‘I’ll Find You’ movie review: Sam Worthington and Brett lead Pulpy Harlan Coben thriller on Netflix

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Netflix I will find you It is the exact model of modern dispersed viewing. Back in January, promotion RuptureMatt Damon told a podcast host that Netflix was accounting for multitasking and multiscreen viewership by asking creators to “repeat the plot three or four times in dialogue.” It became the butt of a joke at the Oscars and, briefly, was such a part of the speech that Dan Lin, Netflix’s head of film, was forced to deny the accusation at a company press event, saying: “There is no such principle.” “I mean, if you watch our movies or TV shows, we don’t repeat our plots,” he said.

Since Lin is the head of film operations at Netflix, I’m assuming he hasn’t seen the movie I will find youthe latest limited series adaptation from prolific hit producer Harlan Coben. There’s no plot point that doesn’t happen at least half a dozen times, and I’m emphasizing “at least.”

Because of the ambiguous structure of the book/series — which includes stretches in which up to four different subsets of characters search for the same information and thus follow the same breadcrumbs while simultaneously announcing their progress — I honestly don’t think the show’s avalanche was even the result of executive notes. However, I’m also confident that the show’s creative team never received a note from Netflix saying, “Guys, you’re cramming two hours of plot into eight hours of programming, is there any other way we can make better use of this time?”

I will find you It’s a disposable mix of repetition, red herrings, narrative dead ends, and illogical decisions, but thanks in part to a first-rate cast led by Sam Worthington, Brett Lauer, Chi McBride, and Logan Browning, even the rampant wheel-spinning remains generally watchable, amidst the discomfort.

Adapted by Robert Hall (Gotham), I will find you It stars Worthington as David Burroughs, a father serving a life sentence for brutally murdering his young son, a crime he vehemently denies committing. No one seems to believe him, including his ex-wife (Erin Richards’ Cheryl) and his father (Hugh Thompson’s Linney, a former Boston cop).

We see in flashbacks that the prosecution claimed that David committed the crime in the midst of chronic night terrors, a bizarrely presented personal detail that appears to have played no role in his sentencing and is therefore never mentioned again in the series.

Is the involuntary and involuntary nature of the alleged crime supposed to reassure viewers, just in case he might actually be guilty? I don’t know. It is also mentioned early on that David was apparently a law professor at Boston University, another fact that is never mentioned again. I will find you Full of passing information that gets tossed out without any regard for what it might actually mean to the story. Chekhov would not agree.

Anyway, David has been in a Maine prison for five years, refusing visitors – even his ex-sister Rachel (Britt Lauer), a former reporter for The Guardian. Boston Globecome to see him. Rachel, who lost her job under circumstances that seem like they should be significant but really aren’t, has a friend who posted photos on social media from Six Flags. In the background, one of the photos shows a young boy, about the same age as David’s son. He looks exactly like David’s son would look, right down to the very distinctive birthmark on his face.

This is a big coincidence. A very big coincidence. Silly coincidence. In a way, it ends up being just one of the three or four biggest coincidences in leadership I will find you.

David sees the photo and becomes convinced that his son is still alive, even if DNA tests on the body found in his house – the murder was so brutal it required DNA identification – confirm it is his son. He soon escapes from prison with the help of a friendly warden (Peter Outerbridge), who served in the Boston Police Department with Lenny, and the warden’s son Adam (Jonathan Tucker), David’s best friend and another Boston cop.

Once David goes on the run in search of the truth, this attracts the attention of the FBI’s Fugitive Task Force, a team led by Bureau legend Max Williams (McBride) — another character says they studied Max at Quantico, though nothing we know about him supports his worthiness for study — and rookie agent Sarah Greer (Browning). Two other cast members are involved at the beginning of the series, one of whom stops mentioning him midway through, as if the actor suddenly got a better job, while the other begins to work closely with the team and becomes an occasional errand boy. This is also strange.

It’s not even like rings I will find you It was quite long, so anything semi-unnecessary was cut out. Most of the second half installments come in under 40 minutes. Add some meat to these bones!

Soon, David and Rachel team up to find the truth, moving from Maine to New York City to Boston. In the process, they get help from Rachel’s wealthy ex-boyfriend, Hayden (Milo Ventimiglia), who is still very much in love with her, and they all begin to suspect that a Boston crime boss (Clancy Brown’s Nicky Fisher) may be involved.

On the other side, but clearly related, is the mysterious Gertrude Payne (Madeleine Stowe), the matriarch of a benevolent but suspicious family somewhat similar to the Sacklers, although the presence of a Sackler with the last name “Payne” might be too obvious. There’s also something going on in Switzerland. Why Switzerland? Shrug.

So, at some point, David and Rachel are following a lead, the FBI team is following the same lead, the warden and David’s father are using their police connections to track down a tangential lead, and everyone is repeating the same names and information that led to their investigation as if it were all new information.

And here I would like to revisit Dan Lin’s comment about how if you watch movies or TV shows on Netflix, they don’t repeat their plots, because yes they do, yes they do, yes they do. Sometimes, yes they do.

For every repetition, there is an end I will find youwhich wasn’t exactly what I expected it to be at any of the various points I made predictions in my notes, only makes sense if you don’t ask some very important questions. Unfortunately, I get paid to ask very important and very simple questions. I can’t or don’t want to spoil the plot holes here, so I’ll leave it like this: The series finale is generally good, in the sense that it’s largely resolved, but it fails all logical tests.

Combined with overlapping supply layers that generate three to four separate pieces of micro-momentum—rather than overall momentum—this triangular structure turns into I will find you In no less than three different shows, each with different performance styles.

The most important of this group of almost independent shows is the one featuring Worthington, Lower, and Ventimiglia. Worthington has a stubborn earnestness that plays well, but going back to the “BU law professor” thing, it’s strange how little personality or backstory has been written for the character, who seems convincingly from Southie, assuming Southie is a suburb of Perth.

I liked the gentle way Ventimiglia handled Hayden and appreciated that Lauer sneaks in traces of intentional humor, making it easier to deal with the unintentionally funny nature of the series’ journalistic subplot. Or maybe I’m just assuming it’s the real world Boston Globe Not only are fake news stories intentionally published based on representations by disgraced former reporters, while they are fictional Boston Globe Absolutely not!

The best thing about this collection of almost standalone shows is the law enforcement procedural squabbles featuring Barr Oning and McBride, who quickly establish a familiar yet endearing relationship and one can easily imagine Max and Sarah as the focus of a series. Criminal Minds– Type of radio series. Maybe in that series, these marginalized secondary agents will become characters.

The most Canadian of this group of almost indie shows is the one with Thompson and Outerbridge, two absolutely fantastic, non-Boston actors, and their presence here is a reminder that I will find you It was filmed primarily in and around Toronto and it looks that way — no matter how many establishing shots of Fenway Park are accompanied by the “Boston” badge that appears on screen. Tucker, a true bona fides in Boston, spends a lot of time adding authenticity to this plot thread.

Misplaced accents aside, the ensemble is really strong and, along with capable Polish directors including Brad Anderson and Maja Wrfellow, go a long way toward the production. I will find you It feels like a less urgent task than some of the series of Coben adaptations that have flooded Netflix and Amazon in recent years.

Or maybe it doesn’t feel like a rush job because the show isn’t in a rush to get anywhere. The brand and stars are sure to turn heads, however I will find you It’s a show that’s ultimately designed to be half-watched while watching the World Cup, busy news headlines, and other external stimuli.