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Foyle's War (2002)

2002 · Crime,Drama,Mystery · crime-detective-puzzle, historical-period, war-historical

Foyle's War poster

Foyle's War is a quietly exceptional British period crime drama set on England's Home Front during World War II, following the principled and emotionally restrained Detective Chief Superintendent Christopher Foyle as he investigates murders and wartime crimes in Hastings. Its signature quality is moral seriousness: each case is embedded in the ethical compromises of war — black markets, espionage, class injustice, and the 'bigger picture' cited to excuse wrongdoing — and the show refuses easy comfort. Michael Kitchen's performance is universally described as a career-defining study in understatement. Production values, period authenticity, and Anthony Horowitz's intelligent scripts make it a prestige outlier in the crowded British crime genre, appealing to viewers who want their mysteries to carry historical and ethical weight.

From the reviewers

He conveys the competence and integrity you want in your hero, but the real attraction, I think, is that he is the ultimate father figure. He is concerned about people without wearing it on his sleeve; gruff, even curt, but letting us glimpse the tenderness behind it; and he is wise, not only a clever detective but wise in the ways of the human heart.
The writing is measured, intelligent, no wasted words.
lucid photography, theme music with echoes of Brideshead Revisited, period clothing, vehicles, etc.
Kitchen is an underrated genius and that as detectiv/murder mysteries go this is, and will remain, a timeless masterpiece.
Foyle's War tackles a great many of perceived truths of World War 2 head on, attempting to show a view of wartime Britain in a new light. These are dealt with against the backdrop of a murder which the considered, but burdened detective is called to.

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