Mikes Film Talk

Episode two of The Family; All You See Is Dark, continues to peel back layers as the mystery around Adam (Liam James) deepens and brother Danny (Zach Gilford) seriously begins to question who this “stranger” is.  Just as puzzling, or disturbing if one listens to verbal clues as well as those “revealing” flashbacks, is where Hank (Andrew McCarthy) really fits in all this as the symbol of a gross miscarriage of justice.

This new series on ABC promises to be more than just a mystery that needs solving, it is a melding of genres. Suspense, thriller and crime all join ranks with mystery and there is a good bit of psychological intensity running though out.

Mayor Claire Warren (Joan Allen) proves to be in denial while struggling to control her son’s rehabilitation and the stress levels threaten to undo her electoral plans.  Detective Meyer (Margot Bingham) is obsessed with finding the real abductor of Adam and on top of fighting her personal issues with her wrongful conviction years before, also has to fight her boss for time.

It is a fight that the detective loses when the FBI is called in.

Willa Warren (Alison Pill) continues to control things, unobtrusively protecting her mother, father and brothers, although her motives are, at this point,  unclear. Just as she stepped in 10 years previously it seems that Willa will do anything to keep the Warren family safe from its own secrets. 

It is even revealed that a 13 year-old Willa censored her father’s emails and texts when she approaches dad John (Rupert Graves) in present day to ask a favor. She tells her aghast father that at 13, she had no idea what the phrase “inside of you” meant but she dealt with it. 

The Family does not just present an American tragedy with a mystery to be solved. It also shows how the death of a child thought to be murdered by a pedophile opens a sort of Pandora’s Box of emotionally charged reactions.  The players in this drama have all become intertwined as well as affected by the events.

The cop, whose career is made by this case, is sexually involved with a family member. When the murdered boy returns from the dead, as it were, her guilt at helping to convict the next door neighbor, who was on the sexual offender register, is all consuming.

The returned boy appears to be working hard to convince his older brother of his pedigree. Bringing up memories of childhood events and items but failing to recognize things that the real Adam should know.

Episode two, All You See Is Dark continues the back and forth jumps in time-lines as it moves forward with Meyer trying to find out what really happened 10 years ago. We see Claire Warren verbally attacking Hank on the night she appealed for help finding Adam.

The reason?

When Hank brings over muffins (at his mother’s insistence) as gesture of goodwill, he states that Adam “was” a good boy.  This 10 year-old statement screams of his guilt in Claire’s eyes.  In this episode, it appears that despite his release from prison,  Hank may not be as “innocent” as it is now believed.

There are secrets aplenty in this show and many questions that will need answering before the truth is revealed.  Who is the man with the holes in his face? What was Hank cleaning up and why? More importantly, why does Adam have to keep reminding himself who he is.

One more in this tragic familial mystery is Willa.  Why has she taken over the job of protecting the family when it has so obviously adversely affected her? This behind the scenes manipulation that started 10 years previously is still going on and still, apparently laying heavy on the young woman.

Why?

In light of this “favor” she starts to ask of her father, one wonders just when the idea to ask for something in return first cropped up.

This look at a family in free-fall after their murdered son returns from the dead and their 10 year old truth is revealed to be a lie is almost compulsive viewing after watching the pilot. The second episode continues pecking away at characters in the series. Joan Hall, as Claire,  is becoming ever more strident and Andrew McCarthy’s Hank is turning out to be a very secretive and odd man.

Margot Bingham’s character is verging upon becoming obsessed with finding the man with holes in his face.

The Family is one for all those who like psychological mysteries.  The series premieres March 6 on ABC. Do not miss this one, it promises to keep the viewer guessing and eagerly awaiting the next episode as soon as the current one ends.