Jackson Booth-Millard In recent years I have become more up for trying new dramas, I always give the first episode a chance, and if I like it I'm very likely to continue the majority if not the entire series, and that was the case with this one from the BBC. Basically in Manchester Vince McKee (David Morrissey) is having financial troubles, and working as a taxi driver does not make him enough money, so he and "friend" Colin Vine (Harry Potter's Ian Hart) talk to a man who calls himself The Horse (Colm Meaney) about working for him. The Horse offers Vince a job working as his driver, he gives him a new car and a phone, he tells him that whenever he calls he is needed as the driver to transport whatever it is he is told, person or object, with no questions asked, and he will be paid thousands for doing so. At first Vince finds this job rewarding, he just gets on with the driving and makes the most of the money he is making, including reconnecting with his estranged wife Rosalind (Severance's Claudie Blakley), but soon consequences come from it when he really acknowledges the crime side to what he is doing, and people get hurt as a result. The biggest problem Vince has is not keeping this secret from his family, but he cannot get out of it without risking the bigger consequences to himself and others, he is tempted at one point to tell the police, but things just get more complicated. Also starring Darren Morfitt as Mickey, Andrew Tiernan as Darren, Shaun Dingwall as Detective Ryder, Andrew Knott as Detective O'Connor, Sacha Parkinson as Katie McKee, Lewis Rainer as Tim McKee, Chris Coghill as Woodsy, Lee Ross as Kev Mitchell, Harish Patel as Amjad and Nathan McMullen as Joseph Paslowski. Morrissey is a good choice for the vulnerable but desperate leading character, Hart gets his moments as the other man doing the job with him, and Meaney is great as the gangster who doesn't let him out, you could argue that the makers must have got some of their ideas from the Jason Statham - Transporter films, but it was interesting to watch, it had its fair share of small thrills, and it is written well, overall it is a watchable crime drama. Very good!

l_rawjalaurence Set in and around the roughest streets of Manchester, UK, THE DRIVER is at heart a morality tale revealing the consequences of Vince McKee's (David Morrissey's) decision to agree to become the driver of a criminal gang headed by Horse (Colm Meaney).Not only does Vince become involved in a complicated web of lies and deceit, but his family life is destroyed as a result. His wife Ros (Claudie Blakley), and daughter Katie (Sacha Parkinson) are forced to make life-changing decisions in order to live - something they had never even considered before. Vince's son Tim (Lewis Rainer) has also left home, and apparently will never speak to the rest of the family again - at least for the foreseeable future.Jamie Payne's production does not take sides, but explores the destructive effect that Vince's decision has on his own psyche, as well as that of his family. The production is full of close-ups of his tortured face as he merely goes through the motions of trying to be a good family man, while implicitly accepting everything that Horse and his fellow gang-members want from him. Having sacrificed his soul to the devil, so to speak, there is really not much point in life for him, despite his attempts to justify himself. On the other hand, what other choice does he have, other than to continue working in a dead-end job as a minicab driver, living a hand-to- mouth existence under the aegis of unsympathetic boss Amjad (Harish Patel)?The noir atmosphere of the production is significant, conjuring up a world of shadows and perpetual cloud and rain in which moral standards have simply been forgotten. All the characters inhabit a netherworld in which financial gain assumes primary importance. The car-chases assume a thematic importance - not only as a means for people to escape from their pursuers, but as a metaphor for a desperate dog-eat-dog world in which only the fittest survive. Vince is nothing more than a pawn in everyone else's schemes.THE DRIVER ends on a note of qualified optimism, but does not suggest that Vince's family life will ever be restored to 'normality'. On the contrary, Payne's production suggests that this kind of life can never exist in a noir world. Vince just has to make the best of what he has.Snappily directed, with some good action sequences intercut with claustrophobic interior sequences, THE DRIVER is a highly watchable miniseries.

Tweekums Taxi driver Vince McKee isn't having the best of times; he is working every night but still isn't earning enough money and the job is utterly depressing. Then his old friend Colin returns after a stretch in prison and is soon trying to get Vince a 'job'. At first he refuses but soon he is working for 'The Horse'; he is just delivering packages but the pay is good and his family are happy, although they don't know where the money is coming from. The Horse always calls before a job but one day Colin turns up saying he is needed; it turns out Colin is to kidnap a rival criminal, beat him and leave him to die. Vince can't cope with that so returns later and takes the severely injured man to hospital. This leads to Colin getting a beating and Vince fearing for his life… it looks as if the only way out for him is to work for the police; crossing The Horse will be incredibly dangerous though.This series got off to a great start as we see Vince driving aggressively to get away from pursuing police… we then flash back to see how he got to that point. The story isn't the most original but it is told in a way that keeps the viewer gripped; right until the final credits began I was unsure what would happen to Vince. This is down to the fine performances; particularly from David Morrissey who plays Vince, the ordinary man in an extraordinary situation and Colm Meaney who plays the menacing Horse. The fact that the series is only three episodes long means there is no time for padding; even the apparently irrelevant subplot involving Vince's son who has joined a cult proves relevant in the end. Overall this was well worth watching; it is probably even better if you watch all three episodes in one go.

Tony McAlinden Although billed as an action-fest, this is actually a far more cerebral piece. With car chases.David Morrissey seems to have cornered the market in family men having midlife crisis (see also "The 7.39"), but this role allows him to show both his sensitive side and imposing physicality. The acting highlights have to be his scenes with the equally great Ian Hart, who he grew up with on Merseyside but had never acted with until now.The rest of the cast are equally on top of their game; with Lee Ross and Chris Coghill providing much needed comic relief. And the first two parts, with their unrelenting pace, need it at times to allow the viewers to draw breath.By the final episode, the various interconnecting plots have hit the rumble strips a little, meaning this is merely great rather than mind- blowing entertainment. But compared to much of what counts as "Original British Drama" on our dumbed-down BBC, it's top-notch.