28/13
He attacked her before escaping capture
Synopsis
Delia Balmer, a nurse, met Sweeney, who confessed to killing his ex-girlfriend. Balmer rebuilt her life to confront Sweeney seven years later, after he was arrested for another murder.
Based on a true crime story
The bodies were dumped in the canals of Rotterdam (not Amsterdam) and London. Not only is it a gripping and uncomfortable drama, almost unique in that it does not try to exploit misogynistic violence for entertainment, but it is also an indictment of a justice system in which everyone is implicated.
The viewer is also forced to confront their own expectations of a real crime victim
is clearly compromised by the fact that they see the victim as a means to end their own career. The police want a conviction, and the criminal is the target, and the victim is merely the weapon to achieve this goal; a passive code is best forgotten later, unless it becomes useful again.
Delia Balmer/Anna Maxwell Martin does not bend to this convention, and the drama without syrup is all the better for presenting a fully rounded victim
Typically, they are vulnerable and rather passive individuals, lacking in confidence and often conventionally attractive, as film and television producers try to manipulate the empathy of their audiences by every means at their disposal.