There’s an old saying: two can keep a secret if one of them is dead. Which is a bit of a problem for Edinburgh brothers Jake (Jamie Sives) and Max (Mark Bonnar), because Guilt has barely begun before the pair – driving home through Edinburgh after a few too many drinks at a wedding – run over and kill a man.
If anything is going to put a person to the test, it’s (accidental) murder. Jake, a scruffy musician turned scruffy record store owner, is instantly devastated by what’s happened. But if people always did the right thing we wouldn’t have any drama, and his older brother Max (who just happens to be a lawyer, and already we know what’s coming here), figures what’s done is done. A man is dead and that’s a tragedy, but it’d be even worse if his death ruined the lives of two men who, looked at one very specific way, are basically innocent. Right?
Max (Mark Bonnar) and Jake (Jamie Sives). Source: SBS
Jake is clearly the nice guy of the duo (aside from the whole running someone over thing), which puts him at a disadvantage from the start. He’s the one who insists on seeing the dead man as a human being rather than a problem; he’s the one who leaves his wallet at the scene of the crime. He’s even the one who finds himself falling for the dead man’s American niece Angie (Ruth Bradley) when she comes into his store (she’s inherited her uncle’s record collection). It could almost be the start of a rom-com, if the comedy wasn’t pitch black.
Angie (Ruth Bradley). Source: BBC, SBS
When Angie starts getting suspicious, Max offers to set her up with a private eye willing to take on the case. The catch is that the P.I. Kenny (Emun Elliot) is a notorious drunk more interested in swigging Midori than actually solving a case. Problem solved… until Kenny decides that this is just the right time to get his life in order, kick the drink, and pour all his new-found energy into finding out what really happened.
That’s a lot to take in, and this four-part series is only getting started. This hits the ground running with a hit-and-not-run opening because with so much going on, there isn’t time to waste. With the brothers rapidly sinking in deeper, and their own personal issues only dragging them down further, the twists and turns here come thick, fast, and with an increasing sense of panic.
‘Guilt’. Source: SBS
The mood gets darker and the stakes get higher as an ever-expanding cast of compellingly dubious types, including nosey neighbour Sheila (Ellie Haddington) and the perfectly named shady businessman Roy Lynch (Bill Paterson), make themselves known. The hole the brothers have dug for themselves just keeps on getting deeper, and even if they find a way out their lives are never going to be the same. Guilt is an emotion that never lets you off easy.
