This Polish thriller series is about an alcoholic searching for his missing son and his memory. We accompany lead actor Arkadiusz Jakubik as Marcin Kania on his search. We always hear the thoughts going through his head through his voice off-screen. It quickly becomes clear that the focus here is on alcoholism and not primarily on the case of his missing son. This turns out to be more of an accessory. It is about a man's journey through binge drinking, followed by his occasional stay in therapy.
The former famous rock star wakes up covered in blood in the apartment of his estranged family and can barely remember what happened last night. Marcin remembers a dinner meeting with his son Piotrek, who spoke of a group of dangerous people and that his life could be in danger. Piotrek has been missing ever since and Marcin finds it difficult to remember that night. He then begins to search for his son.
The story unfolds very slowly. The protagonist deals with his addiction, which is so much in the foreground that the disappearance and the associated connections fade into the background. The director and writer make a point of showing that this illness can be a major problem not only for the person affected, but also for the family and friends around them. Alcoholism and the slide into severe mental health problems are closely linked, and care is taken to follow this path. It is a bleak world for those who are addicted to alcohol. The camera and sound support this in a successful way.
Arkadiusz Jakubik as Marcin Kania is the centerpiece of the show, and his performance as a drunkard who doesn't understand the effects of his habit allows the viewer to see his pain and arrogance up close.
Unfortunately, they forget to deal with the investigation, which should actually be the "main plot". Which is a shame, because the idea of the story with the boy is actually not uninteresting. But unfortunately, the suspense can't be sustained, because you are repeatedly pulled out of it by constant flashbacks or the mind game with himself and his addiction.
The makers could have presented both themes in a more balanced way, but unfortunately the narrative became repetitive after a certain point. As an audience, you can understand how serious alcoholism is, but beating around the bush only made the narrative trite and predictable. The emotional component in this work is extremely powerful. It creates feelings of depression, malevolence, terror and anxiety. All of these emotions are conveyed effectively, even if the story itself may not shine and lack a clear structure. It is also a pity that when there were texts in the examinations, unfortunately no translation was shown in subtitles. Even though the last half of the final episode is harrowing to the core, it couldn't lift the whole series for me.
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Conclusion:
Uninteresting - as a thriller, but it talks at length about how it affects the mental health of family and friends who are also subjected to abuse. My rating here is low as I am referring to the thriller and crime fiction section as it was advertised and I expected something different as a result. If you want to immerse yourself in a harrowing story about alcoholism, you can also be well entertained here. As a psychological drama, I would give it more points.
