So far thirteen has been an absorbing, intense drama about the victim of abduction and incarceration who escapes thirteen years after she was first taken. Though the mystery about what exactly happened during those thirteen years is enthralling there are some obvious problems with how the writer has approached the material. For a start, as other reviewers have stated, there is a hugely unrealistic hostility from many of the police towards the victim - they seem to have no awareness of the natural sense of dependency on their abductor a victim (particularly a child) of long term abduction would feel and appear to suspect her of complicity simply because she may have adjusted to this life in some way. There are constant insinuations of guilt on her part by the main female police officer which are echoed throughout by the many others who deal with her (including, weirdly, a psychologist). This includes almost total disbelief and suspicion that she once left the house with her abductor, after years of being held captive, and fails to make an attempt at escape. This despite the fact that this is common behaviour for victims in such a situation which any police force would be more than aware of. The one policeman who believes her is accused of being unprofessionally emotional. Treating a long term abductee who was a child at the point of kidnap - whether they had a relationship with the perpetrator or not - as a suspect from the moment they reappear is odd to say the least. Either the police are meant to be hugely untrained idiots, sadists or the realism of the series has been skewed to stoke up the mystery at the heart of the drama. So far it seems to be the latter. The torment of the main character seems to serve to ramp up the tension, while the suggestion that she is somehow to blame is designed to create a did she/didn't she mystery to keep us tuning in. All of this is really unnecessary as the mere fact of Ivy's disappearance for thirteen years and the gradual unfolding of what happened to her plus her disorientation and sense of grief (& her families) at returning home only to find everything changed is more than enough to create great drama. So a really fascinating drama with a great lead performance and supporting cast - but the factual errors re police procedure and understanding of kidnap victims is a nagging annoyance that, if left to grow, could become a major problem within the drama.
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laideebyrd20 March 2016
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Snatched children that reappear years later having been held prisoner in a basement somewhere feature in two different mini-series at the moment. "Thirteen" deals with Ivy Moxam who escapes after 13 years and has to be re-integrated with her family, and on the other side of the Atlantic, "The Family" deals with the return of their teenage son Adam, after his disappearance 10 years before.
So far so similar, but where "The Family" scores in multiple twists and in not shying away from the truly murky side of life, "Thirteen" begins to fall flat on the introduction of the two self-important, opinionated detectives (one for Ivy, one against) who take up far too much screen time doing far too little. We even get glimpses of their private lives as though that will make them more interesting - it doesn't. They are so unlikeable and unprofessional they are a distraction from the story, rather than an impetus that drives it along.
Elsewhere, there are predictable family squabbles and difficulties as everyone adjusts to the now adult Ivy who has lost 13 years of her life and is still struggling with adolescent woes while her peers have grown up and either married (her ex-boyfriend) or made a mess of their lives (her best friend). She has returned home but remains a curiosity, neither fish nor fowl, and no-one seems to know how to deal with her.
Jodie Comer was excellent as Ivy, and in a totally different league to everyone else here. The acting from the supporting cast ranged from steady and pedestrian (her family) to downright awful (the entire police department) which had apparently been cast from an old episode of The Woodentops.
As the police had little to offer here at any point, the show would have been better served if it had relegated them to bit parts rather than allowing them so much screen time. Richard Rankin's Elliot was blusteringly ineffectual (would anyone willingly put their safety in his hands?) while Valene Kane as Detective Lisa Merchant was so stiff and immobile I would advise her to lay off the botox. In the final episode when they almost came a cropper, who even cared?
Abduction is frequently in the news these days and it is an important subject. Jodie Comer's great work as the baffled, fearful Ivy deserved a much better peg to hang her character on. She carried the whole show and deserved every praise. Such a pity she was let down, not only by the carelessly developed characters and tedious background stories of the two detectives, but also by their unconvincing portrayal. It wasn't a bad story, just boringly (and badly) acted and because of this it never truly came alive. -
SnoopyStyle6 February 2017Ivy Moxam (Jodie Comer) escapes from her captor. She's 26 and has been a prisoner since being kidnapped at 13. Her family is uncertain but a DNA test confirms that she's the real Ivy. Her parents are scared to reveal their separation. Her little sister Emma is now grown with her own boyfriend. She is reunited with childhood boyfriend Tim and he's scared to reveal that he's married. Eloise feels guilty about not meeting on the faithful day. The kidnapper is identified as Mark White as he goes on the run. He kidnaps a new girl, 10 year old Phoebe. The police is desperate to find him and Phoebe but Ivy's story does not all add up.
This is a 5 part BBC mini-series. Its 5 hour running time is probably a little over-extended. It doesn't really have the twists to justify the length. There are some compelling relationships but they don't go too far with them. The police investigation is lackluster. Even Ivy giving herself up to Mark White is somewhat unrealistic in its execution. Jodie Comer is a perfectly good troubled mercurial girl. Other than some of the relationships, there is a lack of sharpness to the writing. Tim is probably the most compelling but even that fades at some point. -
s32761693 April 2016Thirteen taps into the much overdone "I'm back after vanishing for an inexplicable period of time", mystery crime drama, sub genre.
All the obvious questions bubble to the surface yet again. Is Ivy Moxham, the abducted girl, who and what she claims to be? Does she have an ulterior motive or some other nefarious intent, lurking in the background for her relieved but confused family and friends? Will the two intrepid British detectives uncover some hidden, awful truth?
In other words, Thirteen is not really doing anything terribly original. You can pretty much predict the likely plot twists and turns. Naming the main character Ivy is a bit obvious, too. Ivy, a plant that twists and turns and smothers. Not hard to see where she might lead those who suddenly find her in their lives. Nowhere good, that much is obvious, without giving anything away.
Whilst all this may have you reaching for the remote, I can say, thankfully, this series is well cast, with excellent acting talent and intelligent narrative. These factors lift Thirteen above other drama's and films cast in a similar vein and dampen down, the dulling sense, of deja vu.
So what to do I think about Thirteen? Look, like most dramas out of the UK, with a few exceptions, its a quality production. As such, its inherently watchable. Just don't expect anything that has not been done before, in one way or another. Seven out of ten from me. -
robfollower10 April 2019Jodie Comer...delivers a stunning performance, playing on many levels at once, her growing disbelief as she understands she has spent much of her prime so isolated, convincing and heartbreaking. Thirteen takes white-knuckle turns that elevate it from the expected. Thirteen gives a well-worn premise an intriguing facelift with haunting execution and compelling performances across the board. Underrated . Jodie Comer performance is reason enough to invest 4h 45 minutes to see her acting hauntingly triumph .
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BeneCumb18 January 2017As I like both British and Scandinavian crime thrillers, I usually watch them by turns, largely relying on IMDb and Wikipedia assessments as life is too short for all of them anyway :) The one in question began to develop from the first moments - which I tend to prefer - and then, in following scenes, we obtained a versatile and realistic picture of both the life in captivity and the one of the rest of the abductee's family; due to certain subsequent events, the intrigue and misery continued, and both the police and the family had to deal with several shadows from the past and changes in the present. Well, the pace was sometimes uneven, particularly in the final episode, when about 3/4 was too slow and then last 1/4 seemed to round up the story in a certain rush. In my opinion, the total of almost 5 hours could be easily reduced by one-fifth or even one-fourth, without impairing the general concept, mood and course of events.
As for performances, the series is strongly dominated by the female lead - Ivy Moxam (Jodie Comer), who is present both visibly and in the minds of all people around her and dealing with her case. The rest were not too memorable, I recalled I had seen Stuart Graham a couple of times in some films and series, and that's it. Apparently the sketchiness of supporting characters did not enable the actors and actresses to "open out"; even the accused was not so special.
Thus, perhaps a 1-episode-too-long, but still a good suspense series by BBC, referring to Scandinavian Noir in many aspects. However, those fond of constant chases, shootings and obtrusive cops should probably find something else. -
thespookybuz16 March 2016This BBC series is very watchable with good acting, scripting and direction. It's a 'slow-burner', seemingly adding twists and surprises without relying on clichés that we've seen before in other dark dramas.
The story opens with a young woman, Ivy, escaping from her captor. She was thirteen when abducted, and was kept captive for thirteen years. Initially, the police show a bit of doubt as to her authenticity because of numerous hoax calls from other women claiming to be Ivy. Eventually, Ivy is proved genuine and the story shows the struggle of both Ivy, her family and friends in trying to deal with her appearance after so many years. Pretty soon, however, everyone is back in panic mode as Ivy's alleged kidnapper takes another young girl in the same way.
This is where the series changes gear, and the plot unfolds into a tense, almost surreal chain of events, where the audience is fed subtle clues into more twists and intricacies all temptingly luring us into a story where nothing is quite as it seems.
This isn't 'in your face' drama. It is subtle, tense and quite compulsive. The shocks and surprises, when they do happen, are thrilling and unexpected. The main characters are both believable and well constructed. It all comes together to produce a fascinating tale about the desolation, desperation and deprivation of a seemingly innocent young woman. Great stuff. -
Daphne63520 August 2017I actually looked this up to see how old it is because I too was shocked at the insensitivity of the police towards a person who has endured obvious horrors. I thought maybe it was from many years ago before law enforcement understood anything about kidnap victims. It was made clear in the first episodes that she had experienced multiple physical attacks in addition to captivity, demonstrating that she had survived many forms of torture. Even if they did need information, in real life, dealing a person who had survived her ordeal, they would not terrorize her in the process of the interrogation - locking her in rooms and threatening her with incarceration - dahhhh!! I thought it was good generally up until now and I'll keep watching, but this twist in the story line is annoying.
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pdtp9119 March 2016"Thirteen" is a completely new spin on the British crime drama. Jodie Comer is entirely believable as Ivy Moxam, the 26 year old, newly escaped kidnapping victim, who vanished 13 years ago, at the age of 13. One can only imagine how difficult it would be to reenter the world after 13 years of absence, due to the fact that you had been held captive in a cellar for all those years. She is ghostly pale, completely disoriented, frightened by everyone except the deeply compassionate DI Elliott Carne, gently played by Richard Rankin, and her first love, Tim. The overall surprising tone is set by the behavior of the police. Ivy calls Emergency from a phone box, declaring that she is Ivy Moxam and that she has escaped her captor. Shockingly, she is picked up by a single police man, and then delivered to the steps of the local constabulary, where she is met by a lone social worker. The police response is underwhelming and confusing. None of the police think to immediately learn the location of the kidnapper's den and search it. Instead, they seem much more concerned about her identity, rather than arresting the monster who has abducted this young woman, no matter who she is. Her clothes, hair and general condition leave little doubt that something untoward has happened to this girl. Comer does an outstanding job portraying a traumatized women in distress. The police state that there has never been a case in which a kidnapping victim has ever escaped alive. Ivy begins to grasp the direction things are about to go when DS Lisa Merchant uses the word "alleges" when referring to her claiming to be Ivy, making it clear that she is in for one long, bumpy landing rather than returning to the safety of the loving arms of her family. All this attitude seems to come from the fact that two woman have come forward since the disappearance, claiming to be Ivy, resulting in doubt about her actual identity. It is only the lack of handcuffs around the wrists of Ivy that assures the viewer that she is the victim, not the offender. During questioning, Ivy actually asserts that DS Merchant believes that her inability to escape was her own fault and Merchant does not contradict Ivy. Ivy's mother scrambles to put the trappings of her former life, shattered by the loss of her daughter, back together again. She desperately clings to the belief that in doing this, she can exert some kind of control over the spreading chaos. There is tremendous tension and suspicion lurking in every nook and cranny of this show. It is clear that this onion will have many, many layers that will be peeled back as the story unfolds, revealing some shocking truth. At the end of the first episode, another girl has been abducted. Did Ivy escape, or was she released because she was no longer a 13 year old school girl, but a 26 year old women? Having been the victim of something very similar, I will be fascinated to see how well the creators of this show are able to draw a true picture of how much collateral damage results from something like this. Everyone becomes a victim.
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bengilmoreben31 March 2016Well, I loved this series at its first 4 episodes, but the 5th one just ruined it for me. This rating would be an undoubted ten out of ten. The first episode was very great, there was a good scene setting, set Ivy as a very mysterious character, then it had the twist of Phoebe getting kidnapped. Episode 2 was fairly boring, not really too much plot to it, but at least it was left on a cliffhanger. Episode 3 was my favorite, very dark, very mysterious and very shocking when Dylan's body is found in the house. Episode 4 was also very good, with the arrest of Ivy and her potentially not being the victim. And then 5... A pretty dramatic start with the kidnapping of Ivy and the saving of Pheobe. However, the scene at the shopping center was PATHETIC and bath scene was just plain confusing. And the ending had NO twist at all! She just ran away!
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diana-y-paul28 August 2016The BBC mini-series Thirteen (available online) follows 26-year-old Ivy Moxam, who was held captive in a cellar for thirteen years. After escaping from her attacker's prison, she returns to her family home outside of London, but struggles to put her life back together. There is an uncanny resemblance to the story in the American television series, The Family.
Thirteen presents the police investigation as a secondary plot and focuses on the victim's situation and psychology, touching upon the Stockholm syndrome and the fragility and unreliability of memory. Everyone closely associated with the crime is also, in some way, a victim. Read the entire review -- "Thirteen"--"An Unlucky Life" at: www.unhealedwound.com and let me know what you think! -
soph_ia18 August 2016'Thirteen' follows the 'Kidnapped Girl Who Returns To Her Old Life After A Long Period Of Time' formula. We have clichés like the overbearing mother, the divorced parents that got separated because of the loss of their child, a dose of Stockholm Syndrome and probably a bunch of other stuff that I didn't catch. And in spite of all this, 'Thirteen' still succeeds at being interesting, compelling and an all round quality five hours of TV... Well, save for the last episode. But we'll get to that.
I was impressed by Jodie Commer's performance as our protagonist, Ivy. Not that I expected anything less; I've been a fan of hers since My Mad Fat Diary. The rest of the cast also delivers strong and powerful performances.
The writing is good and the story is given in a thoughtful and believable way. Everyone's reactions, from Ivy's to her family's to her friends' was pretty spot on for someone going through what they were going though. A lot of characters got on my nerves but I still saw where they were coming from.
The mystery aspect of the story was also handled well. It was interesting and compelling and had nice twists.
The only weak link to this otherwise great TV series is its final episode. Ivy is set to meet with her kidnapper in a mall to give a chance for the police to catch him. Except the police handles the whole thing sloppily like a bunch of idiots and Ivy ends up being captured by him again. The police continues with the sloppiness as it tries to find Ivy. Meanwhile, her family and friends conduct a search of their own, which I personally found somewhat cheesy.
Don't be disheartened by what you just heard, though. 'Thirteen' is a great mini-series and definitely worth the watch. It's just not flawless, but then, what is? -
So, someone decided to throw out everything we know about police work, how victims of abductions are treated, the law and the media in high profile cases.
Then they wrote Thirteen.
Sure, its riveting if you can ignore all the inaccuracies. But there's a problem - there are far too many to ignore.
A victim wouldn't be brought in for questioning without a lawyer present. A victim wouldn't be subjected to dozens of interviews where she was blamed for her abduction. The media would leak every aspect of her case, everyday. Someone would eventually agree to sue the police on her behalf. No real policeman would suggest that a victim go to meet her abductor alone. No real policeman would set up a meeting at a mall, and not cover the service entrances. No victim would get through this many police interviews without falling apart on day 3. No police chief would back up a theory that victims of stockholm syndrome should be arrested to force their cooperation in a case they have failed at consistently for thirteen years.
Here's the thing. Thirteen isn't just fiction. It's terrible fiction. It just happens to feature enough good acting to keep you watching.
But somewhere a little girl is wondering if this is the treatment she's in store for if she ever becomes a victim and unfortunately, she may believe this is how it's going to play out. -
There's no way the police would treat Ivy as a suspect like they did - she'd been through 13 years of trauma - they would have treated with much more kindness and understanding.
The acting was brilliant - especially Comer, as usual.
And the title music was just terrible. Totally didn't go with the vibe of the series. Actually put me off wanting to watch the next episode! -
freejoyhart9 February 2021I read the reviews before I watched it & watched it anyway. It was great! Characters were believable, there were twists & turns I didn't expect & i binge watched it in one setting! I honestly don't understand the bad reviews!!! The story development was compelling & interesting & the acting was spot on! Just goes to show you that you can't always believe the bad reviews! Good on you BBC!
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nixta117 January 2022It had so much potential with such an intriguing premise, but unfortunately fell short.
The script was overworked and hindered with unnecessary subplots, ideas and characters which never properly served the central story, but rather diluted it. So many pieces introduced that were left unanswered or just didn't have enough payoff to justify its inclusion.
So much scope for an exhilarating and sophisticated mystery/thriller, but sadly it took an underwhelming and predictable path. -
thecoolbonnie4 December 2020I couldn't tell if what I was seeing was true or lies some of the time... The writing is great. The acting is great. Excellent villian too! Would def recommend
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westsideschl16 September 2016Initially I thought this was going to be a fictional reenactment of an actual event; not so, but a compilation of many abduction and imprisonment crimes with added writer's embellishment for entertainment. For the most part a well written "Stockholm Syndrome" kidnapping tale. Acting by the abductee was exaggeratedly well done, but the parents, sister, friends, school administration and detectives were a little too made-for-TV dramatic to be believable. Romance & conflict between our detectives also not believable nor added anything to the seriousness of the kidnappings. The ending was the weakest - predictable, not believable and especially that the fugitive should roam so freely with so many resources. Missing, for the most part, were any scenes of her captivity. Finally, the brief CCTV footage shown would not have been kept that long.
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grantss22 August 2016A woman escapes from a house in Bristol. At first the police are skeptical of her story but it turns out that she is Ivy Moxam, who was kidnapped 13 years ago at the age of 13. Now begins the task of reuniting with her family and friends and restarting her life. Meanwhile, the police are trying to catch her kidnapper, Mark White, but questioning Ivy makes the details of her kidnapping and imprisonment murkier and more inconsistent. Moreover, it appears that Ivy wasn't always a totally involuntary prisoner. Then Mark White kidnaps another girl
The plot to this series initially sounded similar to the movie Room, but this is different to Room in many ways. While Room concentrated on the mother and son and how they (especially the son) cope with life on the outside, Thirteen has more of a mystery drama feel to it. It does cover Ivy's having to adjust to life after 13 years of isolation, but it also covers to a very large extent the police's attempts to unravel what happened while she was imprisoned, their relationship with Ivy and their attempts at catching her kidnapper.
Very intriguing, the mystery/crime-drama side, with a few good twists and turns. Even at the outset you aren't sure that she really is who she says she is, and later we start to think she may have been more accomplice than victim. This creates a wonderful greyness to Ivy's innocence, and fuels the intrigue.
The human drama side is also done pretty well, though does feel a bit slow and clumsy at times. Reasonably emotional though.
Solid performances all round. Jodie Comer is OK as Ivy, though doesn't really shine. The best performances probably come from Richard Rankin and Valene Kane as DI Carne and DS Merchant respectively.
Great opening song - "In your dreams" by Dark Dark Dark.
Well worth watching. -
mommyplum15 April 2021Some spoilers follow. First off, I'm giving this a 7 out 10 largely due to the remarkable performance of Jodi Comer as Ivy Moxam, an emotionally and physically scarred abduction survivor who has been missing and held captive for 13 years. Comer is outstanding in every other role I've ever seen her in and she's no less than amazing here, too. Seeing her makes this worth watching, along with having a compelling thriller/drama premise that's truly interesting. However, the whole thing overall has a lot of problems due to the writing/plotting/characterizations. Let's dive in. The series starts well, thankfully, with a bang - beginning with a wide opening shot on a sunny, quiet suburban road before zeroing in on a pleasant red front door...moments later the door is opened timidly by a bedraggled looking young woman in a baggy housedress and bare feet. She steps outside, pauses for a moment, and then sprints down the street in terror until she finds a payphone and dials the police. We learn she is Ivy Moxam, a kidnapping victim snatched off the street while she was skipping school at age 13, now 26. DNA tests confirm her identity and her family is contacted. This is where the writing on this miniseries begins to go haywire and never recovers. Enter police detectives Elliot Carne (Richard Rankin) and Lisa Merchant (Valene Kane) who decide based on zero theory to begin grilling new found Ivy like she's a terror suspect while she cowers and shakes in nothing but a paper jumpsuit given to her by the physical evidence team who have stripped, swabbed and internally examined her with not an ounce of sensitivity or even her family liaison officer present. It's unfathomable that Det Merchant immediately then takes the stance that Ivy is guilty of some crime (what would that even be at this moment?) and Det Carne seems creepily attracted to Ivy, even asking her to call him Elliot. It's a bizarre, unsettling characterization. Ivy is then released to her tearful parents, Christina (played by Natasha Little) and Angus (played by Stuart Graham). Her little sister Emma, now all grown up (Catherine Rose Morley) and Emma's fiance, Craig (Joe Layton), are also on hand for the reunion. No one wants to tell Ivy her parents' marriage has been fractured (although not formally divorced) in the 13 years she's been missing, so her dad reluctantly leaves his assistant turned mistress to move back into the family home. Nearly everyone in the house seems resentful Ivy has returned a broken woman full of nervous ticks, stunted emotional development and an aversion to being touched. Her father even whines that his own daughter won't let him near her, like it's all about him. It's annoying to see the characters worry more about what they're getting from Ivy than to be heart broken over what she must have endured to make her this way. Emma starts to rebond with her sister, only to have her fiance, who until now has been shown to be a sensitive, loving and mature man, start whining about how he's gotten less attention in the last week and storm out of the house. Why??? Would a normal man ditch his beloved fiance when she spends a few days focusing solely on the traumatized sister she thought was dead? No. It's ludicrous. Ivy then also makes contact with one of her closest childhood friends, Tim (Anuerin Brand), who turned into her first puppy love mere months before her abduction. He pined for years and years for her, suffering a great deal of emotional distress over her loss, only to get his life together just a few years ago and recently marry. He doesn't want to tell Ivy he's married because he realizes quickly he still harbors feelings for her and that she is so incredibly fragile. Of course, because the writer of this series seems to hate Ivy, she later finds out in the most hurtful and humiliating way possible, because why let this poor suffering woman have anything, right? There's also Ivy's best female friend, Eloise (Eleanor Wyld) who convinced her to ditch school on that fateful day, but never showed for the rendezvous at a local arcade because she got a last minute better offer of a day out with someone else. Strangely, no one seems to harbor any resentment towards Eloise, who has turned into an aging party girl drunk, not even Ivy or Ivy's family, which is baffling. I mean, the fact Eloise wasn't there is the reason Ivy was wandering around alone with her headphones at full volume, which gave the kidnapper his opportunity in the first place. But, nope, no one seems to care. In the midst of all this, the kidnapper, who is still at large, snatches another girl (it's never explained how police know it's Ivy's abductor behind it from the first, they just announce it) and a long dead, decomposed body is found hidden in the basement where Ivy was initially kept exclusively for years. The police jump right to holding Ivy complicit for both these things somehow (again, huh?) and at one point they even drag this heavily traumatized woman off in handcuffs to interrogate her yet again. They have to be shown, once more, that Ivy is a victim in all this incapable of being held responsible for anything over the last 13 years (this has to be proved about 100 times in the 5 episodes like the writer's favorite hobby is victim blaming). Oh, and did I mention Det Carne also breaks into the offices of the psychiatrist treating Ivy to read all her confidential therapy files? Nothing illegal, unethical or immoral about that...And when he reads how Ivy's been feeling so alone, he jumps to another conclusion that she must have formed a genuine relationship with her abductor. A police officer doesn't understand psychological trauma and lack of ability to consent in such a situation? Also, I forgot to mention, in episode 1, Ivy makes a slightly cryptic statement to her family liaison officer which clearly implies she was pregnant at some point by her abductor and the officer neither asks her to elaborate, nor mentions it to the investigative team, which is absurd. Ivy is unclear and it could easily be possible she has a child or children still with her captor and no one follows up, which is really negligent police work, am I wrong? It turns out in the last episode her kidnapper forced her to become pregnant once and she miscarried, but this is something brought to light only after she is re-kidnapped during a botched police operation meant to catch the perpetrator and her abuser is once more holding her hostage and talking to her about it, so I suppose no one in the police ever cared about it. In the conclusion the second kidnapped girl is set free unharmed and Ivy escapes once more with zero help from police. Her kidnapper perishes and she ends looking even more destroyed than ever. My final thought is, it's definitely worth a watch, but you will come away hating more than half the characters for how poorly they are written.
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Thirteen. That's the point. It was Ivy's age when she was abducted. It was how long she was in captivity. The world stopped for Ivy that day. For thirteen years after that she lived in an alternate universe. And yet, no one, with the possible exception of her sister, is willing to consciously acknowledge that fact. Ivy didn't grow up, at least not in anything that would make her a true 26 year old woman in anything except her physical body. And yet, the police, her family, Tim, and Eloise, seem to expect her to respond as a twenty-something woman. It is clear to the viewer that this person is still a child in many ways, but apparently not to the police. It is also important to remember that Ivy will never completely return to the "normal" universe the rest of us live in.
What was it like for her? We actually learn very little about her life as a captive. It appears she spent a great deal of time in the dungeon, probably in the dark. She said she didn't have any measure of the passage of time. I don't think that was a lie. At least it was true for the first year or more. What is that like? Can we know? Could her family? Could the police? It is interesting that there is a huge elephant in the room - there is almost no allusion to what must have happened to a girl held helpless captive by a man. (She did admit to her mom that she has had sex, but even that is a casual, almost second-hand statement and almost irrelevant.) That puts this physiological thriller in an unusual category. While sex must have been an overwhelming factor, this horror story does not focus on sex. There are a few references to physical abuse, but they are almost obligatory and for most of the series not central to the story.
So many reviewers have slammed the police. At times, I wanted to slam just about every character in the film. (By the way, some reviewers say they want to shake Ivy. Of course, you do. That's the point. She is not a normal woman.)
We learn early on that this case is unprecedented in British police experience. I guess that is supposed to justify the absolute stupidity of everything they do after that. One question that rises to the top in my mind. Why didn't you consult with the American FBI who has tons of experience with this kind of situation? I know the answer. You Brits will accept nothing from us Americans that might admit we know something you don't. But the fact remains that the whole paradigm followed by the police is wrong, and as a result it is cruel to Ivy. It is because they proceed assuming that they are dealing with a 26 year old woman. (It's funny they acknowledge Stockholm Syndrome but then they forget about it. They make absolutely no allowance for it. I guess that's "hanging a lantern on it" which put another way is how the writers dismiss the obvious and move on as if it is irrelevant.)
Yes, the police screwed up, repeatedly, but I don't think it was intentionally cruel or even devoid of compassion. They had a life and death problem, and they were out of their element dealing with it. When I read all the negative reviews, I almost expected to see them use a rubber hose on Ivy. After watching it, I see that each of them, even DS Merchant, was struggling with how to treat Ivy fairly and compassionately.
Elliot was a human being, but also a police officer. He had so many failings. He caused so much harm. But he tried and he did do some good.
Another complaint about the police was the way they kept making her relive her torture. Yet I think that this gave Ivy a chance to prove her courage as a contrast to her uncertainty and insecurity. It made Ivy so much more of a complex character. Yes, the police were still screw-ups, but doing this allowed a deeper look at so many things.
I wanted to hate this series and almost passed on it after reading the negative reviews. I think that most of those missed the point.
All of the previous discussion is one element that makes this series so compelling.
Meanwhile, virtually every other character shafted Ivy in his or her own way. How did that happen? Selfishness. The world also stopped for each of her family and friends on that day when she was thirteen. One difference is that it also restarted for each of them at some point, but in different ways and to different degrees. Ivy's life stopped. The life of each of the others restarted, and as a result, each had to deal with his or her own struggles when life reset thirteen years later when Ivy returned. This also makes this series compelling. The series presents interesting character studies of several different people and none of them are the same. None of them are cardboard characters.
This all requires some good acting on the part of many actors. It is surprising to see so many good performances with such difficult roles.
The story has some good twists and turns. At first I focused on Ivy's struggles with great sympathy, but like the detectives, even I began to see there was something important being held back. It is shocking when it is revealed, but the explanation makes a lot of sense.
The last episode changes completely. Intense is not even close to the word. And many of the things I have said earlier don't apply or apply differently about everything except the fact that the world stopped on that day when she was Thirteen. It will never be the same for anyone involved.
In summary, there was a great deal of excellence in this series and it gave us so much that one looks for in a thriller, if you can get past the role of the police. -
Bh_sarah17 December 2019I decided to watch this because I like British drama/mysteries and I love Jodie Comer work since My Mad Fat Diary. At first I thought it would be as good as the second season of The Missing because of the thing about a missing girl coming back, but so many opportunities were lost...
I agree to every review here saying that the police procedure was totally off. The scene where the female detective shows Ivy the footage of her from the mall and asks why she didn't run away made me too angry. It's obviously not that easy to just run screaming you've been abducted at 13 in the middle of a mall. And she was 13 for Christ's sake. That's the life she knew and she was obviously psychologically abused and traumatised.
Anyway, since the beginning, I knew she had been pregnant during her locked-up years. It's easy to know that. The only think I was SURE of ended up not happening: to me, Phoebe was meant to be Ivy and Mark's daughter.
Here's my theory: she's abducted at 13. She says Mark says 16 is the right or best age. She gets pregnant at 16, but Mark gives the daughter away for adoption. 10 years go by, she escapes. Their daughter is supposed to be 10 at that time. Phoebe is 10. Phoebe looks a lot like Ivy... Mark kidnaps Phoebe to make Ivy come back to him, live as a family or whatever. I mean, when Ivy sees Phoebe picture on the TV, she shows a lot of affection and then goes to the attic and look at pictures of her childhood? Probably to see how much Phoebe reminds of her when she was 10? And then she says Mark couldn't hurt Phoebe... To me the writers changed their minds about this in the middle of everything. I was expecting this turn, but never happened.
Needless to say, the ending was abrupt and too silly. I'm giving 6 for Jodie's acting and for The Shins. That's it. -
I will admit I am probably biased - I am retired Police. I am amazed at how many good reviews I have seem for this. NO way in a million years would the victim be interviewed by police in the way portraid. To begin with, she would be de-briefed by trained psycologist - a victim of this type would be so traumatised she would be retreating inwards as a self defence mechanism, afraid to talk and afraid to communicate. The acting is wooden and completetly unrealist, and most of the proceedures and interviews shown would not comply with any guidelines, would be inadmisable in any court, and so it goes on. Perhaps worst of all, from the very start, we have a potential traumatised victim being treated as a suspect, in a barely repectful way. No modern police service would get away with such inept investigation or interview techniques. Clearly, whoever wrote this knows little about such offences, and even less about how police would go about investigating it. I find this series offensive to the hard efforts and selfless work put into such investigations by real police, who do investigate such things.
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t_kam25 September 2017It's captivating and makes you want to continue to come back for the next episode just to see how it all pans out but it is all so depressing. The problem is that every single character has no redeeming features, they are all unlikeable with the men being the weakest. The most common word used must be'sorry', every one seems to be sorry for one thing or another and they continue to make apologies just about every five to ten minutes.
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penelopeyang-1698511 September 20219 point for Jodie' acting, just cannot move my eyes from her face. The fragility of Ivy are vividly conveyed to me by Jodie's facial micro-expression; 1 point off for the detective Eliot's stupid and emotional behavior, just annoyed me.