Amnesia

John Hannah shines in anything he does. Amnesia had us on the edge for 3 episodes, since it showed over a 3-week period here on TVO! Patrick Malahide was also superb as his boss. What these guys can do with their facial expressions! (applies to rest of cast also).

General comment: British suspense-mysteries are compelling because the characters are so complicated. In fact, the cops are sometimes more messed-up than the guys they're trying to catch. The plot or the 'whodunit answer' is often secondary. If you try watching typical American CSI-type shows afterwards, they almost seem laughable.

What gives Amnesia such a punch is that it does have an intriguing plot and outcome also. The movie ends, but the story doesn't. Hope you enjoy as much as we did.

Added note: a few are questioning the conclusion or ultimate solution to the mystery. The Brits don't worry about whether the parameters of their plots are rational-they just want to surprise you! Stop worrying!

If you get a chance to see this 2-part TV show, then you certainly should.

Synopsis: (NO SPOILERS)

The story concerns police detective Mackenzie Stone whose wife disappeared a few years ago - and he who still recovering from the incident - experiencing weird dreams and the like. At the same time we are introduced to another man - John Dean, who is suffering from total amnesia, meaning that he remembers nothing of his past life before he turned up in hospital 5 years ago.

Mackenzie Stone, played by John Hannah becomes convinced that he knows who John Dean really is, that he is a man who dissapeared a few months before John Dean appeared - and that he murdered his family before hand to claim the insurance money. However, it starts to become apparant that DS Stone may well have killed his own wife...

In all this is a very good 2-parter with a very nice pay-off at the end. All the cast put on good performances, and it is all very believable.

This seems a lot older than it really is but the acting was great from the usual suspects.

The plot leaves a lot to be desired and the flashbacks John Hannah keeps having get old very quickly.

It was a nice twist with his detective partner although I began to suspect it early on. But the full role he played kept me guessing. We are thrown a lot of red herrings which are never resolved though.

Several reviewers have wondered why John Dean had walked into A&E claiming amnesia but he was in an accident that required major face reconstruction. Cheaper than plastic surgery and left me wondering if it had been intentional.

I think it was an enjoyable watch in spite of the flaws. And there were major flaws.

You'll come up with several different denouements for "Amnesia" - not sure if you'll get the right one.

The story concerns an amnesiac, John Dean (Anthony Calf) who is asked to take part in an experiment for a treatment that shows great promise. At first he refuses. He is not sure he wants to know about his past as he is happily married and has a good life, but he and his wife (Jemma Redgrave) need the money, so he agrees to do it.

DC Mackenzie Stone meanwhile is searching for his wife, who walked out on him a year ago. He has very little memory of what happened and why she took off, except for brief flashes and terrible nightmares. He constantly goes through missing person reports.

When he sees one for a Paul West, he thinks that West might be Dean and starts an investigation. He soon learns that Dean's wife and child were killed in a fire, and then West disappeared. Shortly after that, Dean showed up in their town.

Mackenzie's partner, Brendan Coyle, starts to think that Mackenzie may have killed his wife.

Mackenzie thinks that John Dean is Paul West and that West killed his wife and child and probably killed before.

So who's right? Are they both right? Both wrong? One right and one wrong?

Great story, with the actors' excellent work throughout a bonus. They are all terrific.

I saw this on Netflix - I recommend it highly.

One has lost his wife and never got over it and never could realise what really happened, but she is gone, that is all we and he knows about it, since no body was ever found, alive or dead, and the other one suffers from permanent amnesia since five years, or so it seems. There is something very fishy about both cases. The first one (John Hannah) in the line of duty as a police officer suspects the other one of being a murderer who killed his wife and stepson and keeps harassing him and his wife, claiming he is another person or has been another person. In the last five minutes all the mysteries seem to get their explanation which however leaves you with a load of question marks with no possible answers, since the rest is missing. You are left hanging on a cliff with nothing but your own speculations to help you out into further possibilities of tunnels in the labyrinth to nowhere...