The Investigator (1997/Acorn)

 

Picture: C+     Sound: C+     Extras: C-     Telefilm: B-

 

 

Despite Britain believing in privacy rights, it apparently does not extend to gays in The Ministry Of Defence, according to the 1997 British telefilm The Investigator.  Helen Baxendale stars as Caroline Meagher, an up and coming officer in the 1980s sent in to go undercover to uncover lesbians the government wanted to weed out.  However, something sinister turns out to be afoot and she starts to consider her own sexuality and that she may be gay.

 

We have had several such “don’t ask, don’t tell” tales, but they are no less shocking, especially since the same thing keeps happening.  Baxendale is very good in the risky role and Barbara Machin’s teleplay is smart and pulls no punches.  So much for British tolerance, but this telefilm makes the most of its 88 minutes and is worth a look.

 

The letterboxed 1.66 X 1 image is not bad and is part of a series of British TV shows that shot in this safe format before 1.78 X 1/16 X 9 was agreed upon for HDTV.  It looks good, has consistent color and some detail and depth, but it is too bad it is not anamorphically enhanced.  The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo is fine, but does not have any surrounds of note.  I only wonder why that Eurythmics song is so slow and semi-warped.  The only extra is four text cast profiles.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo