Two great series are streaming now on Netflix- The Forest, a wonderfully atmospheric French 6-episode series about the police investigation of some missing girls. And The Five, a 10 -episode British series created by mystery writer Harlan Coben about the DNA of a missing child (from 20 years earlier) that shows up at the scene of a murder. Both are fantastic, suspenseful and eminently satisfying.
The Five. Four teenage friends- Mark, Pru, Slade and Mark head out into the woods dragging along Mark’s younger brother Jesse. They send Jesse home on his own and the child is never seen again. The incident messed up all their lives in different ways. 20 years later Danny (O.T. Fagbenie) is a policeman, like his father was (who now has Alzheimer’s and resides with his family). Pru (Sarah Solemani) is a married doctor, who still has unresolved feelings for her teenage crush Mark (Tom Cullen/Weekend). Slade (Lee Ingleby/Inspector George Gently) runs a teen crisis center. While investigating the murder of a woman at a hotel, the DNA of missing Jesse shows up at the crime scene, which brings the four friends together to try and solve the mystery. Is Jesse alive, or is someone messing with them? Particularly Jakob Marosi (Rade Serbedzija), a convicted child killer, who admitted to killing Jesse years ago, even though the body was never discovered.
There are so many twists and turns and dark revelations. One barely solves one mystery when another appears. But the story is beautifully structured by author Harlan Coben, and has a truly great ending.
The Forest is a French crime drama set in a remote, verdant village. A 16-year-old girl goes missing and Captain Gaspard Deker (Samuel Labarthe/Les Petits Meurtres d’Agatha Christie) investigates. He is new to town, and immediately causes discord at the station, especially with Lieutenant Virginie Musso (Suzanne Clement).
Suzanne Clement is an extraordinary actress and has been in several great Xavier Dolan films like I Killed My Mother, Lawrence Anyways and Mommy. When Virginie’s adopted daughter Maya (Martha Canga Antonio) also goes missing, their inquiries seem tied in with several old unsolved cases of missing girls.
One of the key parts of the story involves a teacher at the school- Eve (Alexia Barlier), whose own back story is just as mysterious. She was found wandering out of the forest as a child and was brought up and raised by a kindly man, with no memory of who she is or where she came from. All these elements converge to make a really gripping series.