If you're a fan of the Morse character, you'll appreciate that it's fitting that he should investigate murder at a brewery. I think this particular episode is sometimes underrated by fans. We have the solid foundation of a murder mystery,providing the detective story aspects necessary for any good Morse: Trevor Radford, in charge of managing the affairs at his family's brewery business, turns up dead in a mixing vat. In fact, two people are eventually killed in this manner. This can be viewed as a key symbol for "Sins of the Fathers", as we are plunged into a simmering stew of of subplots. There are extramarital affairs ongoing while the family business weakness. Various members of the family are pursuing their own lines of action to save the finances. There's a solicitor who has some connection to the family, but what that is remains unclear for some time. And there's a train- loving brewery employee, his mother, and co-worker girlfriend. We don't even know why they're here for most of the story, and if there's any fault in the storytelling, it's that their presence thus calls attention to itself and possibly gives some of the game away.
These are flawed people. But any family in which two brothers are murdered in the space of one week is bound to have a few kinks, and flawed characters are frustrating but ultimately more compelling and truer to life. They also allow the opportunity for interesting storytelling. And that brings me to the other thing that some people might not care for about this episode, but I quite like it.
Peter Hammond directed this and a couple of other episodes and some people find his visual style distracting and disorienting, but I find it to mainly enhance the storytelling. This story is being told in a visual medium after all, and it's nice to see use being made of that sometimes, instead of having the camera always remain a neutral narrator.
As others have mentioned, Hammond has many shots through mirrors, windows, and other reflective surfaces. There's clever use of color and usually at least one or two left-field visual ideas in his episodes. This episode opens with a very effective titled/slanted camera angle, which immediately puts us on edge without, in my opinion, overselling the point.
One thing Hammond does throughout is to give the space, or environment in which the story is taking place, a lot of presence. Whether it's in the Radfords' mansion or the rundown home of Victor Preece and his mother--or the brewery itself--we are given plenty of wider shots that set the characters within the space, rather than framing everything from their point of view, quite true to life in that the people enter space, not the other way around.
This one is pretty low on POV shots in general: we're always seeing from outside the characters' vantages and seeing things they don't see, or aren't paying attention to. For instance, during a tension-filled but cryptic scene between the two Radford brothers' wives, during which we're beginning to learn that one of the women is having an adulterous relationship with her brother-in-law, we see his photograph on a nearby table juxtaposed with their conversation. This cutting away to photographs, or placing them in the foreground of a shot to comment on the action, occurs repeatedly within the episode.
The whole scene between the Radford wives is worth looking at for photography and editing, as there are shots through windows and other reflective surfaces, giving us the feeling of outsiders who are listening in on bits and pieces of these women's private lives--as indeed we are, and they don't go out of their way to spell out what their conversation really means.
The performances are also skillful, showing the tensions in their interactions. It is only one example throughout of a combination of strong acting, clever photography, and piecemeal editing (which can be a good thing inasmuch as it's cryptic and quick) to maintain tension and draw us into the story.
Later on, after Helen Radford goes to find her brother-in-law and lover at the brewery, she instead discovers him murdered like his brother. The circumstances of the discovery force her to confess the affair to Morse. Throughout the short interview, he is photographed from below while standing, she from above while seated. So we have Morse looming over Helen, visually demonstrating his high ground and her lower, more vulnerable position. This visual language is regularly employed during the interviews.
As for Helen, played well by Kim Thomson, she actually remains a relatively sympathetic character throughout despite her carnal sins. At one point, while her in-laws are plotting on how to save their business, we see Helen, whose husband has just been murdered, separated from then and decrying their self-absorption while she plays with a big shaggy dog. Her character makes a good contrast with her sister-in-law, a real bitter piece of work, and her venal but fatally insecure mother-in-law, all well-played.
The acting is always strong in Morse. In this episode's cast, special mention goes to Lionel Jeffries, Grandpa from"Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang". His performance here as another grandfather is very affecting.
Without giving away too much, I'll also mention that the murderer is actually one of the more interesting characterizations of the series. David Bishop, in his "Complete Morse" episode guide found him unlikely and unbelievable. He may well seem a counter-intuitive character at first, but there's a lot boiling beneath his repressed external self.
This episode has gotten some what of a bad rap from Morse fans but I believe it has plenty to redeem it and some of the reviews criticize too much. It's a highly solid murder story told with great visual flair.
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