Virtues, The (TV Mini-series)

Aroview: 4-part drama co-written and directed by Shane Meadows, with talented actor Stephen Graham (who also starred in Meadows' acclaimed THIS IS ENGLAND series) in a deserved leading role.

Graham plays a troubled recovering alcoholic who falls into despair when his ex-wife and son announce they are moving to Australia to begin a new life without him. Seeking out his estranged sister, he boards a boat to Ireland, but once there he unearths a previously suppressed and horrific trauma from his past.

A story ultimately about personal redemption, the series is strongly characteristic of Meadows oeuvre, heavy with emotional truths, heart and guts. A rare gem in the current mass-produced TV environment.