Dead Clever

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Dead Clever was a two hour black comedy drama, first screened on ITV on New Year's Day, 2007. Written by Sally Wainwright, it starred Suranne Jones, Helen Baxendale and Dean Lennox Kelly. Although officially titled Dead Clever it was subtitled The Life and Crimes of Julie Bottomley. The music was written by BAFTA nominated TV & film music composer Sheridan Tongue.

[edit] Synopsis

Julie (Jones) and Sarah (Baxendale) are friends at school in Sowerby Bridge in 1984. Julie's mother is a landlady and takes on a new live in barman Ian Bottomley (Kelly). Soon Julie is pregnant with Ian's baby and the story moves in ten years where Julie is a successful businesswoman (selling cars) and she and Ian run an hotel and inn. Sarah, meanwhile, has graduated from University and is now a book editor in London.

Julie discovers Ian is having an affair with her sister, literally walking in on them and when Ian returns home drunk after the discovery Julie tells him that he hasn't had enough to drink. When he wakes the next morning Julie has disappeared but there is blood everywhere, a knife on the carpet and Ian's car crashed into a statue in the drive. Unable to account for Julie's whereabouts, he is sentenced to fourteen years for her manslaughter.

Sarah has heard of Julie's disappearance and returns home for the trial but as the memories fade she leaves the past behind, marries and has children. On holiday in Devon she meets a barmaid who bears an uncanny resemblance to Julie and, after admitting who she is, Julie passes on a book that chronicles what has happened to her in the past ten years. The book is published and becomes a literary sensation with Julie taking a new name. Sarah's assistant discovers who Julie is and is killed in a hit and run, but not before posting a copy of the book to Ian, who is now coming towards the end of his sentence.

On his release Ian confronts Julie at a book reading in Oxford, having come armed, believing that he cannot be sentenced for the same crime twice, that of killing is wife. When a member of the audience tells him that this is incorrect he puts the guns down, only for Julie to pick them up. Ian has brought back up firepower and the two have a gun battle until the pair of them are dead.

Sarah returns to Yorkshire for the quite life away from, but aware of, the possibility that the police will eventually work out her part in the story. As the film finishes, a police car drives past her garden and stops.