Yahoo Movies Manhunt: Colin Sutton's wife subverts all the crime-drama clichés
Manhunt: The Night Stalker spoilers follow.
Manhunt: The Night Stalker, like so much of ITV's true-crime output, has received widespread praise for its handling of the police hunt to catch serial burglar and rapist Delroy Grant, who predominantly targeted elderly women in South East London between 1992 and 2009.
It is a compelling, compulsive retreading that is consistently mindful of its duty of care to the real people at the heart of this story, proceeding with the sensitivity and caution that such grisly, life-shattering true events demand.
And it's not just the depiction of the investigation and the victims which deserves a nod of approval, but the portrayal of one character in particular: Louise Sutton (played with strength and nuance by Claudie Blakley).
Louise is the wife of Colin Sutton, the revered detective who was responsible for the conviction of serial killer and sex offender Levi Bellfield, and who successfully orchestrated Grant's capture and imprisonment after a 17-year reign of terror.
But crucially, Louise is not just "Colin's wife" in the context of the series. It shouldn't feel seismic but it does given what we typically see from such roles.
The female partner of the male detective has, on the whole, been nondescript and forgettable. Her responsibilities typically involve fetching her husband cups of tea, folding laundry, plating up his fish pie and gently kneading the knots out of his shoulders, interspersed with an assortment of "Oohs", "Aahs" and little else. At most she gets to complain about how hard he's working.
That woman lacks personality and purpose. She might as well be a coat stand or a very attentive cat, such is the extent of her involvement. But Louise is a vital contributor to Manhunt, in spite of her fleeting presence, which is a credit to Ed Whitmore's writing.
Not only does she offer Colin sage advice in regards to the extent of his involvement in the case, quelling his fears about internal politics and how it could impact his retirement and reputation, she supplies him with some invaluable experiential guidance too.
The real Louise, herself an analyst (according to her LinkedIn page, she is the head of intelligence at Surrey Police), advises her husband to "go back and trawl through the earliest cases that could be [Grant]" in an attempt to sift out that golden nugget.
She also implores him to widen the net rather than sticking stringently to the offender profile the police had been working with for nearly two decades – an approach she nicknames "Minstead Light", which is subsequently lapped up by Colin's superiors when he floats the suggestion.
In the series' first outing, which focused on the Bellfield investigation, there was conflict between the couple after Louise was ordered to exit the Milly Dowler case being conducted by her own force due to concerns she would share intelligence with her husband.
She has input and independent thought rather than just existing to respond to Colin's anxieties. Louise steers their conversation and is a catalyst for key plot development. The investigation to catch the "Night Stalker" and bring him to justice must, of course, take precedence. That, and not Colin's home life, is what viewers expect from this series, and that's exactly what they get.
But it doesn't come at the expense of characterisation, particularly Louise's – a role which has traditionally felt like an afterthought or a burden – which only strengthens this narrative, allowing it to feel entirely fleshed out and lived in.
The fact that Louise does have a comprehensive understanding of perpetrator behaviour is of particular benefit in a crime drama, adding an interesting and functional layer to proceedings. But even if she didn't hold that specific insight, the point remains the same: by affording female characters, particularly the routinely neglected romantic partners, the same level of detail applied to all other aspects of the narrative, the storytelling is elevated, and we have the pleasure of a much more satisfying, authentic viewing experience.
Manhunt: The Night Stalker continues tonight at 9pm on ITV.
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