`PRIME SUSPECT'S' FINAL ACT A FINE ONE.Byline: David Kronke Television Critic Jane Tennison (Helen Mirren), the brilliant but beleaguered be·lea·guer tr.v. be·lea·guered, be·lea·guer·ing, be·lea·guers 1. To harass; beset: We are beleaguered by problems. 2. To surround with troops; besiege. London police The term London Police could refer to one of several separate police forces:
It's not going to be easy. Tennison is losing it: She can't remember phone calls received in her drunken stupors, nor the names of her colleagues, or how the case of a missing teen who turns up murdered has proceeded thus far. And her father is dying, as if she needed any more heartaches. A triple threat By any standard, this is a career year for Mirren. She has already won an Emmy for her spectacular work in the HBO Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO) A form of oxygen therapy in which the patient breathes oxygen in a pressurized chamber. Mentioned in: Ozone Therapy miniseries ``Elizabeth I'' and must be considered a front-runner for an Oscar for her nuanced and wrenching turn as Elizabeth II Elizabeth II, queen of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Elizabeth II, 1926–, queen of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (1952–), elder daughter and successor of George VI. At age 18 she was made a State Counsellor, a confidante of the king. in ``The Queen.'' With ``Final Act,'' she just might turn a hat trick. Tennison has always been a tortured and complex character, struggling defiantly in a world where her male colleagues weren't always keen on her succeeding. Now, however, she's her own worst enemy, turning up at an interrogation interrogation In criminal law, process of formally and systematically questioning a suspect in order to elicit incriminating responses. The process is largely outside the governance of law, though in the U.S. so soused souse 1 v. soused, sous·ing, sous·es v.tr. 1. To plunge into a liquid. 2. To make soaking wet; drench. 3. To steep in a mixture, as in pickling. 4. that even the suspect makes note of it; her colleagues, meanwhile, hope against hope that she can solve this one last case. Nonetheless, Tennison remains masterful in her lucid moments, artfully defusing a dangerous moment with a confused little girl wielding a gun with a placid, ``You're not going to take that to school, are you?'' She even attempts an Alcoholics Anonymous Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), worldwide organization dedicated to the treatment of alcoholics; founded 1935 by two alcoholics, one a New York broker, the other an Ohio physician. meeting, where she runs into an old professional nemesis. She's discouraged to hear that he's been attending meetings for six years -- the idea that there's no quick fix for her condition visibly deflates her. Her internal drama The mystery here is fairly modest by cop-drama conventions: A murdered teen who turns out to have been pregnant, the requisite suspects and MacGuffins, a surprise that's not quite a surprise. But it's Tennison's internal drama that absorbs the viewer's attention. At one point, she's told, ``I hope you got what you wanted from life, I really do,'' and her glassy reaction indicates the comment has cut to the quick. She considers her life, ultimately, to have been a disappointment 7/8 she befriends a pal (Laura Greenwood) of the victim in a belated effort to compensate for the child she never had. A disappointment for her, maybe, but not for her fans. As she ducks out on the lurid circus that her retirement party promises to be, the act serves as a nice metaphor for the ``Prime Suspect'' series: one managed with dignity and respect. David Kronke, (818) 713-3638 david.kronke@dailynews.com PRIME SUSPECT: THE FINAL ACT - Three and one half stars What: Helen Mirren returns one last time as Detective Superintendent Jane Tennison, investigating the disappearance of a teen, in this ``Masterpiece Theatre'' production. Where: KCET KCET Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo (Japan) KCET Kamaraj College of Engineering and Technology . When: 9 tonight and Nov. 19. In a nutshell: Mirren gives yet another resonant performance as the embattled sleuth whose internal demons Demons See also devil; evil; ghosts; hell; spirits and spiritualism. ademonist one who denies the existence of the devil or demons. bogyism, bogeyism recognition of the existence of demons and goblins. pose her greatest threat. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Helen Mirren may have turned a hat trick as Jane Tennison in ``Prime Suspect's'' final installation -- after this year's masterful performances in ``Elizabeth I'' and ``The Queen.'' |
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