savagery to me,” said Dee, sounding ventriloquised as the camera peered at every pore of her father’s face. That the rape took place on the day of Dee’s overdose felt like happenstance. And could Marie really have nipped out to sleep with Karl (Tim McInnerney) in exchange for the truth about the man they shared?

Tim McInnerney as Karl Credit: Channel 4

The performances were rich in nuance as the cat’s cradle of allegiances became ever more convoluted. Coltrane’s faucets opened as Finchley’s victim testified, flooding his features with regret, shame and self-pity. Julie Walters managed to conquer, as perhaps no other actress could, the rare anomaly of a wife tolerant of her husband’s wanderlust. Tim McInnerney has never been better than roaming Karl’s forlorn interior. Towering over them all was Andrea Riseborough, who could have played Dee as an hysteric but opted for a hypnotic monotone.

Andrea Riseborough, Robbie Coltrane and Julie Walters Credit: Channel 4

National Treasure finally spared a thought for the victims. Thorne thought deeply about their vulnerability: the teen flirt who couldn’t know the consequences of curiosity, the innocent fan in over her head. Kate Hardie, a fine actress seen all too rarely, offered searing veracity as Rebecca Thornton, ripped to shreds in the witness box.
Director Marc Munden filmed everything to look unlike other drama. His signature was to backlight every other scene with windows and street lights, which counterintuitively shone a powerful beam back at audiences like us who help monsters onto pedestals. Astounding