HOLDING
★★★½
Sergeant PJ Collins is the nervous type. He is keen to avoid conflict in the small Irish village in Cork he keeps watch over, sidestepping a neighbourhood dispute over the colour of a house. When work gets too much, he sits in his car and eats.
So when the phone rings to say human remains have been found in the grounds of a farm, he is thrown into a tizz. “You don’t know what to do for murder,” says his housekeeper, Mrs Meany. A young, out-of-town detective is brought in, and Sgt Collins, torn between doing his job and avoiding any type of work, must smooth his way with the locals.
Conleth Hill, best known as Varys from Game of Thrones, stars as Sgt PJ Collins in the drama Holding.
The town is also in a spin over the discovery — immediately thought to be the remains of Tommy Burke, who disappeared 20 years ago on the morning of his wedding to Brid Riordan. Everyone has a theory; it’s small-town gossip at its most florid. “F—ing hags knitting at the guillotine,” says Evelyn Ross, bartender and former best mate of Tommy and Brid.
Hill as the bald Master of Whisperers in Game of Thrones.
That’s the basic set-up of this four-part series — dead body, small town, complicated relationships — but the real jaw-drop behind the whole thing lies in its creators and stars: it’s based on a book by Graham Norton (that Graham Norton), it’s directed by Kathy Burke (that Kathy Burke, beloved British actor and regular game show panellist) and it stars Conleth Hill, aka the bald Varys from Game of Thrones, and Siobhan McSweeney, the marvellous Sister Michael from Derry Girls. For bonus points, throw in Brenda Fricker (legend) and Pauline McLynn (Father Ted’s legendary housekeeper Mrs Doyle) and you have a show bursting with Irish talent. This is, of course, why it works.
There is value in casting local for shows such as these. It’s in the doughy faces, the sharp lines and air of resignation that comes through. It’s authentic. When Abigail Ross (Helen Behan) says to Sgt Collins, “there’s a dead body in the neighbour’s field. I’ve seen better days”, you can read the disappointment, resignation and acceptance of her lot in two short sentences.
You only have to look at Irish comedies Derry Girls (Netflix), Father Ted (Foxtel) and, for something completely different, serial killer drama The Fall (SBS On Demand), to see authenticity pays off. You can’t buy it, but you can cast it.
