Gently Evil - A Family’s Hidden Shame
An essential responsibility of the family unit is to provide safety and security for its members. Incest involving children and first-degree relatives (parents, siblings) is a particularly shocking violation of that duty. The invention of at-home DNA kits and DNA data banks aids researchers in assessing the prevalence of incest in certain populations. A 2019 study, conducted by the University of Queensland, analyzed data from the United Kingdom’s Biobank. The study concluded that one in 3,652 persons in the UK was the product of extreme inbreeding.
This was far higher than the number offered by the UK police force; no surprise considering the shame and fear surrounding the issue of incest. The intersection of the legal system and incest is a subject tackled in “Gently Evil”, an episode in the BBC series “Inspector George Gently”. Each entry in the series, adapted from the novels of Alan Hunter, is a stand-alone ninety-minute film. The extended format allows series creator and screenwriter Peter Flannery the space to explore the thorny questions raised by this issue. Flannery also eschews any graphic scenes of sexual violence.
“Gently Evil” begins with the murder of a young woman, Domenica, a known prostitute and drug addict. Two aspects of the crime puzzle Gently (Martin Shaw) and his young protege, John Bacchus (Lee Ingleby). One is the handkerchief placed over the victim’s eyes. The second disturbing find is a birth certificate for Domenica’s daughter in which she has crossed out the father’s name and replaced it with “Satan”.
Domenica’s ex-husband, Alan (Daniel Casey), while shedding no light on the birth certificate, confesses to her murder. The film then jumps four months ahead to a seemingly unrelated case of child kidnapping. Domenica’s brother, Darren (Shaun Dooley) is seen searching for the child and ultimately arrested for the crime. While the young boy is recovered, Gently continues to press Darren for information. Darren eventually accuses his adolescent niece Agnes (Natalie Garner), Domenica’s daughter, of the kidnapping. Agnes also becomes the prime suspect in what was previously thought to be an accidental death of a child.
Gently and Bacchus are able to confirm Darren’s statements and the film shifts to address the question of why the events took place. Agnes’s grandmother, who seems paralyzed by her family’s predicament, states “There’s such a thing as an evil seed.” Gently’s position is more nuanced. He says, “I don’t believe in evil people but I do believe in evil actions.” Gently and Bacchus return to the original crime and interview Alan, now serving time for Domenica’s murder. Using the tools of empathy and persistence, Gently is finally able to learn the truth.
The Gently series is set in the 1960s and, as depicted in the film, the British legal and social institutions of that era are at a loss to deal with this family’s issues. Agnes, the product and victim of incest, is arrested and convicted in the same manner as any adult criminal. How culpable are Agnes’s uncle and grandmother, who knew of the sexual abuse of Domenica and her daughter but kept silent? It is left to Inspector Gently to comfort Agnes, telling her “There is a life to come for you. Just try to remember that.” It’s an open question, though, whether she can break the cycle of trauma and abuse she has inherited.
Click here to watch Gently Evil from the George Gently series.
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