One of my all time favorites.

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

The series of "Hadleigh" was very popular in its day, lasting 4 seasons and 52 episodes. Gerald Harper appeared in all of them and took centre stage as a wealthy owner of the local Yorkshire newspaper and also being the local aristocratic. For all of his wealth and position, James Hadleigh feels a sense of dissatisfaction about his life. His sense of loneliness is highlighted by failing to sustain or to cultivate relationships with women. He is great at business but this can only satisfy him for some long. Gerald Harper scored another television triumph after the success of "Adam Adamant Lives" and the series which led to the above one, "Gazette." He gives a consistently good performance throughout. A few of the regular cast from "Gazette" appear in the first series of "Hadleigh" but they are soon written out. There were a few leading ladies in the series of "Hadleigh." Hillary Dwyer irritates me no end but Jane Merrow is excellent in her appearance during the second series. I don't understand why the theme music was changed after a while. The second one that was used, is absolutely terrible. The series is what I would describe, as having a leisurely pace and the emphasis being on character and drama. The writing is great on the whole.