A version of this article was originally published in The Courier on 1st November 2014.
The
Missing: Tuesday, BBC One
Intruders:
Monday, BBC Two
Paul
Whitelaw
There
is something uniquely visceral about stories involving vanished loved
ones. The thought of losing someone through unexplained circumstances
is a terror we can all relate to. So much so, it doesn't bear
thinking about.
Thank
heavens, then, for fictional drama! Like an unflattering mirror, it
reflects those fears from a safe, if queasy, distance. Two
new shows explored this area last week, albeit in markedly different
styles.
Promising eight-part
thriller The Missing stars the excellent James Nesbitt on suitably fraught
and haunted form as the father of an abducted child. Five year-old
Oliver was snatched during a happy family holiday to France in 2006.
While standing in a crowded pub showing World Cup coverage, Tony
(Nesbitt) suddenly noticed that Oliver was missing. There one moment,
gone the next.
This
impressively handled sequence tracked Tony's rising panic as he
frantically searched their holiday resort. Every parent's nightmare writ large.
From
there we switched between 2006 and the present day, where Tony,
burdened with guilt, has become a heavy-drinking loner obsessively
trawling the town where Oliver was last seen. His refusal to let go
had torn his marriage apart, forcing his ex into the arms of the
(rather creepy) British police liaison officer responsible for
Oliver's case.
This
plot point struck a rather jarring note, as did the highly convenient
twist of tracing Oliver's movements through a second-hand shop with
meticulously thorough records of sale. What's more – and call me a
heartless monster if you will – the cliff-hanger discovery of
Oliver's drawing of jug-eared daddy on a basement wall was, I'm
afraid, borderline comical.
There's
nothing funny about the subject matter, of course, but the execution
was slightly overcooked at times. With such a sensitive issue at its core,
sibling writers Harry and Jack Williams – who up until now have a
background in mediocre comedy - need to tread very carefully.
Fortunately,
The Missing is carefully handled for the most part. Niggling missteps aside, it's
an engrossing mystery with a powerful emotional kick. While it
remains to be seen if they can sustain this story over eight hours,
for now it contains enough dark hints and unanswered questions to maintain a hefty sense of intrigue.
Incidentally,
aside from its self-evident basis in the Madeleine McCann case, The
Missing may be partly inspired by a little-seen yet painfully
affecting independent film from 2004 called Keane, featuring a
tour de force performance from Damian Lewis. For connoisseurs of
bleak art, it comes highly recommended.
Tentatively,
I'll make a similar claim for Intruders. Not for the
faint-hearted, it's a grisly conspiracy thriller rooted in horror
and sci-fi in which John Simm – passable US accent and all –
plays a former cop on the hunt for his missing wife.
That's
the simplified synopsis. What Intruders is really about is
anyone's guess at this stage, although the concept of reincarnation
is obviously key to its mystery.
Written
by X Files alumnus Glen Morgan and directed by Eduardo 'The
Blair Witch Project' Sanchez, its chilly, disquieting atmosphere
is occasionally punctured by blunt bursts of violence. I knew I was
watching an unconventional drama when at one point it looked as
though we were about to see a child being murdered in cold blood. NB:
we weren't.
A
hint of dark humour undermines Intruders' more portentous
leanings, and the central conceit of a shadowy underground
organisation visiting homes and murdering the inhabitants is
fundamentally chilling. Let's just hope it doesn't descend into
abject bloody nonsense, as these things often tend to.
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