Interesting premise turns into a plod by numbers
Snatched children that reappear years later having been held prisoner in a basement somewhere feature in two different mini-series at the moment. "Thirteen" deals with Ivy Moxam who escapes after 13 years and has to be re-integrated with her family, and on the other side of the Atlantic, "The Family" deals with the return of their teenage son Adam, after his disappearance 10 years before.So far so similar, but where "The Family" scores in multiple twists and in not shying away from the truly murky side of life, "Thirteen" begins to fall flat on the introduction of the two self-important, opinionated detectives (one for Ivy, one against) who take up far too much screen time doing far too little. We even get glimpses of their private lives as though that will make them more interesting - it doesn't. They are so unlikeable and unprofessional they are a distraction from the story, rather than an impetus that drives it along.
Elsewhere, there are predictable family squabbles and difficulties as everyone adjusts to the now adult Ivy who has lost 13 years of her life and is still struggling with adolescent woes while her peers have grown up and either married (her ex-boyfriend) or made a mess of their lives (her best friend). She has returned home but remains a curiosity, neither fish nor fowl, and no-one seems to know how to deal with her.
Jodie Comer was excellent as Ivy, and in a totally different league to everyone else here. The acting from the supporting cast ranged from steady and pedestrian (her family) to downright awful (the entire police department) which had apparently been cast from an old episode of The Woodentops.
As the police had little to offer here at any point, the show would have been better served if it had relegated them to bit parts rather than allowing them so much screen time. Richard Rankin's Elliot was blusteringly ineffectual (would anyone willingly put their safety in his hands?) while Valene Kane as Detective Lisa Merchant was so stiff and immobile I would advise her to lay off the botox. In the final episode when they almost came a cropper, who even cared?
Abduction is frequently in the news these days and it is an important subject. Jodie Comer's great work as the baffled, fearful Ivy deserved a much better peg to hang her character on. She carried the whole show and deserved every praise. Such a pity she was let down, not only by the carelessly developed characters and tedious background stories of the two detectives, but also by their unconvincing portrayal. It wasn't a bad story, just boringly (and badly) acted and because of this it never truly came alive.
score 6/10
chris-bushwacker 28 March 2016
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw3440860/14335
Pages:
[1]