Creators: Rob Cawley, Paul Duane
Starring: Eva Birthistle, David Murray, Lauryn Canny, Levi O’Sullivan, Justine Mitchell, David Herlihy, Declan Conlon, Emily Nagle, Stella McCusker, Shauna Griffith
Running Time: 199 minutes
Certificate: 15
We recently saw Wales unsuccessfully try and capitalise on the demand for serious crime drama with Hinterland and now it’s time for the Irish to give it a go with Amber, a four part series which deals with a young girl going missing. The show decides to follow the family and other people involved rather than tackling things from the police perspective. This adds a more emotionally charged story, and sometimes goes in perculiar directions which unfortunately don’t get anywhere. Despite these narrative decisions as well as jumping back and forth in time, the series is still highly predictable from the dialogue down to character arcs and reactions.
Performance wise we have a beautifully crafted 199 minutes. There isn’t a weak link in the entire cast, and considering the show focuses on young and old alike with characters jumping through time as we see events on the 148th day of Amber’s disappearance before travelling back to the 17th day etc., that is a solid achievement. Still, every scene and interaction is entirely expected. The estranged parents gradually gravitate towards one another before pushing each other away, the journalist friend writes an unwelcome article in the newspaper, the son begins to be rejected and then overprotected and so on. I have no doubt these events would be a part of a real life missing person’s case, but when condensed into four 48 minute episodes, you are soon left playing the waiting game.
For its content, Amber is surprisingly lax when it comes to tension. Keeping us close to the family means we discover a lot of the information when the family do which actually adds a cold feel that is surprisingly welcome. We hear the formal ways in which police deliver phone calls and potentially uplifting and distressing news. For creating an atmosphere of dread the show gives us the horrible feeling of sitting and waiting and tactfully but frustratingly avoids easy answers.
Amber is certainly worth your time, especially at a slim four episodes. It looks great and is shot with the professional and dreamlike quality of the Nordic Noir leaders of crime TV. Great performances serve a story that is both emotionally draining and purposefully distant. Although you won’t find the answers you are looking for and you’ll probably be able to judge where each character will be after certain time jumps, this still holds much promise for the future of those involved.
[usr=3]Amber is released on DVD on 23rd June.
