FIVE DAYS - DVD review

How is it a mother and her two children disappear on the side of a busy road? Why do the cops have no leads and seemingly stumble onto every clue they find? What about the husband and father, a trainer suspected of having an affair with a co-worker? And the vain ex-husband in France? What do the investigators look for when the trail has all but dried up on the seventy-ninth day since the disappearances? All those questions-and more-are answered in the HBO miniseries "Five Days."

Co-produced by the BBC and HBO, the five episode miniseries introduces us to one character after another from friends and family to journalists, cops, well doers and even the people responsible for Leanne's (the mother) disappearance. Exclusively written by Gwyneth Hughes, "Five Days" tries to branch out from the normal police procedural by focusing more on the family than the nuts and bolts of the investigation. Yet, in the end, it is precisely this examination of the personal dynamic which ultimately leads to the downfall of the endeavor.

A certain social contract-either implied or implicit-is made with the viewer when a plot centers on a kidnapping. We want to know who did it, how they did it, why they did it and everything will be alright in the end. Think of "Law and Order" or any of the "CSI" series: each begins with a mystery to solve and ends with a resolution. Maybe not the preferred resolution, but the pieces all fit in place to give us a complete picture. The viewer does not have to put the pieces together themselves to bridge the gap between one episode and the next in multi-part stories. Here, the titular five days are spread over a total of 79 days (we are presented with Day's One, Three and Twenty-Eight on Disc 1 and Day's Thirty-Three and Seventy-Nine on Disc 2). Where one episode leaves off, say the recovery of young Ethan in a storage shed at the end of Day One, the next picks up as if nothing has happened.

Therefore, when characters like Leanne's ex-husband Daf shows up and gets into a dust up with her father John, it is maddening to know nothing will come of it in the next episode. In a way, programs like "24" have spoiled us in America: one episode leads directly into another, providing the bridge the viewer needs to become re-invested in the story. (At the very least, "LOST" generally provides a recap at the top of each episode to remind us where we've been if there is no direct continuation.) "Five Days" would have been helped immeasurably by including a "previously on" segment before the main credits rolled each time out.

The other problem with the mini comes straight from Hughes in the two disc set's lone bonus feature. She has no idea how the story is going to end when she begins to write. She doesn't know who is going to end up dead, no idea who did it…only a hope she's thrown enough onto the proverbial wall to make something stick in the end. The writer even freely admits this is a dangerous way of working and drives her directors mad. With a whodunnit, there has to be a guiding hand behind the endeavor, making sure the pieces line up and the audience is fully engaged in the plot. After all, if the writer doesn't know who the eventual villain is, how can the audience play along while watching?

This unfortunate writing style is evident throughout the production. Husband Matt destroys his cell phone, later recovered, why, exactly? To make sure sexy text messages from a co-worker aren't found? Sarah Wheeler, the woman who finds Ethan, integrates herself into Matt's family for what reason? The eventual mastermind behind Leanne's disappearance-don't worry, I won't spoil it-can't be guessed or even implied. One of Matt's friends is recruited by the police to keep an eye on him…again, why? Despite being military, he is still a civilian.

And in the best sense of seeing what sticks, myriad characters and subplots are thrown into the pot for no apparent reason. One of the detectives, an Amy Foster, makes no mention of retirement through the first four episodes, yet a lengthy retirement party rears its head in the fifth. Family officer Simone Farnes realizes a work crisis in "Day Thirty-Three" for no apparent reason other than to buy time to get to "Day Seventy-Nine." It's just a complete jumble, not aided in Hughes' intention of including five disparate days in the course of the investigation, nor by the clumsy way the children (not to mention the eventual true story) are found.

Perhaps I've harped on the shortcomings of "Five Days" a bit too long. It is a rare multi-part miniseries presented on American television (albeit HBO, not a network) which is ambitious in its intent. The marquee name in the cast credits is Hugh Bonneville ("Iris" and "Notting Hill"), though it is David Oyelowo (Matt, "The Last King of Scotland") who steals the screen. From the very beginning, despite the insinuation he was involved in Leanne's disappearance, we never buy the allegation. Partly because there is no evidence to support it, but also because of the performance. He's strong, yet vulnerable, keeping his inner emotions to himself except for one or two outbursts. That's not to say the rest of the cast doesn't hold up their end of the acting; they do, with three exceptions.

The child actors. They are notorious for being difficult on set and even harder to get solid performances out of. Here, Lee Massey (Ethan), Tyler Anthony (his sister Rosie) and Lucinda Dryzek (their half-sister Tanya) make their scenes almost painful to watch. Perhaps it is a combination of the script and their reading of the lines but anything they say sounds like they're reading instead of acting. Dryzek is especially painful in her hysterics over both absent father Daf and Leanne. Her reactions to wanting to go back to France with Daf are understandable and natural, though by the fifth time she fights with Matt, one wishes she would just exit stage left as soon as possible.

I'm speaking in generalities regarding the "Five Days" cast and plot to preserve some of the plot twists and machinations for an actual viewing. One thing the series has to its credit is each episode seems to fly by. Running between 56 minutes and 63 minutes, there is relatively little time to get absolutely bored by the action, even when it has nothing at all to do with the main plot. Occasionally you shudder at what is happening since it seems so out of character (the aforementioned retirement party, for example); in the same breath, though, it can be defended (in this case blaming it on alcohol).

VIDEO:
The 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen presentation is as crisp as anyone can reasonably expect, even from a recent production. There was a deliberate choice in the lighting of the entire mini-series, it seems, to allow as much natural (or natural-looking) light as possible into every scene. And it works not only in a story sense but also in a technical one. Yes, a scene or two appear entirely too dark to figure out what's really going on, but by and large, it looks as though directors Otto Bathurst and Simon Curtis filmed using only the light available to them. Details are rendered well with no real complaints to speak of. (The sky in one early scene seems to flicker for a total of five seconds.) There is no pixelation or grain as far as I could tell.

AUDIO:
I am thankful a set of English subtitles are included on this disc. Not because the English 5.1 track needs work but, rather, due to the twofold nature of native English speakers and the entire series being so quiet. (A Spanish 2.0 track and subtitles are also included.) Again, as with the video, there are no technical problems with the audio portion of the set-no distortion or audio drop outs-and really no problems at all. A quiet movie doesn't necessarily necessitate an enhanced 5.1 option.

EXTRAS:
On each episode page is a spoiler-ish summary of the episode, along with the option for scene selections. Otherwise, the only other extras is housed on the second discs and is entitled "Behind the Mystery with Writer Gwyneth Hughes." Running for 13:22, she puts forward her method for writing as well as the central idea of uncertainty for the characters and the audience. Everything else mentioned in the featurette branches off from that one concept.

PARTING THOUGHTS:
If it wasn't for the strict adherence to her writing style, writer Hughes might have been able to pull "Five Days" off. Without knowing where the story is going or who the ultimate culprit is, she cheats the audience out of a worthwhile (and rewarding) experience. The production is flawless and most of the cast is to be commended. I felt cheated by the ending and the sense it was pulled out of thin air for no apparent reason. A real missed opportunity.