I Will Find You: A Review of Netflix's Wheel-Spinning Harlan Coben Thriller
Netflix's 'I Will Find You' is a prime example of a modern, distracted-viewing show. It's a limited series adaptation of Harlan Coben's work, and it's built to be watched while doing other things. But is it any good?
In my opinion, 'I Will Find You' is a disposable mixture of repetition, red herrings, and illogical resolutions. It's like a wheel-spinning thriller, with a top-notch cast that can't quite save it from its own flaws.
The series follows David Burroughs (Sam Worthington), a father serving a life sentence for the brutal murder of his young son. He vehemently denies committing the crime, but nobody seems to believe him. The prosecution claimed he committed the crime in the throes of chronic night terrors, but this detail is never mentioned again in the series.
What makes this particularly fascinating is the way the series is structured. It's a mystery with multiple subsets of characters seeking the same information, all following the same breadcrumbs while announcing their progress simultaneously. This structure suggests that the avalanche of exposition wasn't the result of executive notes, but rather a deliberate creative choice.
However, the series' creative team never received a Netflix note saying, 'Guys, you're fitting two hours of plot into eight hours of programming, is there any other way we might use this time better?' In fact, the series is so focused on repetition that it's almost like watching three or four different shows, each with its own performance style.
The most important of these shows is the one featuring Worthington, Britt Lower, and Milo Ventimiglia. Worthington has a dogged earnestness that plays well, but the character's backstory is minimal, which is strange given his background as a law professor.
Lower sneaks in traces of intentional humor, which makes it easier to deal with the unintentionally laughable nature of the series' journalistic subplot. Ventimiglia makes Hayden intensely kind, and his performance is appreciated.
The best of these shows is the bickering law enforcement procedural featuring Browning and McBride. They quickly establish a familiar but likable rapport, and one could easily imagine them as the focus of a Criminal Minds-type broadcast series.
The most Canadian of these shows is the one with Thompson and Outerbridge, two very fine and very non-Bostonian actors. Their presence here is a reminder that 'I Will Find You' was primarily shot in and around Toronto, and it feels like it, despite the number of establishing shots of Fenway Park.
In conclusion, 'I Will Find You' is a show designed to be half-watched while keeping track of external stimuli. It's a prime example of a modern, distracted-viewing show, but it's not a particularly good one. The repetition and red herrings are frustrating, and the illogical resolutions are hard to swallow. Personally, I think it's a show that's best watched with a grain of salt, and perhaps with a glass of wine to help you through the wheel-spinning.
