SOME MOTHERS' SONS (FOUR LIVE

Stephen Merchant isn't the first comic actor to dive into a serious role.

Jerry Lewis, Woody Allen, Steve Martin, Robin Williams, Bill Murray, Billy Connolly, Stephen Fry, Jim Carrey, Eddie Izzard and Adam Sandler have all tried their hand at heavy dramatic roles.

Some have been more impressive than others.

However in BBC1's 'Four Lives,' Merchant has gone down the darkest of routes a la Robin Williams by playing the real life murderer, Stephen Port.

Port became known as the Grindr killer after he was convicted in November 2016 of the rape, sexual assault and murders of four young men.

So heinous were his crimes that he received a life sentence with a whole life order, ensuring he will never be released.

Neil McKay, the writer of ITV's excellent Fred and Rosemary West miniseries 'Appropriate Adult' has taken on the unenviable task of telling another grim story.

His three part BBC1 miniseries 'Four Lives,' directed by David Blair, is a bleak watch but it distinguishes itself from other dramas about real crimes by giving its audiences a glimpse into the lives of each of Port's victims.

This ensures the victims aren't reduced simply to being another corpse in a drama, a mere statistic or another grim news item.

By giving us a sense of the person, McKay compounds the sense of loss.

'Four Lives' begins with Port's first victim, Tim Preston's Anthony Walgate at a student fashion show with his mum, Sherman Smith's Sarah Sak and his Turkish stepfather, Mehmet Ali Alobira's Sami Sak.

A larger than life character, Anthony has designed a chique burka and poses with the models on the runway before bidding his mum farewell as she heads back to Hull.

Lodging with fellow students Alexa Davies' Keira and Isabella Laughland's China, he gets a message on a gay dating app from someone offering to pay him for sex and, despite their reservations about it, breezily heads off to meet him.

Anthony is later found dead outside the tower block where Stephen Merchant's Stephen Port lives.

The next victim, Jakub Svec's Gabriel Kovari has fled Slovakia for London because he feels the English capital is more tolerant of gay men than his homeland.

Meeting up with Rufus Jones' John Pape, the older man offers him a room to stay at a very cheap rate.

Grateful to John for his kindness, Gabriel nevertheless decides to move out after a few weeks and uses an app which leads him to Barking.

Within a number of weeks his body is found propped up against the wall of a graveyard by a woman walking her dog.

Leo Flanagan's Daniel Whittaker is in a relationship with Robert Emms' Ricky.

He is discovered in the same graveyard as Gabriel Kovari, hanging from a tree.

A note is discovered implying that he has committed suicide because he knew Kovari.

However neither Ricky nor Daniel's father, Daniel Ryan's Adam Whitworth are convinced that the suicide note found at the scene is his.

Nor do they believe he took the same drugs that police think Gabriel Kovari took before his death.

The final victim, Paddy Rowan's Jack Taylor has a girlfriend but is bi-curious - a secret he keeps hidden from his family.

CCTV shows him heading to Barking to meet an older man but his corpse is later found on the other side of the wall where Gabriel Kovari's body was found and it is propped up against it in the same pose.

Rather than accept the theory that he died from taking the same drug, the Taylor family push the police for answers  

Throughout McKay's three part drama, the Metropolitan Police investigation is depicted as lazy and shockingly insensitive to the feelings of the victims' families.

Michael Jibson's family liaison officer DC Slaymaker, in particular, is quick to dismiss the families' concerns about the investigation and sporadic in the way he imparts information.

On some occasions, he is downright rude - particularly in his brusque exchanges with Sarah Sak and her family.

However he's not alone as the concerns of John Pape are readily dismissed by investigating officers along with, most tellingly, those raised by Samuel Barnett's Ryan Edwards, a neighbour of Port's who is particularly concerned about his odd behaviour.

McKay's drama drives home how the police's mishandling of the murders resulted in the loss of more lives at the hands of Port.

It doesn't hold back either in its depiction of Port as a callous murderer with a casual disregard for the truth, even as the facts are put to him during his trial.

Given that he is taking on a much darker role, Merchant's performance has naturally commanded a lot of attention.

And it has to be said, he does a credible, if understated job as the serial killer.

However McKay and Blair's miniseries is propelled by a series of powerful performances from the rest of the cast - not least from Sheridan Smith as Sarah Sak, whose treatment at the hands of the police is particularly appalling.

Smith portrays Sak as a determined and loving mother whose patience and resolve are tested by the police's dismissive attitude to her son's death.

It's an impressive performance by a versatile actress but it is also complemented by those actors playing the Walgate family.

Alobira, Leanne Best as her sister Kate and Kris Hitchen as her first husband Tom Walgate all shine.

Hitchen is particularly effective as Tom struggles with some of the facts that begin to emerge about Anthony's life.

Rufus Jones is excellent too as John Pape, as is Samuel Barnett as the gay neighbour of Port's who senses something is not quite right.

Robert Emms turns in a sympathetic performance as Ricky alongside Daniel Ryan as Daniel Whitworth's father, Adam.

Jamie Winstone brings a fierce determination to the role of Donna Taylor, the sister of Jack, who insists on finding out more about her brother's last movements and will not be fobbed off with easy explanations.

Fresh from his appearance in ITV's Hillsborough disaster drama 'Anne,' Ian Puleston-Davies turns up as the Labour MP for Kingston upon Hull East, Karl Turner whose questions on behalf of Sarah Sak rattle the police.

Michael Jibson as DCI Slaymaker and Ben Cartwright as Detective Sergeant O'Donnell have the unenviable task of portraying inept cops who badly failed the families of Port's victims.

Nevertheless they embrace the challenge and deliver telling performances, without ever making their characters one dimensional.

Finally Preston, Svec, Flanagan and Rowan handle their portrayals of the four victims with great sensitivty - hitting home the terrible waste of life.

A veteran of British television drama, Blair's direction is as assured as you'd expect.

With just three episodes to tell its story, Blair and McKay ensure 'Four Lives' moves along with guile and with great efficiency.

Ultimately, though,, like ITV's recent Stephen Lawrence drama 'Stephen,' 'Four Lives' isn't simply about righting wrongs. 

It's also about the importance of diligent and sensitive policing.

The failings in the Port investigation, which included offucers spurning the opportunity to interview critical witnesses and discounting evidence like unusual bruising on the body of Daniel Whitworth, was another stain on the reputation of the Metropolitan Police.

But the case also demonstrates the importance of thorough police investigations and a willingness of officers to properly consider all lines of inquiry.

It demonstrates the need too for emotionally intelligent policing - with investigators being willing to regularly inform, listen to and seriously address the concerns of victims' families. 

Time will tell whether the Met and other police forces have properly absorbed the lessons of the Barking murders.

But absorb them, they must if the costly mistakes of the Port murders are to be avoided.

('Four Lives' was broadcast on BBC1 between January 3-5, 2022)

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