In the past few years, I have fallen in love with BBC programming. Doctor Who and Being Human have remained consistently good, and new shows like Sherlock and Jekyll have continued that tradition of excellence. Now, BBC has taken on Michael Dibdin's Aurelio Zen series, adapting Ratking, Vendetta, and Cabal into a 3-episode mini-series. Did the series live up to the impossibly high standard set by the BBC? BBC's Zen might have gotten off to a slow start, but ultimately the show succeeds thanks to Rufus Sewell's outstanding performance, his sizzling chemistry with Caterina Murino, and some very clever plot twists.
Aurelio Zen (Rufus Sewell, Pillars of the Earth) is an honest detective who is trying to stay an honest detective in the corrupt Italian police force. His colleagues are more interested in the office betting pool over who will nail the new secretary Tania (Caterina Murino) first than they are about actually solving crimes. He is separated from his wife, and it is implied that she slept around with several of Zen's friends. To make matters worse, the prime minister has noticed Zen's inscrutable record and wants to use it to his advantage. The prime minister's trusted adviser Amedeo Colonna (Ben Miles) tracks down Zen and asks him to cover up any embarrassing links between a recent crime and the prime minister. While Zen doesn't like the idea of burying evidence or framing an innocent person, he discovers that he can be a good detective, solve the case, and keep the Italian government off his back. His secret is simple: he pays attention to the case, not the office or government politics.
Partway into the first episode, titled Vendetta, I really didn't know if I would like Zen. I had loved Rufus Sewell's performance in Pillars of the Earth and hoped that this show could be a good vehicle for him as a leading man. Still, the pacing was a bit too slow for my tastes, and I didn't think they had developed Sewell any more than any of the detectives on Law and Order or the CSI spin-offs. He was an honest cop who did the right thing, and I figured that the show would continue to be a crime-of-the-week show instead of one with an overarching plot.
Even with my complaints about the first episode, though, there was a lot working in Zen's favor that made me want to keep watching. First, I thought Rufus Sewell's performance elevated the material given to him, so when the plot struggled to keep my interest, I had fun watching Sewell. This leads me to the other big draw of Zen which is the chemistry between Sewell and his co-star Caterino Murino. Murino plays Tania as confident in her work life as she deals with being one of the few women in a male-dominated workplace, but at the same time she is incredibly vulnerable in her personal life. She is looking for the right moment to leave her controlling and abusive husband, and she is learning how to be single again. One minute, she will smile at Zen and whisper, “Are we going to have an affair?” The next minute, she is doubting herself, Zen, and the relationship. She is lovely and so smart but also damaged, and it is easy to see why Zen would fall in love with her. Again, Murino's performance is a bright spot in the first episode.
After the first episode, however, I think the writers and producers behind Zen realized what worked and did not work and made the second episode Cabal better. The story was still a slow-burn mystery, but the pacing was tightened up and the writers introduced a plot-line that could easily continue into a second or third season. I also have to give credit to the writers and Rufus Sewell for making Zen into such a great character. One of the recent trends in TV is to write leading characters that are extremely flawed, and while I do not dislike this trend (Dexter, Nurse Jackie), I admire the show's creators for making a character that sticks to his principles and still remains fascinating and unpredictable.
BBC's Zen did not get off to a perfect start by any means, but I have no qualms about recommending the series. Fans of BBC programming will enjoy the show's performances and intriguing through-line between the second and third episode. I'm sure fans of the book series will also be excited to see a beloved character come to life, and for those who just love a good mystery, there are few shows on TV that will deliver the goods quite like Zen.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
The Blu-ray release comes with a behind-the-scenes featurette called “Zen – An Italian Adventure.”
"Zen: Vendetta / Cabal / Ratking" is on sale August 2, 2011 and is not rated. Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller. Directed by Christopher Menaul, John Alexander, Jon Jones. Written by Simon Burke, Michael Dibdin. Starring Ben Miles, Caterina Murino, Rufus Sewell.
