Life is tough for troubled muggle, Vince McKee (David Morrissey). No bed of roses at home and finding it tough making a living as a cabbie in Manchester's rain-drenched streets. His fares either puke on his seats then don't pay or they have no cash and steal his day's earnings. This all changes when Mickey (Ian Hart) - just out after a six year stretch inside - suggests Vince does some driving for his gangster boss, Horse (Colm Meaney). Things start to go belly up soon after as he realizes there's no way back from a life in crime.
With so many tough acts to follow - Sherlock, The Fall, Broadchurch, Utopia, etc - The Driver really needs deliver something unexpected to help it stand out; this it roundly fails to do. It manages to be adequate in all domains: The dialogue, the plot, the direction, the camera-work, the performances, the action are all good though there's nothing that jumps off the screen. That said, there are two stand-out performances: Sacha Parkinson as Vince's daughter and Harish Patel as Vince's minicab boss.
David Morrissey's character grows ever more annoying as he dithers between his lives at home and in crime. In a way, he's morally gray: He's unable to invest himself in normal family life and clearly not cut out to be a criminal. His big problem is he's just not that interesting, nor are his reactions to criminality very compelling. His best moment comes when he tries to recontact his estranged son who is living in a commune. We get a brief glimpse of fire amongst barely glowing embers.
With a series called The Driver it's hard not to look for references to Nicolas Winding Refn's superb "Drive", but there are none. Although there is nothing much to remember about The Driver, the action sequences are well-handled and there are some nifty camera moves in Vince's car. The big question that this miniseries leaves you with is why oh why would a competent gangster trust the job of getaway driver to a civilian cab driver who's scared witless?
