“Foyle’s War” Shows War Wounds at Home
Detective Chief Superintendent Christopher Foyle of the Hastings, England police department says, “No. Murder is murder and must be apprehended.”
Anthony Horowitz, the man behind the Midsomer Murders series and this, has created a splendidly subtle drama. That subtlety extends from the plots, sets, characterizations, and performances…really every aspect of “Foyle’s War” and thus keeps the viewer’s quieter sensibilities engaged while pondering not just who dun it, but also the heart of the moral crisis presented each week.
What I love about “Foyle’s War” is how it shows that suffering is equal opportunity. Not only do the obvious people suffer during war, that is, the soldiers on either side who die and their surviving families, but the fabric of society suffers as well.
Last night in Series Six, Film Two: Broken Souls: The soldier who survives and returns suffers. The son of that soldier and the wife of that soldier suffers. The soldiers who saw battle and are treated at the local mental ward suffer; the physician treating these same soldiers whose family is lost in war-torn Europe suffers.
Meanwhile, Foyle, steadfastly played by Michael Kitchen, soldiers on…showing us a vaster reach of human intelligence and spirit.