This is the kind of cop show we should see more often. In short, Four Lives is about cops NOT solving a series of murders. In fact, they not only fail to solve the crimes, they fail to even acknowledge that crimes have been committed. They fail to recognise the bumbling culprit whose cack-handed attempts at covering his tracks are entirely successful. They fail to see the most obvious of links between the four deaths. They even fail utterly at family liaison, thereby exacerbating people's grief and distress. It's a tale of incompetence, arrogance and homophobia that some viewers might find truly staggering. But as a former journalist I can attest that the cops in Four Lives are much closer to the vast majority of real-life cops than any of the TV detectives depicted in series after series, decade after decade. Pick almost any real life murder case and you're far more likely to uncover examples of prejudiced, lazy or less-than-bright cops making endless mistakes, corrupting crime scenes, missing evidence and blindly pursuing the wrong killer. All of which makes Four Lives a long overdue exercise in balance. Well done.
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ozjosh13 April 2022
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VikiLauda2 April 2022Four lives tells the real life story of the horrific murders of 4 young men on the very cusp of thier lives, & where the utterly shocking police incompetnce & failure to investigate, which lead to more lives being cruelly snatched away.
Stephen Merchant is utterly chilling as murderer Stephen Port. His performance is spine tingling yet almost muted making the whole persona seem eerie & sinister. Sheriden Smith as the mother of Anthony Walgate (Sarah Sac) is highly emotive & brought a tear to my eye as the mothers that lost their sons are my age & made me realise this could have happened to my son. So her performance gave me a personal connection. The supporting cast are also excellent, where I could find no fault. This deeply upsetting story is told with tact & a certain grace which I appreciate & respect, however I feel the side of the story dealing with the incompetent police investigation was slightly lacking & needed more depth. The blatent homophobia displayed by the police during the real investigation was disgusting & staggering but this is not touched upon untill part 3 of the drama.
Overall this is a great drama though & highly compelling with terrific performances. The pacing is smooth, direction is almost flawless & the photography is superb. We can also take comfort that the real killer, Stephen Port is now safely locked away on a whole life term so he can no longer terrorise the Gay community & law abiding society. Thank goodness!
8 stars for all the cast & crew. X. -
sarah-508-6494215 January 2022Having had personal experience with police and liaison officers and investigating police this perfectly portrays the frustration of today when dealing with them. You'd like to think lessons would be learnt but no. They're a frustrating bunch with no sympathy, empathy or common sense. Scary when they're in such positions. But make no mistake the portrayal is very real.
Sheridan is wonderful as always. Seems to be something about her managing to play the rough housewife so well. Remember The Moorside?
Merchant is equality as mesmerising even if he doesn't say a lot. Check out them eyes. Hate to know what the real bloke is like.
The sadness of the ending brought me to tears.
Compelling watch. -
azanti00294 January 2022Four Lives is an incredibily accurate drama documentary that tells the story of what would become known in the media as The Barkingside Murders or Grinder Serial Killer. The killer in question preying on young men via gay dating apps and giving them too much GHB (also known as the date rape drug) to enable him to assault them.
The real story here though is the absolute bungling of the police investigation. Lessons from Lawrence had clearly not been learned and such familiar mistakes were further compounded by a poor approach towards LGBT sensitivities, a failure of due care towards the victims families and any effort to do the most basic of policework.
This story could not have been told in a single film, nor even as a two parter and somehow three still feels a little indequate but this essential story was well structured and gives great insight into the terrible blunders made by the police that will literally leave you screaming at the television.
Here it is the quality of the writing that stands out from the outset, as adequate screen time is given to each of the four young men who ultimately became Port's victims, so we feel invested in their lives and their futures. Equally we feel the loss by their friends, relatives and lovers. The show has a number of stand out performances including several from the lesser well known cast, among those which deserve special mention are: Rufus Jones (who you will reconogize as he never stops working) Samuel Barnett, Jimmy Bradshaw, Paddy Rowan, Michael Jibson and Ella Kenion bring some of the smaller roles to life with great skill, while Sheridan Smith, Holly Aird and Jamie Winston fill the shoes of the more meaty roles with their usual gutsy portrayals. The real stand out performance here though is Stephen Merchant as Port, whom I expect we will see a great deal more of in serious roles after this. The one moment in the show where he chooses to smile is truly chilling. Roberts Emms also gives a very emotive and raw performance as the partner of one of the deceased. The visit by the Police to his home is a scene which is hard to digest but one for which he brings a really visceral poignancy with his performance.
Four Lives is not an easy watch, and having watched both this and Anne practically back to back two days in a row, I felt something of an emotional wreck by the end of that journey. This show leaves you feeling angry towards the police by the end of it and really demonstrates, sadly, the days when you could just trust them to do their job are a distant memory. Hopefully this programme will reinforce to them the lessons that should have been learned from this story. An outstanding piece of drama and a credit to all involved. -
This is a really well-made story of how four young men were murdered by same man after meeting up through a gay dating website. It's a tale very much of the time we live in. It seems to me there's so many young people who are prepared to just meet complete strangers through social media, without really thinking of the potential consequences.
Sheridan Smith plays the mother of the first victim and as always she puts on a first class performance. As far as I'm aware this was Stephen merchants first straight role and deserves praise for the way he portrayed the evil sadistic killer, who claimed his innocence right up to the end. Well worth a watch particularly if like me you were previously unaware of this story. 8/10. -
johngleeson8915 January 2022A harrowing true story. The incompetencies of the Police make it seem unbelievable but by all accounts, it was the case. On the whole, well put together and the acting was good barring Sheridan Smith. Overly aggressive, unlikeable and couldn't even say her character's sons name properly. Regardless, I would still recommend.
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Anyone watching this adaptation of a terribly botched investigation by the Met Police must first and foremost think of the four young men who lost their lives to this monster and to the friends and family still mourning their loss.
The writers correctly took a respectful approach to honestly retelling the stories of the four young men accurately without adding melodrama or sensationalising.
It was very well made in all departments with strong understated performances from Sheridan Smith and Stephen Merchant in particular and some great work from many of the supporting actors.
Powerful and moving television that left me angry and in tears. -
STAR RATING: ***** Brilliant **** Very Good *** Okay ** Poor * Awful
When Sarah Sak's (Sheridan Smith) son goes missing and is then found dead, she is determined to find justice for him, but is met with a wall of indifference and inactivity by the police, and begins to think his sexuality may have played a part in this. When the bodies of several other young gay men are found in a similar fashion, it becomes clear that a serial killer is at large, and further pressure is put on the police to get to the bottom of it, before Stephen Port (Stephen Merchant) is tried and convicted of the crimes.
This dark four part serial drama from director David Blair arrives hot on the heels of the real life conviction of Stephen Port for the 'Grindr' killings, where he used a fake profile to entice young, vulnerable men who were reluctant to completely open up about their sexuality to those around them, before 'playing God' with them. The case attracted some unsavoury publicity in itself for the way the case was handled, and whether lives could have been saved if things had been done differently. This freshness from the original events could have provided an inspiring springboard in itself to really make the most of it, but somehow this whole dramatisation never really rises to the surface.
All the right ingredients are there, from the cast to what seems to be a fairly authentic reconstruction of the true life backgrounds of the victims . Blair fittingly (and respectfully, given the true life nature of the story) keeps the tone dark and dull, with a minimum of humour and light. Somehow, it all just feels undercooked and underdeveloped, never really galvanising us in to the thrust of the story or getting us to care about the characters as much as it should. Even lead star Smith, usually so strong and capable in real life roles like this, is strangely bland and unremarkable while Merchant, a surprising choice given his comedy background, looks unnerving enough as Port, but never really gets under the skin of the character.
Maybe it came out too soon after the real life conviction, with too much hot air floating around in the aftermath, or maybe not. While it's not a total failure, it sadly very much fails to be the sum of its parts. *** -
Lejink8 January 2022This starkly-named three-part BBC drama retold the comparatively recent story of the so-called "Grindr Killer" Stephen Port, the depraved individual who, in 2014 and 2015, under false names, used gay dating apps to lure for sex four young men to his flat in the area of Barking in London. There, he administered to them the killer drug GHB to render them unconscious before raping and murdering them, dumping their bodies outside in posed fashion to make their deaths appear like drug overdoses and in one case even suicide. The handling of the case by the local constabulary is now considered one of the most incompetent ever carried out in this country and indeed in the last couple of weeks, the Police's own Complaints Review Board has delivered a damning report on the conduct of the Barking Force. These failings cover not only their inability to see through Port's obviously weak explanations for his involvement with the victims, but also by extension their shockingly lax and inconsiderate communications with the grieving families anxious for information about their deceased loved ones down to even reclaiming their bodies to give them each a proper funeral.
Stephen Merchant portrays the evil Port, a creepy individual who lived alone and had a predilection for collecting miniature toy cars. Using a wig to cover his premature baldness, he used pseudonyms to post advertisements on different apps offering money for sex to unsuspecting young men. Port had used this M. O. on other rape victims before finally his administering of the dangerous drug GHB inevitably killed his first victim, a young student fashion designer trying to make some easy, extra money on the side. Port actually sat the victim's dead body directly outside his own flat and personally called in the local police, who too easily accepted his version of events that the young man had accidentally overdosed after their liaison.
Compounding the local force's investigative failings however was their equally inept and insensitive handling of the victim's family. Sheridan Smith plays the boy's devastated mother, who is naturally curious as to how the investigation is proceeding as well as seeking the return of her son's body to his family but who runs into an incompetent and seemingly uncaring "jobsworth" Crime Liaison Officer who keeps her at arms length and fobs her off with pat answers to her concerns, at no time showing any real sense of human compassion or understanding for her loss.
Having raped and killed once and got away with it, Port proceeds to within the next year kill three other young men in the same way, leaving their dead bodies in adjacent spots in his own neighbourhood, but the police fail to connect the deaths and dismiss them as overdoses or suicide, the latter due to a crudely obvious forged suicide note written by the murderer Port in the name of the third victim which fictitiously implicated the deceased with the death of the second victim to deflect the investigation away from him.
Each young man of course has their own family and friends who we see receive the same short shrift from the so-called law and it's only through their promptings, including reporting their offhand treatment to their local M. P. which finally brings in the Metropolitan Police to take over the enquiry and by re-examining the fairly obvious evidence finally charge and convict Port.
Merchant is decidedly chilling as the serial killer, preying on the innocent for his own macabre gratification who should have been caught long before he actually was. Smith puts in a strong performance as the first victim's mother on whom we principally see the devastating impact of the murder of her own child, although fair representation is also shown to the families of the other victims. Personally, I found the rehabilitation of the first victim's gruff, unfeeling father, now divorced from Smith's character, into accepting his deceased son's homosexuality and secret life as a paid escort a little heavy-handed and distracting and would like to have seen the senior officers in the first investigation individually high- or should that be low-lighted for the slack policing on their watch, but in the end this well-produced, written and acted series, released immediately after the Police Complaints Review report was issued, quite rightly pulled no punches in excoriating the top-to-bottom police failings in the cases, even as the post-conclusion subtitles inform us that no one in the original investigation took any blame for their (mis)conduct and indeed that five of them had been since promoted.
I know that the police do a difficult job, but with responsibility goes an expectation of basic competence and accountability, both of which were sadly lacking here.
One can only hope that the lackadaisical approach which informed so much of the initial police response here doesn't befall some other unfortunate individual or group of individuals and by extension, their loved ones. -
fgsro12 January 2022I think the actual story of the 'Grindr' killer is an interesting one and this could of been done really well. I just think the script is awful and the acting is even worse, simple as that. It feels at times as though I am watching an episode of Eastenders!
Sheridan smith does okay, wouldn't even class her as a stand out but definitely best of the bunch. Stephen Merchant comes across very bland.
Overall disappointing. -
daviddunn-9065312 January 2022Excellent drama with Stephen Merchant and Sheridan Smith giving top notch performances. Merchant was especially chilling. Very scary. Sheridan Smith, is one of the finest actresses of modern times and it showed here.
The police were completely inept throughout the investigation and this drama highlighted that perfectly. A fine production all round. -
benswindin-410357 January 2022This is a story that I feel a strong connection to, with me being a gay man and also from Hull.
Very emotional true story but for some reason this series seems to be completely void of emotion and the performances from majority of the cast are mostly flat and just unconvincing I hate to say. This series highlights a very important case and years of institutional misconduct by the police that still happens to this day. The series feels very half baked in every aspect of its production. Which is a shame because I truly believe it was made with the best of intentions. It's just kind of a let down which is unfortunate because this is a story that everyone should know about and be aware of. Still I recommend people to watch this show, if only to learn about this case and the massive wrong doings of the police involved. 6.5/10. -
After hearing about the dramatisation of what needs to be a more widely known story, I was keen to watch this sooner rather than later.
Unfortunately, after only one episode, I gave up, even through there are only two more episodes to go in this three part series.
There is very little positive to share on this program. It is poorly written, poorly acted, the sets and visualisation is nonexistent.
It's as though the producers have stuck so close to the facts, which is admirable, that the TV show has suffered. I feel as though this should have been a documentary rather than a TV dramatisation. -
nitilaanderson23 January 2022I was not sure of watching this. After the first episode I was hooked.
Steven Merchant and Sheridan Smith outstanding portrayal of the roles they played.
The police never learn to they. The number of times by different people were they told are these murders related and they shrugged it off. Stating their individual cases have nothing to do with the ongoing investigates of other young men who were found in the same place grave yard.
The woman who kept walking her dog on the same path I actually found comical.
Like they say a mother always knows. -
lizxypopcornkid5 January 2022The show four lives is unfortunately based on true preventable events which I knew before going into watching it , I am truly sorry for the families and victims than ever before.
The show is accurate and very well acted, especially regarding Sheridan Smiths performance which I have no doubt she'll win many awards for!
I hope the tv show brings more light to unjust crimes not just in the UK but everywhere !
If u have the time to spare watch this TV show and please support the LGBT community.
Thank you . -
jacquelinesandra-346716 January 2022Great cast but I have to say that Sheridan Smith was quite awful in it.
Didn't know about the murders, the Police miserably failed the victims and the families. Was shocked to see it happened just a few years ago, with all the technology, a lot more should have been done! -
hailthequeenbaby4 January 2022Grim true life crime told sympathetically with credible performances all round, of four family's fight for justice. Sheriden Smith and Stephen Merchant both looking very comfortable in their roles. You're left with equal measures of anger at the perpetrator of the horrific crimes and the incredible incompetence of the police.
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W011y4m55 January 2022Unfortunately, "Four Lives" feels like a disappointingly "adequate" & formulaic way to tell an incredibly important story regarding one of the worst institutional failures in modern British policing history - & for something which is as deserving of scathing condemnation as this, upon failing to rightfully tear multiple chunks out of the Met & its deteriorating credibility / reputation, the BBC's toothless dramatisation lacks the bold, scornful bite that it should've ideally possessed.
I'm not saying it's bad but after watching a groundbreaking, provocative series like "It's A Sin" (which, in a bittersweet combination, made the stories of young gay men about more than just their tragic & premature deaths, celebrating the individuality of those caught up in events & the beauty of their fleeting lives whilst balancing that happiness with politics & profound, traumatic loss) I can't help but feel as though there's a far better way to tell the stories of LGBT people than this. Furthermore, I don't really want to see a series shaped around the murderer who perpetrated these unforgivable crimes. It shouldn't be about him & I resented the fact that his featuring ate up so much screen time - because in life, he deprived Anthony, Gabriel, Daniel & Jack of their time; he had no right to do so here & wasn't worth it. Therefore, blotting out such light with needless, grim darkness was an unjustifiable creative decision, in my opinion. His scenes only sought to reaffirm his weird, obsessive, predatory nature but that wasn't warranted because his vulgar actions proved that beyond any reasonable doubt. A superior approach would've arguably been to make those who we lost the main focus - as opposed to reducing them to minor roles that were voyeuristically shot as deceased bodies for the vast majority of their inclusion. Didn't appreciate the gratuitous visualisations of their discoveries, I must admit.
Plus, the fact that the man responsible for these heinous acts (I'm not even going to dignify that thing with a name - doesn't deserve one) is dubbed "the Grindr killer" & the producers clearly haven't been granted permission to use the app on screen (the company evidently doesn't want any negative association) so instead, amendments are consequently made to the plot so that the victims are lured to their doom via random websites - like a couch surfing platform (?) - feels like a particularly offensive dilution, regardless of the reason for making alterations; the 4 men used a gay app for hook ups. You can't water it down or hide / shy away from it because that's not something to be ashamed of. Changing that plot point (very noticeably) - no matter how you try & excuse it - simply adds to the misconception that being on there was shameful & unintentionally comes across as victim blaming. It's a careless error of judgement that prevents this from being respectful & worse, it contradicts the messaging - that they shouldn't have had anything to hide in the beginning... When you can't even say what it was that they were using - out of fear of judgement / hostilities. This is a big issue as the series progresses. I know some heterosexuals will say "why put so much emphasis on gay sex?" But it's undeniably a big part of gay men's identities & integral to why they were there (in that flat) in the first place. Masking that & sweeping it under the carpet is counterproductive / erasure; the exact same harmful ignorance that left vulnerable gay men exposed... Thus, we're actively trying to dispel it.
Additionally, the overall focus of the series is all wrong. This was an attack on the LGBT community, perpetrated by a monster within our own community. That's deeply PERSONAL & quite frankly, a betrayal. The vile creature exploited institutional homophobia & people's ambivalence towards dead gay men, to kill again repeatedly - without consequence. The victims are gay men, living gay lives who were failed solely BECAUSE they were gay - yet the creators have lensed the story through the outside perspective of straight people, looking in? You can see how that doesn't align cohesively? In all fairness, I get *why* they wished to follow the narrative through the eyes of the bereaved families but there's a disconnect between the lives that gay men live & what their straight relatives see, which means their view of things isn't entirely honest. Hence, it's a point of view which lacks authenticity & truthfulness - because it's often omitting the parts where members tend to look away.
Furthermore, there's literally no social commentary, no damning refutation of the corrupt, systematic oppression which enabled these attitudes of complacency within the police force to go unpunished, no daring statements etc. The episodes lightly touch upon wider issues without ever having the guts to address the bigger picture at the heart of why this was allowed to happen. It's all very safe & unchallenging. -
Foxtrot-Alpha7774 January 2022The problem I have with most serial killer dramas is that they glorify the offender, thankfully they gave this one the right level of exposure. Merchant did a great job getting away from his comic routes and played his version of Port perfectly, as a sad pathetic man with no morals.
The rest of the cast complimented Merchant and did a brilliant job telling the story with respect, showing the lives of the four young men rather than their tragic deaths. I felt at times it went a bit superficial and could have added more depth to them personally but in the limited time available it did well.
Overall not an easy watch due to the true story but moreover the hopeless performance of the original police enquiry leaves you dumbfounded. If true this was appalling. A must see. -
simoncoram-067664 January 2022I struggle to believe that things really happened like they're portrayed here. This show could be considered a comedy, the police are so laughably inept, ignorant and uncaring. Law & Order it ain't. If the cops are really this bad in this country how do they ever solve anything? 🤔
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bryangary653 June 2022Very good drama based on a recent true story
Excellent performance as per usual by Sheridan Smith and the surprise package of Stephen Merchant as the evil Port. -
shanecoull13 May 2022Stephen Merchant was excellent in what l believe maybe his first serious role. Hopefully he will choose more serious roles in the future.
The same unfortunately cannot be said for the rest of the cast. This is possibly the worst acted show l have ever seen from a BBC production.
Special praise to Sheridan Smith, who l have not watched before, and who's performance, if you could call it that, was truly awful! -
b-vanhaeften16 January 2022Having read about these murders and the subsequent investigation it was surprising that the Writer/Director chose not to expose the endemic homophobia within the Metropolitan Police, or how the case bounced between the central murder squad and local constabulary without any clear ownership.
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Goosegirl1427 January 2022This true life dramatisation intelligently tells the story of what happened to four young men, but also; the repercussions on the family and friends; the fight that should never have had to be fought to get the police to simply do their job; the negligence and incompetence that occurred in these cases. I found it highly emotive and engrossing, and therefore excellent.
It was purely interested in portraying what happened without sensationalism. The cast were all extremely good, and I thought Stephen merchant was believable and did not overplay his role, which some comedians/actors can do when playing sinister people who've committed heinous crimes. -
backworld11 August 2022I like this series..very interesting. It deals with the murders of 4 gay men in London UK. It is not soppy, no un-needed blood or violence- pretty typical British tv...but really good.
The police however are complete buffoons without any empathy for the parents/families. British tv always seems to make the police cold, rigid & unfeeling.
The character of DC Slaymaker is particularly inept, stupid, bumbling & offensive..his demeanor clearly shows he does not like or even try to understand that gay people are just "people".
I am at the middle of the second episode & will continue to the end because I want to see the outcome.
I like British tv in general-in fact most of the programs...but the treatment & attitude of the officious detectives makes me angry.
I live in the US so my opinion may be slanted.