Sky TV's latest Broadchurch replacement, Under Salt Marsh, just dropped its first two episodes, and the Kelly Reilly starrer is already the talk of the town. With a twisted murder mystery at the centre of the plot, the series works on a slow buildup against the tense atmosphere of a coastal town called Morfa Halen, facing the challenges of sea level rise.
However, lead star Jonathan Pryce has recently, in one of his statements to Radio Times, tagged the crime thriller as:
"A much deeper story than an obvious murder mystery."
While reading the script of Under Salt Marsh, Pryce did not have the feeling of "reading a murder mystery". According to his statement:
"I felt I was reading about a community that was under threat from the environment."
Jonathan Pryce feels Under Salt Marsh is so much more than an usual murder mystery - Here's what the star said
Under Salt Marsh revolves around the mysterious coastal town of Morfa Halen, somewhere in Wales. The plot unravels with a local primary school teacher (and the protagonist), Jackie Ellis (portrayed by Kelly Reilly), attending a town hall meeting on the rising concern of the rapidly increasing sea level and consequent flooding.
While Morfa Halen's community remains tense with the intensity of the incoming storm, an eight-year-old kid named Cefin Hall winds up dead in one of the ditches of the marshy land. And coincidentally, Ellis is the one to discover his body. While the culmination of the plot is gradual and filled with the expected suspense of any other murder mystery, the central storyline is encircled by a number of other elements that make the story quite unique.
Not only is there unrest among the townsfolk about the sea level encroachment, but there is also increasing agitation owing to the return of Detective Eric Bull (played by Rafe Spall) to Morfa Halen for investigating the death of Cefin - as it appears, he has quite the bad history with the people.
According to star Jonathan Pryce's statement to Radio Times, Under Salt Marsh is not just a usual murder mystery. He added:
"But also, there's this ongoing unrest within the community because some of the murders are historical, and the community is already split, and then rent asunder again. "
Pryce further spoke highly of the script, saying that it is "a strong feature" of the story and that having "no obvious culprits" is what makes it even more "interesting". Here's a look at the main cast of Under Salt Marsh:
- Kelly Reilly as the protagonist Jackie Ellis, a local school teacher at Morfa Halen who used to be on the force
- Rafe Spall as the chief investigator in Cefin Hall's murder, Detective Eric Bull and the ex-colleague of Jackie
- Jonathan Pryce as Solomon Bevan, Cefin Hall's grandfather
- Naomi Yang as Jess Deng, a police officer helping Eric in the case
- Harry Lawtey as Dylan Rees, Jackie's lover
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