Code of Silence TV review — Rose Ayling-Ellis shines in crime drama with a deaf perspective

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Perhaps it’s a response to the volume of procedurals already out there, or the increasingly polarised debate surrounding law enforcement, but there has been a notable number of police shows that aren’t about police officers this year. Following High Potential (about a genius janitor who cleans up the LAPD’s mess) and Patience (about an archivist who starts cracking cases) is ITV’s Code of Silence: a six-part series that similarly revolves around an unassuming station employee with a keen investigative eye.

Twenty-something Alison (Rose Ayling-Ellis) is a deaf canteen worker whose rare gift for lip reading is spotted after she not-so discreetly observes a detective’s private conversation. She quickly goes from staff gossip to operative asset when she’s asked to relay a gang’s conversation from a silent surveillance feed. But once Alison establishes there’s an audacious heist in the offing, she is told to go back to washing dishes and forget what she’s learned.

Exhilarated by the high stakes and the feeling of being seen, Alison heedlessly takes matters into her own hands, getting a job at a pub where she can keep tabs on the criminals. Among their number is new recruit Liam (Kieron Moore), a would-be jewel thief with an apparent heart of gold.

The detectives are initially outraged to discover Alison’s unsanctioned undercover work but they improbably agree to keep her on as informant providing she does exactly as they say. Cue several episodes of Alison ignoring every order and taking just about every unnecessary risk.

If the character’s naivety stretches credulity, her desire to be useful rings true of a woman who has hitherto been defined by her disability rather than her talents. Ayling-Ellis succeeds in capturing feelings of insecurity and excitement and imbues Alison with authenticity amid an unconvincing crime story.

The series deserves credit for thoughtfully visualising the way Alison experiences and interprets the world. In moments where she’s lip reading, words appear on screen, jumbled and hazy until Alison can process and contextualise the various options one mouth movement can yield. At other times the sound is extracted from a scene, leaving us with the burbling background noise that she hears. The deaf representation in Code of Silence is worth shouting about.

★★★☆☆

On ITVX now and on Britbox in the US at a later date