'Guilt' Would Be a Guilty Pleasure If Someone Felt Some
Set in Edinburgh, Guilt starts with high-powered attorney Max McCall (Mark Bonnar) on his way home from a wedding reception driven by his younger brother Jake (Jamie Sives), neither in a state to be behind the wheel. Suddenly, a pedestrian appears in the middle of the street, and Jake cannot stop in time. Rattled by the accident like any decent human being, Jake wants to call the police. However, reporting the incident will put Jake in jail and ruin Max’s career, so Max convinces him to drag their victim (Walter Wood, according to his ID) back to his home. When no one answers the bell and the door is unlocked, they take Walter inside and pose him in a living room chair.
As Jake stresses over what they’ve done (and failed to do), he leaves his wallet behind. Meanwhile, Max believes they did the guy a favor; Walter had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. He gets his car fixed and continues going out for boozy work lunches. When Walter’s obituary finally appears a week later, there’s no suggestion of foul play.
When his wallet turns up, Jake is forced to attend the wake; at the gathering, he is greeted by Angie (Ruth Bradley), Walter’s niece from America and his only remaining family. Tired of waiting in the car, Max joins the wake, and both brothers attach their acquaintance with Walter to music, Jake’s record store, and (less likely) Max’s trumpet playing. After everyone has left, Jake and Angie hit it off over a drink and Walter’s classic vinyl collection.
