Prismark10 Iain Banks novel is set indifferent time zones and its complex narrative deemed it to be unfilmable.The television adaptation has a dark, comic edge which opens with the death of the family matriarch who explodes during her funeral ceremony.Prentice McHoan is affected by family tragedy. His uncle Rory has been missing for seven years, his aunt died in a road accident and now his grandmother. He does not get on with his father who is agnostic whilst Prentice wants some kind of spiritual faith.Spurred on by his grandmother, he seeks out to find out as to what happened to his uncle Rory, deal with his issues that he has with his father, lusts after a distant cousin of his, who he deems to be his perfect woman and then there is his more successful brother played by Doughtay Scott who is and up and coming comedian and has no issues in attracting women.Joseph McFadden gives a star making performance and ably supported by the actors playing the various members of the McHoan clan. Joes has enough wide eyed innocence and also some grit whilst he tries to put the puzzle together over the course of the series with the aid of his uncle Rory who appears in his innermost thoughts.The series is funny, tragic, dramatic, includes breathtaking scenery, plenty of family closeness that you actually gets you to be blindsided as you forget that a mystery has to be dealt with potential sinister undertones. Its an excellent adaptation, well lit and filmed.Uncle Rory played by what he has now become,a Scottish legend Peter Capaldi appears in flashback scenes as well as in Prentice's innermost thoughts to drive the story on and resolve the mystery of what happened to him.

tizmond 'The Crow Road' came out at a time when gritty dramas were flavour of the month like 'The Lakes', 'This Life', 'Shockers' etc. but, for me, this was the big stand-out. Mainly because it was so well adapted from the book and because of the great cast. Joseph McFadden, who plays the lead (Prentice McHoan), was relatively unknown at the time, but more than held his own alongside established actors like Bill Paterson & Peter Capaldi. Also the young support cast of Dougray Scott, Valerie Edmond & Simone Bendix play their parts very well. Dougray Scott, in particular, is perfectly cast as Prentice's swaggering, comedian brother.The director keeps the suspense and mystery going throughout, allowing the story to come together a little at a time, leading on to an explosive finale that I found genuinely surprising.I don't think I've seen anything else like it.10/10 Outstanding.

Paul Anthony Cassidy This has to be one of the most impressive pieces of drama ever to come out of Scotland. Outside of the long running series 'Taggart'(which had a very similar visual approach to 'The Crow Road')and the films 'Trainspotting','Shallow Grave', 'Small Faces' and 'Local Hero' there is nothing Scottish i can think of which equals it for quality(some might say 'Gregory's Girl' but i was never to fond of that myself).The story is somewhat complicated but it is brilliantly put together. I also have to say that i have never read the novel so the adaption is very user friendly and by the look of the other reviews it has pleased fans of the original text aswell.The only problem i felt was with the ending which i thought just seemed to smooth and cleared everything up too well. But on the whole this is a minor criticism. It is strange to think that i first saw this 6 years ago, when it was first screened by the BBC. Its also somewhat sad that the careers of perhaps the dramas two most outstanding performers, Joe McFadden and Valerie Edmund, haven't gone anywhere since as it seemed at the time that both were set for stardom. Howerever Dougray Scott, who had a somewhat minor role as Prentice's older brother, has gone on to much bigger things including being Tom Cruise's nemesis in Mission Impossible:2.

Malc-3 Brian Elsley's enormously commendable adaptation of Iain Banks' brilliant but seemingly unfilmable complex novel benefits from a witty, beautifully literate script and a strong cast, spearheaded by an immensely charismatic Joe McFadden as Prentice, the young Scot with the large, quirky circle of family and friends who gradually unravels a web of dark secrets. Bill Patterson is also worthy of note as the story-weaving, staunchly aetheist father, and the whole is a gripping, quietly stunning example of just how good BBC drama serials can be.