Five Days

It's not a terrible story. It had enough to keep me interested but it's certainly not a crime thriller. Nor does it play out like a true crime story (which it isn't). Some of the acting is strange and overly dramatic (the dad or the teenage daughter), but others are more genuine and heartwarming. The relationships are also strange...the dad and the woman who found the kid, or the black police lady and what about the first creep that was arrested? You think you'll find out more but you don't. It's weird. I didn't love it. I wouldn't recommend it. In a month or so, I'll probably forget all about it. It's not very memorable.

I love all the actors in this series. However, the storyline was disjointed, jumbled, depressing, head-scratching and just plain dizzying. I almost didn't watch the last two episodes but forced myself to finish. I wish I had that two hours back. Haven't been this disappointed for a very long time.

After a promising first hour, Five Days deteriorates into a soap opera that seems to willfully defy credibility. Overacting abounds, with Penelope Wilton winning top (bottom?) honors. Hugh Bonneville and Edward Woodward are wasted; David Oyelowo's character must be the Worst Grieving Husband in the history of television. Rarely has so much skill at production been held hostage to such a disastrous screenplay (one that revels in irrelevant subplots). Three stars for the first hour-which is quite good-but otherwise...ugh. Anyone who can figure out the purpose of Sarah Smart's character can drop me a line and explain it.

This series showed so much promise! An incredible line-up of actors for virtually every character in the story. What a shame the script and the story was such a mess! Every possible scenario for the disappearances was brought up but hardly any of them were resolved clearly. So many good actors included but a lot of the characters seemed pointless. Even the conclusion of the series was messy and only partially clarified. The sound was so poor too! Couldn't hear a lot of the quieter voices properly despite my clinically tested excellent hearing. The script was messy and inadequate. The different characters were confusing. The conclusion was full of holes. I really expected so much better, especially coming from the BBC.

This review is for the first season. I, like many people here, was intrigued by the premise and enjoyed the first episode. But the rest made me slowly lose interest. For one thing, it felt like the actual solving/conclusion of the case was rushed and barely dealt with. In fact, in the same episode, I had actually already forgotten what happened to her!

But the main issue I had with this show was that many of the characters were just so unlikeable; I had very little empathy for them and just wanted to slash their tires, kick them in the shins, and force them into therapy. I never expect every character in a show/movie to be likable, but oftentimes there's a powerful character arc where the person redeems themselves and/or their "origin story" is revealed and I feel more empathy for them.

And it seems that in most shows/movies, there just aren't as many characters who are unlikeable and stay that way the entire time. There were four people in this show that just bugged me/made me mad and never redeemed themselves to me. And there wasn't much backstory to at least explain why they were so awful. What really sucked is that they were all women.

Now that I think about it, I didn't feel connected to *any* of the characters - even the ones who were likable. They all just felt underdeveloped and flat to me.