Coltrane changes sides from cop to robber in 'The Planman'

Robbie Coltrane is back, but on the other side of the law in "The Planman," and for a while that simple twist is enough to give this British import a serious kick as a made-for-TV movie when it has its U.S. debut at 7 p.m. Sunday on BBC America.

Coltrane's best work remains his "Cracker" police procedural, even if he's probably most famous as Hagrid the giant Hogwarts groundskeeper in the "Harry Potter" movies. Now, as a whip-smart Scottish defense attorney enticed by the idea of laying out the perfect crimes -- yes, a series of them -- he brings a real edge to the role of Jack Lennox, the title character in "The Planman."

In "Cracker," Coltrane played a self-destructive detective. Lennox, by contrast, couldn't be more capable. The opening scenes show him eviscerating Neil Dugeon's Glasgow Assistant Police Chief Constable Richards in court in a case involving a disgraced cop. He berates both witnesses and doddering jurists with equal aplomb.

Yet, like "Cracker," Lennox has inner conflicts; he's just better at hiding them. As a man working within the system who abhors the system -- he even wears a Che Guevara T-shirt on occasion -- he's just waiting for a chance to undermine the status quo. And he's only getting started when he speaks the unvarnished truth over dinner to the pompous friends of his politician wife, Gail, played by Celia Imrie.

His chance comes when, as a defense attorney well-versed in the potential pitfalls, he idly lays out the perfect bank robbery while chatting with his most recent exonerated client, Vincent Regan's former police officer Townsend, at a soccer game. Lo and behold, a few days later he receives an envelope full of money -- his take in the heist, which has already taken place, according to his specifications.

At first, Lennox is outraged. But Townsend both soothes and encourages him. "You have a talent, Jack. You should use it more," he says.

Townsend invites him to a meeting on the sly. "You're here because telling how to plan and execute a robbery is the most exciting thing to happen to you in 25 years," he adds. "We're both adrenaline junkies. … You crossed the Rubicon back there."

This is the story at its best. Planning capers might be extreme, but in his anti-establishment actions while being part of the establishment Coltrane's Lennox would seem to have much in common with the real-life Chicago defense attorneys profiled in Kevin Davis' recent book, "Defending the Damned." Hey, if your chosen role in life is getting criminals or even murderers off, explaining you're just keeping the system honest, why not take it a step further over the line and attack the system directly?

Where things begin to go wrong is when Townsend compels Lennox to plan a caper right in Glasgow -- something Lennox has previously rejected as too close to home -- by showing him photos of his wife having an affair with Richards. At first, that only gives Lennox more incentive to tear it all down, but then he's discovered, Gail threatens to leave him and the movie goes sappy and soft in the head.

Still, there's a lot to like, beginning with Coltrane's performance. Will he sell out the criminals he's been guiding, or use them to exact final revenge? "The Planman" keeps a viewer guessing, and it hits some nice grace notes. Only the final caper is shown being carried out, as Lennox is at home in the kitchen working on an equally demanding recipe, and it has some biting dialogue, as when Lennox tells Richards, "Right now I want to tear your head off and pour battery acid down the bloody stump."

The ending, however, is highly implausible, and the movie doesn't have the courage to let Lennox follow through on his convictions, instead bringing him back to his own status quo. That's where "The Planman" isn't quite equal to the uncompromising "Cracker" series, but it's good to see Coltrane back in any case, on either side of the law.

In the air

Remotely interesting: The smash-up interview show "Iconoclasts" presents its most unlikely pairing ever with comedian Mike Myers talking with "philosopher" Deepak Chopra at 9 p.m. today on the Sundance Channel.

CBS' "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" and "Without a Trace" share a two-hour crossover set of episodes at 8 p.m. today on WBBM Channel 2.

End of the dial: Urban-contemporary WGCI 107.5-FM has created a social networking site for listeners called "The Block" at theblock.wgci.com.

Adult-contemporary WLIT 93.9-FM has gone to holiday music already. At least they waited until after Halloween.

-- Ted Cox