2.0 out of 5 star rating
While Netflix ‘ s former Harlan Coben adaptations have felt distinctly like average airport fiction, I naively hoped that this latest attempt might be a cut above the rest. For starters, the mold is led by the very talented Cush Jumbo, whose late track record is positively glowing thanks to stellar make in The good Fight, Deadwater Fell and The Beast Must Die. sadly, that impressive footrace hits a find in the road with Stay Close.
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The very premise of this eight-hour snooze-fest scantily holds water, concerning suburban mother and bride-to be Megan ( Jumbo ), who starts receiving ill reminders of a past life she once fled from. The problem is that Coben ’ sulfur novel is set in the United States, a huge nation where person could conceivably reinvent themselves 50 times over, but here that setting is swapped out for the well smaller United Kingdom .
That ’ s not to say that an individual couldn ’ t lead a double-life on our shores, but Megan ’ s great elude in Stay Close seems signally unambitious. By the express ’ randomness word picture, it equates to little more than a 30-minute drive down the road, making it quite remarkable that it took a fully 16 years for anyone to track her down. It feels like she should be bumping trolleys with old acquaintances every other weekend at the adult Tesco .
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still, this is equality for the course in a miniseries that seems to revel in its own implausibility, with the principal villains being a homicidal musical field doubly act by the identify of Ken ( Hyoie O ’ Grady ) and Barbie ( Poppy Gilbert ). You might think you ’ ve slipped into a fever dream the here and now they start singing and dancing their way into the story, being that they are indeed jarringly out of place with everything else that ’ s going on .
These camp characters make it unmanageable to treat Stay Close like the high stakes thriller that the creative team distinctly set out to produce. That ’ south hardly the fault of O ’ Grady and Gilbert, who presumably carried out what was asked of them to the letter, but alas, their inclusion in a drama with quite serious themes is barely unexplainably bizarre. Ken and Barbie are besides annoying to be truly chilling and excessively barbarous to be considered comic easing .
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James Nesbitt has greater achiever getting a chuckle out of viewers through the peaky demeanor of his constantly fed up Detective Inspector Broome. There ’ second something curiously mesmerising about this strange performance, possibly stemming from the feel that this character is never more than a balmy trouble away from having a accomplished meltdown. In that common sense, he might be the most relatable visualize in the firearm .
Richard Armitage besides co-stars, returning for a second helping of Harlan following his democratic lead function in The Stranger last year. His performance switches gears for round of golf two, with despondent photographer Ray Levine being a far cry from polished family man Adam Price. still, it ’ s not a peculiarly compelling turn, largely down to a character bow that feels improbable at best and pathetic at worst .
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As expected, Jumbo is the strongest among the Stay Close hurl, doing her best with the ropy material and having decent chemistry with on-screen family members Daniel Francis and Bethany Antonia. But her finest scenes are with Eddie Izzard, who plays troubled old friend Harry Sutton and exudes the lapp casual charisma she has always had. unfortunately, even the most well-acted roles are difficult to care a lot for, which prevents the central mystery from always gripping your attention .
The characters feel more like plot devices than people who could actually exist, with Stay Close seeing them go through the motions to gradually reveal the secret behind a paint-by-numbers mystery report. The whole thing ends with an obligatory braid, which to be fairly I didn ’ t see coming, but it ’ south barely worth the eight hours of tediousness it takes to get there.
If you ’ re design on having a quiet one this New Year ’ s Eve, please don ’ triiodothyronine consider Stay Close for your big night ’ randomness entertainment. There are far better options to choose from, such as squinting at a firework display happening a mile down the road ( which by this indicate ’ randomness logic, is credibly being hosted by an previous neighbor on the run ) .
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Stay Close is available to stream on Netflix from New Year’s Eve. Read our guide to the best series on Netflix, check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight.
