Prime Suspect 3 (1993) User Reviews

Keeping up the high standard

[paudie · 9/10 · 29 November 2011]

I'm running out of superlatives for the Prime Suspect series. Series 3 is another gripping crime drama, this time set against the background of the world of London rent boys. Despite it's lengthy we were tempted to watch in one sitting, though we didn't quite manage it!

The highlights this time are long scenes showing DCI Tennison interviews witnesses and suspects. This shows Helen Mirren at her finest, portraying an intelligent police detective who knows exactly how to structure an interview to get the truth from people.

The theme of police corruption also looms large right from the very start. Glimpses of Tennison's rather sad personal life are also shown.

She's still off the ciggies though!

As Good as it Gets

[mackjay2 · 9/10 · 7 September 2021]

As good as crime fiction on film gets, whether theatrical or made-for-television. Lynda La Plante's writing is at a peak here, with sharp dialog, vividly drawn characters and narrative that captures and won't let go until the end. It's grim, seedy, violent and sad---a real slice of vice unit life and of those they interrogate or pursue. Helen Mirren, as Jane Tennison, has rightly received top honors for her work in the Prime Suspect series, but here she excels even herself. An incredibly detailed characterization you won't forget. But she's not alone when it comes to accolades. Every supporting member is terrific, and there are some future stars to see: Jonny Lee Miller, Peter Capaldi, Mark Strong, Ciarán Hinds, Danny Dyer, James Frain, the incredible David Thewlis! And let's not forget the great Tom Bell, as Tennison's nemesis Bill Otley. All of it brilliantly directed by David Drury. Absolutely essential viewing crime procedure aficionados and anyone else.

Helen Mirren lead

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 24 November 2016]

DCI Jane Tennison (Helen Mirren) breaks up with her boyfriend Jake Hunter. He's married and an author of a serial killer book. She's starting a new job and finds old nemesis Sgt. Bill Otley (Tom Bell). They investigate an arson-murder involving underage rent-boys and a cross-dressing cabaret. Thuggish James Jackson (David Thewlis) is the prime suspect. Edward Parker-Jones (Ciarán Hinds) is the club owner. The clientele and police involvement threaten to be a scandal.

Helen Mirren is the lead. This show can never be bad with her driving the boat. This time Otley is back but he's somewhat domesticated. The vicious sexism is no longer there. The case is lascivious and dirty. This is solid TV police drama but nothing compared to series 1 part 1.

Like the others, it's gritty, engaging and engrossing.

[r0der1ck · 2 June 1999]

Prime Suspect 3 is probably the grittiest of the Prime Suspects, in my opinion. While "The Lost Child" is disturbing, and Prime Suspect 1 is heartbreaking, Prime Suspects 3 delves into an examination of the world of London "rentboys," young male prostitutes hired mainly by other men. This may be the one which deals most sensitively with the ever-present personal life conflicts of DCI Tennison's co-workers and cohorts, and it doesn't hold back on letting us know just how intense some of those personal issues are. The cast is huge, the murder itself unbelievably complex, and the resolution is probably the most jarring of any of the movies' last fifteen minutes (always the best part of any murder mystery). Helen Mirren is DCI Tennison to a tee, and of the Prime Suspects, this might well be my favorite.

This one is also a keeper

[TheLittleSongbird · 10/10 · 3 August 2017]

Absolutely loved the first 'Prime Suspect' series. It was to me some of the best television to grace my television set. 'Prime Suspect II' was every bit as good, the two are about equal in terms of quality, for the same reasons as before.

'Prime Suspect III' was watched with high expectations when seeing all the 'Prime Suspect' series over-time since reviewing the first series last year. Those expectations were not just met but also surpassed. It has all the things that made the previous two 'Prime Suspect' series so great, and stands out even more because of the characterisation which was even richer and because of the story and its heavier themes than before.

It is stylishly and cleverly filmed, with slick editing and atmospheric lighting, and there is a consistently wonderful atmosphere throughout. It is a dark and gritty atmosphere, 'Prime Suspect' in general is both those things story-wise and visually but 'Prime Suspect III' is one of the stronger examples, while also being effectively claustrophobic. It is very hard to forget the music score too. The scripting, like its predecessor, is some of the best there is of any mystery/detective drama, being superbly constructed and intelligent.

The story is 'Prime Suspect' at its darkest, most hard-hitting and grittiest for the intense subject matter alone, but in some ways also at its most honest, intricate and emotional. It is a complex story that keeps one guessing right up to the end while also being easy to follow. The interrogation scenes are some of the most harrowing of the whole 'Prime Suspect' franchise, both intensely shocking and even brings tears to the eyes.

Jane Tennison continues to be an interesting character, the character and the depiction of the police force was very ahead of the time back in the 90s and holds much fascination now even if not so novel.

Helen Mirren gives a typically magnificent performance in the lead, and she has one of her best supporting casts of all the 'Prime Suspect' series that include Peter Capaldi and Mark Strong in early roles and a standout turn from Tom Bell as oily Sergeant Otley. Excelling also are David Thewlis, who has never been more thuggish, and Ciaran Hinds at his most mysterious.

In conclusion, along with the previous two 'Prime Suspect' series, 'Prime Suspect III' is the franchise at its best. 10/10 Bethany Cox

The Best of the Series

[kaaber-2 · 10/10 · 22 March 2008]

"Keeper of Souls" is IMO the best of the Prime Suspect series because it's the darkest of the lot. In the end, justice is only partly served by proxy - a muckraking, obnoxious journalist - and we don't even see it happening; we leave the plot as Tennyson, having failed to get a conviction from, or produce conclusive evidence on Parker-Jones (an excessively scary Ciaran Hinds) who is clearly guilty as charged, abandons the files in the interview room for the journalist to peruse and plunder.

We have become used to crime stories without happy endings - most notably in the Law & Order series - but "Keeper of the Souls" is particularly disturbing because it deals with the organized abuse of children and a pedophile ring leading to Police HQ and hushed up by authority.

However, the greatest feat is that the story - on such a bleak background - presents us with a string of extremely touching destinies; the drag artist who tries to help, but is too frightened to offer anything but vague clues that Tennyson is unable to decipher; the policeman who is placed on the squad to spy on Tennyson, but who switches allegiance after being bitten by an AIDS-infected boy, another policeman who earns Tennyson's respect by admitting in front of the team that he is gay, the two underage boys who die during the investigation, and, most notably, Tennyson suffering a 30 seconds breakdown after having decided to have her pregnancy terminated, thus giving up on having children altogether, a decision which will continue to haunt her throughout the series (until the final episode in which she befriends the 14-year-old Penny whom she sees as the daughter she might have had – only to find out that she is the killer Tennyson has been looking for).

At the end of "Keeper," almost nothing is solved; we don't know if the bitten police spy (who turns out to be a good guy after all) has really contracted AIDS, and there is no legal prosecution of the killer, only an indication that he may be exposed in the press (and will probably not sue the paper for fear of further investigation, we must conclude).

All of two unexpected star appearances flank Mirren: As the reluctant victim of abuse who refuses to testify in court we see Jonny Lee Miller just before he rose to stardom with "Trainspotting", and David Thewliss – fresh from "Naked" – appears as a terrifying hit-man.

So good.

[hafilax · 10/10 · 17 January 2001]

At first, we had a hard time understanding the accents, but by the second episode we caught up and enjoyed it a great deal. Then again, we were watching a home-taped VHS copy, so the sound was a little muted.

The acting and the writing were excellent.

Part 3 is nearly a classic.

[RatedVforVinny · 8/10 · 12 December 2019]

The original 'Prime Suspect' was one of the finest pieces of TV dramas, ever created. Again in part three Helen Mirren, teams up with the brilliant Tom Bell (as Sgt. Bill Otley). Another fab English actor pops up as the prime suspect David Thewlis. Just a shade under the classic and original vision.

Prime Suspect 3

[CinemaSerf · 8/10 · 26 August 2023]

Set at the height of the AIDS epidemic, this adaptation of Lynda La Plante's story is a potent assessment of just how vulnerable people were horrifically exploited in London in the early 1990s. Taking up her new post with the vice squad "DCI Tennison" (Helen Mirren) is charged with looking into the tragic death (in a fire) of young boy who turns out to have been a high-class rent boy. The investigation soon broadens as she encounters "Vera" (a striking effort from Peter Capaldi), "Jackson" (David Thewlis) and Ciarán Hinds (the sinister, almost malevolent Parker-Jones) and exposes a corrupt network of sexploitation that involves young men/boys and an establishment all too willing to turn a blind eye - or, indeed, to actively participate. David Drury has taken a gritty, punchy script and turned it into a compelling drama that shines a light on not just the seedier side of the sex industry, but also on bullying and gender issues that resonate even more profoundly thirty years later. Mirren has made the role her own, her strength of character dealing with her own team - frequently disdainful, homophobic or just plain disinterested as well as with the wonderfully odious Hinds is enthralling. Thewlis is great as the thuggish enforcer and there are a couple of really uncomfortable-to-watch cameos from Jonny Lee Miller and James Frain as victims of these atrocious abuses of trust and power. I don't know that it is my favourite of these, but it is certainly the most plausible in terms of depicting the brutal, thoughtless and shameless treatment of susceptible young men.

The darkest of the series.

[grendelkhan · 6 January 2003]

Prime Suspect 3 is by far the darkest of the series. It also marks the departure of series creator and writer Lynda La Plante. The later series suffer from her absence.

SPOILERS: Helen Mirren returns as DCI Tennison, newly transferred to Vice. She finds herself reunited with old nemesis Sgt. Bill Otley. Otley still doesn't like her, but they forge a wary alliance to conduct an investigation into the death of a young male prostitute, which overlaps with an ongoing effort to clean up a problem with "rent boys", male child prostitutes. The operations have been compromised at every turn and there are rumors of a cover-up. Tennison comes across characters like Vera Reynolds, a female impersonator and friend of the murder victim; James Jackson, a pimp and dangerous predator; and Edward Parker-Jones, an apparent humanitarian administrator of a youth center, with a hidden, evil past.

Tennison finds herself stonewalled at every turn and becomes suspicious of her superiors' motives. She uncovers spies within her team and secrets upon secrets.

The performances are spectacular. Mirren is always good in these productions. Tom Bell adds new dimension to the misogynist Otley. He shows a humane side when he talks with the young exploited boys. David Thewlis moves across the screen like a wolf among lambs; a flawless performance. Peter Capaldi is riveting as the fragile and frightened Vera/Vernon Reynolds.

The series examines the dark and sinister world of these young, exploited "rent boys". Most are runaways, living on the streets. It also examines the lives of homosexuals and the prejudices they often face; and, the courage it takes to live openly, as illustrated by an officer on Tennison's team. It enters the horrid world of pedophiles and shows how they destroy innocent lives. It also shows how many equate homosexuality with pedophilia, through the attitudes of many on the police force. The series takes the courageous route by showing good and bad examples amongst the gay characters, and that the pedophiles are almost entirely heterosexual.

Make no mistake, this series is depressing. There is little satisfaction to be found in the end; except for the feeling that you have witnessed something honest and amazing. The series provides no answers to the problems it shows, they are too complex. But it does force you to think about them and make you care; and that is what great drama can do.

Stunning performance by Mirren and cast

[larryb-9 · 31 August 2004]

The director did a superb job pulling PS 3 together. There are many twists and turns and unexpected endings. This shows the fullness of human nature in graphic, dark but jarring peeks into a modern police investigation. It also is a thought provoking portrayal of how powerless we often are to bring about meaningful change in erasing the root causes of such crimes from our communities.

The interjection of the investigation teams personal and sexual lives adds to the drama and richness of PS 3. The beginnings of life, childhood interrupted and the degradation of some of humanity is well portrayed. The dialogue is often excellent and you have to listen to some of the questioning sessions carefully to pick up nuances that become important later. The resolution is not as expected leaving the audience with a lot to think about about the rent boy issue today.

Mirren again bucks the system and the old boy network. the crusty Sergeant Bill Otley also surprises -- sometimes hard and occasionally "soft" when faced with the grit and horror of the crimes they are investigating.

There is no sugar coating hear. Highly recommended.

She's Back

[UACW · 3 December 2006]

Everything everyone is saying about this one is true. One thing to add: it's a lot for a single sitting. It runs almost four hours. People couldn't have had an option when it was transmitted on telly - they had to wait for the subsequent episodes - but when you rent or purchase it now you can't be forced into that option - and you'll find it nigh on impossible to break things off at the hour or two hour mark - it's just too good as everyone says.

Perhaps the best news is that Lynda La Plante is back. Episode two wasn't bad - but it wasn't La Plante's writing and it didn't have her magical hand on it. This one does. It's as if she took all the stuff she found out worked in the first episode, concentrated it, and flung it back. Everything is deeper, grittier, gorier.

There are seven huge episodes in this opus, all told twenty two hours of viewing. So to single out any one episode and say it's 'best' is going to be difficult, but taking only the first three it's not hard to see which excel more than others, and this one has to rank right at the very top.

The "end" left me hanging"---!

[RDsLogical · 4 September 2004]

The 3rd of the series is very honest and full of emotional reaction to the life of all most everyone in the series. But was very confused and at least wanted the "bad guy" to get pinched for the murder! Thought I missed out on something. It was like reading a mystery and then finding that the last chapter was missing. But, beyond that, it truly was and is outstanding! Good job all around! Mirren is strong and yet we see a very touching side of her when it comes to a medical question. The seediness of the whole "rent boy" world was well shown without pointing fingers or moral questions answered, which in all honesty is for better minds then wrote, acted and viewed this series. Perhaps that is why, "the end" is, after all, correct for this look into what we outside see as an almost "unreal" world/way of life.