The Missing

The Missing (2014)

This new mini-series came out in 2014 on BBC One, called “The Missing”. The Hughes family travels to Northern France for holiday when the worst possible incident takes place: their 5 year old son Oliver mysteriously goes missing. After several days of the parents (Tony and Emily) speaking with the police and searching everywhere for their son, no clue is to be found.

Emily and Tony with their son Oliver in France the day before he goes missing

 

As the couple goes back home to London, the mother seems to learn to accept the fact that their son is gone while the father cannot come to terms with the situation, needing to know if his son is still out there and what has happened.

One of Oliver’s drawings

 

Eight years have passed since the incident, the case has been closed and the couple is now divorced. Around this time Tony Hughes finds a clue that may lead him to find his son and travels back to the north of France where he meets with the now retired detective, Baptise Julien, who had worked on the Oliver Hughes case eight years earlier. Piece by piece Tony and Baptise are able to reopen the case and find out the horrible truth of what actually did happen to Oliver Hughes on their holiday in northern France eight years ago.

The town in Northern France where Tony and Baptise piece together their case

 

Every aspect of the Missing was done perfectly: the acting was amazing, the characters were well developed and easy to sympathise with, the viewer feels intrigued and involved in the case itself and in the end the storyline is scarily realistic. The filming  also aids in creating this constant feeling of uncertainty and desperation, that is coming across in the most understandable and genuine way. For these reasons, the Missing was definitely one of the best crime-drama-mystery shows that I have seen all year. It fulfils everything you are looking for in such a show.

The first season of the Missing was basically like watching a long mystery, crime movie, where each episode has you hooked and dying the watch the next one until you finally find out what has happened to Oliver Hughes.No open storyline or questions are left by the end of the season, everything is answered and the mystery seems solved, while still leaving the viewer without a real sense of closure- just like the father. The possible next season of the show will follow a whole new and unrelated storyline.

Tony, Oliver and Emily on their last day together

 

If you enjoyed watching The Missing then I’d recommend watching The Killing and the Danish TV series The Bridge (Bron/Broen).

 

My Rating: 9/10

IMDB- The Missing

 

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