User Reviews

Sometimes a screen version of a story recognises that it doesn't have to be a slavish copy of the book in order to do it justice. Sometimes it remembers to rely on visuals rather than words. This mini-series utilised a very clever plot device to highlight Prentice's confusion, questions and internal dialogue.

The darkly comic story opens up at the funeral of Prentice's grandmother who subsequently explodes. This bizarre event sets the tone for the rest of the four episodes and lets you know right away, that you're not watching a standard mystery.

But more relevantly... shortly before Granny died, she set Prentice a little task. Find out what happened to Uncle Rory. Now, Rory has been missing for about seven years now and nobody knows where he is. He got on his motorbike one day and drove off - never to be seen again. Various family members have their theories on what happened to him, but they are a quirky and strange bunch with their own secrets, so their thoughts are open to interpretation, anyway. And the rest of the clues are present in Rory's memoirs which are haphazard, random and - due to his disappearance - incomplete.

So the story gradually unwinds. The viewer never knows any more or less than Prentice knows himself and he is unwilling to face some of the less savoury details. Further events, funerals and family gatherings, together with Rory's own notes inspire flashbacks and memories that flesh out all the characters, provide fresh suspicions and theories and ultimately provides one of those "Ooohh" moments where everything finally falls into place. I mean it. You might well find yourself shouting at Prentiss to "Make the #*$ing connections!" I certainly did.

Watch the series with a bunch of friends. Pause the DVD after every episode. Put the kettle on (or open some more beers or - if you really want to savour the mood - pour some whisky), recap what happened with each other, exchange theories and then settle back for the next instalment. Then later, you might even be inspired to read the book.

Very recommended.

Excellent mini-series about a young man's search for the truth in his family's past and what it had to do with his uncle's disappearance some years before. It is about closure but also growing up and moving on in one's life. Hard to pick a stand-out in a cast that fits the characters with great precision.

Perhaps the real star is the landscapes of Argyll in Scotland. I was always disappointed when filming went inside, except that the script was so strong and acting so meticulous, you were always entertained and stimulated.

Peter Capaldi and Dougray Scott went on to bigger things. Bill Paterson and Stella Gonet are solid,established Scottish actors whose standards never drop and Valerie Edmond has always been a shining light. The younger actors were excellent as well.

This has to be one of the most impressive pieces of drama ever to come out of Scotland. Outside of the long running series 'Taggart'(which had a very similar visual approach to 'The Crow Road')and the films 'Trainspotting','Shallow Grave', 'Small Faces' and 'Local Hero' there is nothing Scottish i can think of which equals it for quality(some might say 'Gregory's Girl' but i was never to fond of that myself).The story is somewhat complicated but it is brilliantly put together. I also have to say that i have never read the novel so the adaption is very user friendly and by the look of the other reviews it has pleased fans of the original text aswell.The only problem i felt was with the ending which i thought just seemed to smooth and cleared everything up too well. But on the whole this is a minor criticism. It is strange to think that i first saw this 6 years ago, when it was first screened by the BBC. Its also somewhat sad that the careers of perhaps the dramas two most outstanding performers, Joe McFadden and Valerie Edmund, haven't gone anywhere since as it seemed at the time that both were set for stardom. Howerever Dougray Scott, who had a somewhat minor role as Prentice's older brother, has gone on to much bigger things including being Tom Cruise's nemesis in Mission Impossible:2.

Brian Elsley's enormously commendable adaptation of Iain Banks' brilliant but seemingly unfilmable complex novel benefits from a witty, beautifully literate script and a strong cast, spearheaded by an immensely charismatic Joe McFadden as Prentice, the young Scot with the large, quirky circle of family and friends who gradually unravels a web of dark secrets. Bill Patterson is also worthy of note as the story-weaving, staunchly aetheist father, and the whole is a gripping, quietly stunning example of just how good BBC drama serials can be.

At first I only watched this because of the impressive use of the landscape of the west coast of Scotland, and area I'd toured earlier that year. However, I was soon pulled irresistibly into the complex, detailed storyline. Be warned - this story probably isn't good for anyone who can't keep track of several plots running concurrently. While the flashbacks can sometimes be confusing, they add so much to the story.

The acting is also wonderful. All the characters come to bright, shining life from their first appearances.

And let's face it, how many stories begin with the words "It was the day my Grandmother exploded"?

I saw the crow road when it first aired and it was the first BBC drama that I never expected to like but really enjoyed, I could wait to see the next part. Years later when I went to Uni I became friends with a lad who reminded me so much of Prentice and fortunately UK gold began running the series and it has not lost any of the original spark. I would definitely encourage anyone to see the Crow Road, it is both funny and captivatingly mysterious, containing excellent performances from all the cast especially Prentice.

'The Crow Road' came out at a time when gritty dramas were flavour of the month like 'The Lakes', 'This Life', 'Shockers' etc. but, for me, this was the big stand-out. Mainly because it was so well adapted from the book and because of the great cast. Joseph McFadden, who plays the lead (Prentice McHoan), was relatively unknown at the time, but more than held his own alongside established actors like Bill Paterson & Peter Capaldi. Also the young support cast of Dougray Scott, Valerie Edmond & Simone Bendix play their parts very well. Dougray Scott, in particular, is perfectly cast as Prentice's swaggering, comedian brother.

The director keeps the suspense and mystery going throughout, allowing the story to come together a little at a time, leading on to an explosive finale that I found genuinely surprising.

I don't think I've seen anything else like it.

10/10 Outstanding.

My wife bought me this for Xmas and we've just finished watching it again. As something of a perfectionist when it comes to adaptations of books I have read (Starship Troopers anybody), I have to say that this one tops the list. If I have to criticise it at all, I'd only say that I'd expected Prentice and Ashley to both be blond. Suffice it to say that this is the only fault I can find both with an exceptional adaptation and a fine set of performances by the whole cast in general and Joseph McFadden in particular.

Being a fan of BBC series, I was happy to find this set at my library. After sitting through almost four hours of often-obscure plot and poor sound (why 2-channel stereo when surround sound is easy to do now?), I thought I'd share my impressions. The rating is for the actors who are often excellent (Bill Paterson is one of my favourites today, and Peter Capaldi is very fine here) rather than for the technical aspects and the script. This really should have been a 90-minute movie rather than a miniseries.

Some reviewers have complained about the Scots accents being too thick; I found the dialogue easy to understand with one exception: Valerie Edmond playing Ashley delivered her lines with a really heavy accent that forced me to use my headphones. But she does an excellent job with her character, so I didn't mind really.

I remember watching a tape of "The Crow Road" lying on a sofa in some friends' flat on a New Year's Day in Edinburgh in the late Nineties and being captured by the whole "feel" of the mini series. Everything seemed to work beautifully: the cast (including actors who shot to fame later like Dougray Scott), the story (a brilliant family tale/coming-of-age/detective story), the setting... Unfortunately, my friends hadn't taped the end of the series, but luckily there was a BBC video out that I got a few weeks later in addition to reading the book at the first possibility. Every year, I make sure that I watch the mini series at least once, because it is the best adaptation of the many brilliant books by Iain Banks.

Magic and absurd rendering of Scotland, strong and intelligent women, the wild countryside, old computer systems and some of the problems of growing up, together with witty dialogue, an excellent set of actors and a beautiful script! Can be seen again and again...

An excellent adaption. Charismatic and convincing cast. Captures the spirit of the source book as well as any adaption I've seen.

Young college student Prentice, at the request of his grandmother, tries to uncover the truth about the disappearance of his uncle Rory, now missing for seven years. Despite what the cover artwork of both the DVD set and novel might suggest, The Crow Road is not horror. At it's heart it is a slow-burn dark mystery film dealing with family secrets and the surrounding drama. With a little romance thrown in. Some "shagging" as well but nothing I would call erotic; more used to advance plot points. Another thread that weaves throughout the entire narrative is an examination of the existence of God...nothing overtly religious or preachy, it's handled intelligently and used to good effect in setting up family relationship dynamics. I was happy to see that the darkly funny bits from the novel were carried over to the film as well.

Revealing secrets and other family history is done with much use of flashbacks. I'm not a fan of long flashbacks that take you out of the moment and force you to refocus your attention elsewhere, often completely changing the mood. But that's not the case here. The flashbacks are mostly a continuation of the current mood, usually interesting, and kept brief enough so that they don't become annoying.

Enjoyable, as was the original novel. In rating this one it would be all too easy to not be objective and give in to nostalgia. With that in mind: The story is complex and requires a bit of study but it's a good story. Competent acting, effective music and sound score, impressive coastal Scottish landscapes. It all holds up pretty well.

Iain Banks novel is set in different time zones, the complex narrative deemed it to be unfilmable.

The television adaptation has a dark, comic edge which opens with the death of the family matriarch who explodes during her funeral ceremony.

Prentice McHoan is affected by family tragedy. His uncle Rory has been missing for seven years, his aunt died in a road accident and now his grandmother. He does not get on with his father who is agnostic whilst Prentice wants some kind of spiritual faith.

Spurred on by his grandmother, he seeks out to find out what happened to his uncle Rory, deal with his issues that he has with his father. He lusts after a distant cousin of his, who he thinks is his perfect woman and then there is his more successful brother played by Dougray Scott who is an up and coming comedian and has no problems in attracting women.

Joseph McFadden gives a star making performance and is ably supported by the actors playing the various members of the McHoan clan. Joe has enough wide eyed innocence and also some grit whilst he tries to put the puzzle together over the course of the series with the aid of his uncle Rory who appears in his innermost thoughts.

The series is funny, tragic, dramatic, includes breathtaking scenery, plenty of family closeness that you actually gets you to be blindsided as you forget that a mystery has to be dealt with potential sinister undertones.

It's an excellent adaptation that is well filmed.

Uncle Rory played by now Scottish legend Peter Capaldi appears in flashback scenes as well as in Prentice's innermost thoughts to drive the story on and resolve the mystery of what happened to him.

If you wonder why women have anger against men, just listen to the dialogue in the first 10 minutes. Instead of going after men in general, look at the men involved in this spew of hatred.