Landscapers (2021) User Reviews (218)

True crime mini-series is very dark, very British, and well worth checking out

[paul-allaer · 7/10 · 8 December 2021]

As Episode 1 of "Landscapers" (2021 release from the UK; 4 episodes of about 55 min each) opens, we are told upfront what the outcome of these events are, so there is no need for guessing how it's all going to end. We are then introduced to Susan, who is browsing an antique store somewhere in France (Lille, we learn later). She buys a rare movie poster. Back at the apartment, her husband Christopher comes home from yet another wasted day trying to find a job. Christopher tells Susan that things are dire and they are just about out of money, not to mention late on their rent. He decides to call his stepmother back in the UK to beg for financial help... At this point we are 1o min into Episode 1.

Couple of comments: this tv mini-series in based on true events (in the closing credits of Episode 1, we get actual news clips from various British TV stations). As mentioned already, we are told in the opening seconds what the final outcome for Susan and Christopher will be, so in other words, it's not about the ending but instead about Susan's and Christopher's journey to the ending. For sure this mini-series in very dark and oh so very British. That combination seems to have prompted a number of 1 and 2 star reviews on here, to which I say: "you wouldn't spot quality if it hit you in the face". The talent that is attached to this mini-series is amazing, none more so than Olivia Colman as Susan (Colman was nominated for an Oscar for her performance in last year's "The Father"). This series is written and directed by Ed Sinclair (a/k/a Colman's husband in real life). The role of Christopher is played by veteran British actor David Thewlis. Bottom line: there is a lot to like about this TV mini-series, and I can't wait to see the rest of Susan's and Christopher's journey.

"Landscapers" premiered on HBO just a few days ago, and Episode 1 is now available on HBO On Demand and HBO Max (where I caught it last night). If you are in the mood for a true crime series that is dark and very British, I'd readily suggest you check it out, and draw your own conclusion.

Artisanal docudrama

[Calicodreamin · 7/10 · 3 January 2022]

The best way I can think to describe this show is an artisanal docudrama, and it works. The scene cuts are flawless and the cinematography dark and vivid. The characters are well cast and well acted, Coleman slays as usual. It's an interesting story, if not a bit odd.

Quirky and somehow compelling.

[mandagrammy · 8/10 · 31 December 2021]

To say that this is a quirky version of a true crime event is putting it mildly. Comparing it to Fargo is a fair assessment, but not entirely. The dark humor of Fargo is very American in flavor, while that same humor is very British in this series. There are distinct differences. Olivia and David, portraying married couple, the Edwards, carry this series firmly and fascinatedly on their shoulders. Their ability to portray a couple who are both appealing and creepy is the mark of great acting. In the end, you are left wondering if the real Mr. And Mrs. Edwards are guilty, not guilty, or only partially guilty or innocent of the crime that they are accused of.

A touching story of Murder and dysfunctional lives

[tm-sheehan · 9/10 · 30 December 2021]

My Review - Landscapers

My Rating 9/10. On Stan

This Crime Drama I found fascinating for a number of reasons from the very beginning we discover that it's based on a true life crime and that the devoted and mild-mannered British couple Susan and Christopher Edwards who are the focus of this extraordinary story are still serving a long 25 year old prison sentence for murdering Susan's dysfunctional and abusive parents and burying them in their back yard . ( it's not a spoiler that's made known to the viewer from very early on.

What's more extraordinary is that they both still proclaim their innocence even though they were were found guilty .

The verdict was passed on the couple in 2014 for the crime of killing Susan's parents, with the judge calling Susan "an accomplished liar and a fantasist".

The sensational acting from Olivia Coleman as Susan and David Thewlis as Christopher is spellbinding as we see the story unfold from their perspective . The story left me feeling some sympathy and empathy when you consider the background story of the couple as presented in the fine Screenplay by Ed Sinclair and Will Sharpe .

Ed Sinclair the Co Creator of this 4 part drama series is actually Olivia Coleman's husband so who better to write a role that I think is one of the finest of her career so far.

Olivia Coleman's portrayal of this mousey and insecure woman who is obsessed by the Golden Years of Hollywood and French Cinema . She especially loves romantic movies and the Western films of Gary Cooper . Her performance is so sensitive and touching in parts no wonder I related to her love of Cinema.

Her obsessive collecting even goes to the extent of buying a poster for over £200 when her husband is practically penniless and out of work . Her love and dependence on husband Christopher is so complex and fascinating and even leads to a wonderful plot twist that involves the famous French Cinema Star Gérard Depardieu.

A woman who can be gentle and sweet one moment and then erupt like a benevolent volcano when harshly criticised or feeling confused or betrayed.

David Thewlis is equally fascinating as the stoic and loyal husband Christopher Edwards . His wife as he correctly describes to police is a fragile woman who freely admits she is the cause of their dilemma . Even before their arrest after returning and surrendering he advises Susan to be calm and just tell the truth according to him anyway and not divert from their account of the incident that they both have agreed to.

I really enjoyed the technique that Director Will Sharpe uses of mirroring the plight of the couple in total fantasy Western movie scenes it sounds bazaar but it works beautifully in my opinion as it also lets us enter into Susan's cinematic imagination.

This series was a real surprise and pleasure for me as it more psychological than psychotic with more character development than I've seen in many a Crime drama the creators have cleverly combined a crime murder story with a sad but touching love story top marks to all involved.

"I'm not fragile, I'm broken"

[S3pt3m63r · 12 December 2021]

Wow, what a brilliant, original, creative drama. Very un British despite the reviews. Yes, we know the outcome , but it captures a moment or moments/flavours in time using a variety of film techniques trying to get into the minds of the perpetrators of the murders. The performances of Thewles and especially Colman are outstanding, and leave the viewer having a fair amount of sympathy for the real Susan and Chris Edwards. I don't know if that was the intention but certainly Susan's background with her parents was explored in depth and we shall never get to the truth of what really happened and this drama didn't resolve that. Overall an enjoyable series, unusual in its production, deserving of credits for the main actors especially Colman as the "broken" women. Nicely done.

.. and then there was episode 4

[rich-mac · 7/10 · 29 December 2021]

This show held me until episode 4, when it all but descended into farce and got too clever for its own good.

It could easily have been told in 3 taut episodes. For me the breaking of the 4th wall in ep4 (which began in ep3) didn't belong, and was an unnecessary distraction.

WOW you can tell a LOT of pompous, overcritical,IGNORANT people are rating this,SORRY ITS PHENOMENAL!!

[joiningjt · 10/10 · 13 December 2021]

Read some moron who said it contains to much humor with such a serious subject, IT'S FUNNY cause the actual story had humor involved. I mean who ever heard of a suspected murderer sending a VERY polite email saying he will turn himself in and gives him his word. You cant write comedy like that!! The acting we already knew was going to be phenomenal the cast is all OSCAR type caliber. We love the cinematography and the director is spot on. It's a extremely unique series and we are SO happy to be able to see something COMPLETELY DIFFERENT yet exactly what the doctor ordered. We need escapism right now , people forget What tv, movies, series, are suppose to do and that's ENTERTAIN so you idiot critics with your idiotic ideas of what it should be are INCORRECT its extremely entertaining and we will re watch this MASTERPIECE again!! 10 SOLID STARS!!

It Was Different

[bwmcg · 6/10 · 23 December 2021]

A strange adaptation mixing fantasy with reality but I'm not really sure that it worked.

It wasn't badly acted or anything but i think I'd have preferred a more traditional handling of the subject.

what a beautiful show

[disasPalliyaguru · 10/10 · 7 December 2021]

WOW !!!! Did someone say LANDSCAPERS. It starts as a great show. Just like I thought it would be. But it's better than I expected. The acting, cinematography, directing and the story is splendid and next level. This show is a must see......

good performances and an interesting story gussied up with a lot of nonsense

[cherold · 7/10 · 12 February 2022]

This is a rather frustrating movie. The story it tells is interesting. The performances are terrific, especially Olivia Coleman who is brilliant. But the whole movie is done with all these strange film references that I don't think make any sense.

I suppose it's some message about their fantasy Life or how they tell stories and how the police tell stories or something but it doesn't really work and it doesn't really make the story better. It's just this weird distracting thing. Every once in awhile at works when it doesn't go too far. But things like the big Western sequences that fill up one episode seems more like a way to get a TV movie length show up to four episodes.

Still, it's worth watching just to see Coleman as the genial and slightly off housewife.

I can't rate this. It's either 1/10 or 10/10

[Good-Will · 5/10 · 12 December 2021]

After watching all four episodes then it's very difficult to decide whether this is absolutely superb or a piece of overindulgent tripe.

I can see why Olivia Coleman signed up, since her husband wrote it, and I can see why another great thespian, David Thewlis, would love acting with her so all is good there.

But the style seems to be haphazard and the narrative voice is confusing.

Maybe I'll watch it all again and make a decision, but it wasn't at all what I expected and that may be a really good or really bad thing.

British Fargo

[alecdacyczyn-03733 · 9/10 · 8 December 2021]

This is a true-crime story told in a brilliantly executed black-comedy style. Good writing, great casting and acting, and the directors are clearly having fun with using the whole camera. It's the spiritual successor to Fargo.

Who are the cold-blooded ones?

[Irie212 · 6/10 · 3 January 2022]

The answer to that headline is: the cops. Detective Lancing and her crew, who make up their minds about the case and then bulldoze through any suggestions that they're wrong.

Second question, Who are the civilized ones in this story? Answer: The defendants, who display a vulnerablity, empathy, and humanity that is neither unkind (like the cops) nor cynical and uncouth (also like the cops, for whom the f-word is indispensible).

Aside from the fact that the writer/director Ed Sinclair doesn't seem to be aware of either of those things, the worst problem with this four-episode non-mystery is that it's spectacularly over-directed. Sinclair and his collaborators seem to think that any wild idea they have should be called creative and crowbarred into the story. We leave a scene and walk into the backstage of the set, we find ourselves in a Western landscape with six-shooters and chases, we flip from color to black-and-white. When such liberties are taken, there has to be a reason for each. I couldn't deciper any consistent reason. Were black-and-white meant to be the husband's perspective? Or the wife's? Or was she the Western scenes?

At one point in Ep.4, the judge says, "I can't see any reason to distinguish between the two of you." Neither could Sinclair.

The rating is for Olivia Colman, whose expressions bring everything to her character that the script lacks, and David Thewlis, who has the best dialog and his sensitive, calm delivery creates a center for this reeling, wildly over-directed piece.

Strewth

[dannytpetty · 1/10 · 9 December 2021]

This is exhausting to watch, I found it quite tedious, its not funny at all - from any angle, its not entertaining or interesting nor does it stand out as being particularly well made.

For a true story I can only presume this has been made and told totally incorrectly??

What are you watching to be giving this such high marks. Are you a robot?

Idealistic but adeptly told true crime love story

[Hallelujah289 · 8/10 · 28 December 2021]

"Landscapers" four episode HBO miniseries tells the desperate, surreal, and very human love story surrounding a grisly double murder found fifteen years late. While based on a true story, and ultimately containing chilling elements, "Landscapers" remains a complex and touching dramatization however it might lean into the overly ideal. But it's an artful idealism which also reflects the character of the perpetrators and which may factor into the nature of the crime just as much as "mercenary" motives might.

Whatever was the truth behind the crimes of Susan and Chris Edwards (they maintain their innocence until this day), the version this TV drama does tell a meaningful and multifaceted story that sheds light on compulsions, brokenness, and unconscious choices which may lead people to choose prison over the struggles of their lives, even while not necessarily meaning to either.

Whether or not the portrayal of this true crime is accurate doesn't undermine that this is a very earnest attempt to find some decency in what is two people linked by sadness, care and a terrible secret, all while being too hapless to manage their affairs or their own trial. The question might always be would the crime of the Edwards remain undetected after elapsing fifteen years if not for the betrayal of a troubled conscious, or the lack of wherewithal to make ends meet?

Gimicky and Annoying

[drednm · 19 December 2021]

Horrible tale of convicted murderers Susan and Christopher Edwards, real people.

Instead of just telling the story, this turns into a loopy and silly fantasy that includes all sorts of set pieces and cowboy fantasies and gruesome coppers who snicker and sneer like they're in a Gilbert and Sullivan roadshow.

Olivia Colman and David Thewlis star as the hapless couple who get railroaded by the cops and lawyers and convicted on circumstantial evidence. Zero physical proof or any kind.

Especially grating is Kate O'Flynn as Lancing, a rather vicious cop who practically drools and wets herself when she tricks the couple into saying something wrong (which is of course then used as evidence) against them.

This one hits the wrong note all around, making silly merriment while the real-life counterparts are imprisoned.

Great story, over stylised

[movie_rich · 6/10 · 10 December 2021]

This is a fantastic story, true crime, with excellent actors, giving brilliant performances, but they're let down by a director who wants to make film noir type TV, but isn't really capable of it.

It comes across like they're making fun of the protagonists, which is unfair, maybe not on the people found guilt for murdering an elderly couple, but definitely the elderly couple themselves, it belittles the crime and everything surrounding it.

Watch if you're bored or interested in the story, otherwise, give it a miss.

Watch the 4th episode before making up you r mind

[billsoccer · 9/10 · 29 December 2021]

VERY different treatment of a murder mystery (not sure if in fact this is based on a true story or not). A couple without many marketable skills spills the beans to a relative about a double killing, in hopes of getting some money to tide them over. The police become involved and they surrender. Was it homicide or something less? Each episode add a little to the answer as well as obscures it. I have to add in concert with many other reviewers - it's very British - the cast, their stiff-upper lip take on life, etc. This is a good thing, btw.

The 4th episode was somewhat anti-climax but so oddly directed/presented that it is the most memorable. They go on trial, but the significant points (burial of the bodies; the confession to the step-mother; experience with revolvers, etc) are presented in court immediately followed by a fantasy/dream sequence where their "emotions" are relived in a Wild West setting (for instance, the couple - dressed in late 1800's Western gear - drive the bodies in a cart pulled by 2 horses). I say the emotions are presented, rather than facts, just as you might have the facts twisted as in a dream: The investigating detectives are the towns marshals and enter into a gun battle with Susan and Christopher, and so on. Fascinating treatment, perhaps hinting how disconnected from reality the couple were, but in any case a unique directorial choice that I'd like to see emulated someday.

LOVING Kate OFlyn

[lcrosby-95310 · 7/10 · 19 December 2021]

I love all the main actors in this, but Kate OFlyn is phenomenal! I'm not from Nottingham but am familiar. I love This is England - based in Nottingham- and I thought she may have been in this. But overall she is notable for me in bringing an edge.

I love the unusual presentation of this true crime. I'm curious about the murders and happy to continue because of the great acting.

Love the creative story telling

[michaelschuddinck · 8/10 · 30 December 2021]

I never much post reviews on series here, but this one really caught my attention. Was very surprised the score wouldn't be higher.

I have to applaud the director and writers, for bringing such a creative story telling, of a very simple murder case, in some way. They focussed on all the back stories, dug deep in the past of the characters and done a great job on finding a different way to bring it to the screen. Although the last episode was a bit confusing and symbolic to me.

All the performances are outstanding. Special mentions to Kate O'Flynn and David Thewlis. Colman was good, but... I would start to like seeing some less typical Colman tweeks. I have seen this character before in other work of you.

I absolutely would recommend to see this... it's quite dark, but also funny and disturbing. But it also carries a lot of heart and emotions. Very smart story telling, and I can't wait to see the first movie of Will Sharpe now.

Not quite what I expected.

[Cybot996 · 6/10 · 7 December 2021]

Tbh I wasn't expecting a surrealistic take on a horrible crime. Having said that it was done in a way that kept my attention for all the wrong reasons. Entertaining nonetheless for all its bizarre approach.

Good story, terrible portrayal

[gilly-04446 · 3/10 · 15 April 2022]

This should have made for a really interesting and compelling drama but the way it was written makes it boring and annoying. Hoped it would get better after the first episode but the last was truly awful.

"The Story of a Couple Who Were Too Proud to Run"

[owen-watts · 8/10 · 13 March 2022]

I often find British crime dramas to either be so desaturatedly bleak that they're a slog to watch, or too cartoonish to take seriously - Landscapers is neither and instead takes its filmic cue from the murderous couple's adoration for old romance and westerns. As such the four episode miniseries is alive with action scenes, arch fourth wall deconstructions, monochrome melodrama, soft focus romanticism and everything in between. Its layered restlessness accompanied by some charged performances and a deep empathy for the characters (and people) gave it a strange charm and I found myself completely won over by it. Definitely worth a gander.

From great to just okay.

[TheTexasChainstoreManager · 6/10 · 12 December 2021]

The first episode is really great. Thewlis and Colman is two of my favourites and the story, the directing and the cinematography was interestingly odd and fun. The only thing i disliked was that dreadful out of focus/bokeh lens in some scenes that some filmmakers unfortunately likes to use for some reason. (Please stop using it. It's terrible and distracting.)

I would rate the first episode 8 or a 9, but unfortunately the show takes a pretty drastic dive after that. The truth probably is that the story isn't interesting enough for 4 episodes and it should've probably been better as a movie and all the interesting creativity was spent on the first episode.

I so badly want to like this, but I don't

[julieshotmail · 5/10 · 2 January 2022]

Anything Olivia Colman is in is worth-watching. That lures me to tune in to this rather dark 4-episode series, which starts out intriguing enough. However, once the crime is unearthed, the storyline becomes pretty standard, and that is when the show takes an artsy turn to spice things up a bit. I only find this artsy angle to be distracting and quite frustrating. It does not help things at all. Halfway through the series, around the beginning of episode 3, I start to lose interest. Thankfully there are only 4 episodes.