'Thirteen' follows the 'Kidnapped Girl Who Returns To Her Old Life After A Long Period Of Time' formula. We have clichés like the overbearing mother, the divorced parents that got separated because of the loss of their child, a dose of Stockholm Syndrome and probably a bunch of other stuff that I didn't catch. And in spite of all this, 'Thirteen' still succeeds at being interesting, compelling and an all round quality five hours of TV... Well, save for the last episode. But we'll get to that.
I was impressed by Jodie Commer's performance as our protagonist, Ivy. Not that I expected anything less; I've been a fan of hers since My Mad Fat Diary. The rest of the cast also delivers strong and powerful performances.
The writing is good and the story is given in a thoughtful and believable way. Everyone's reactions, from Ivy's to her family's to her friends' was pretty spot on for someone going through what they were going though. A lot of characters got on my nerves but I still saw where they were coming from.
The mystery aspect of the story was also handled well. It was interesting and compelling and had nice twists.
The only weak link to this otherwise great TV series is its final episode. Ivy is set to meet with her kidnapper in a mall to give a chance for the police to catch him. Except the police handles the whole thing sloppily like a bunch of idiots and Ivy ends up being captured by him again. The police continues with the sloppiness as it tries to find Ivy. Meanwhile, her family and friends conduct a search of their own, which I personally found somewhat cheesy.
Don't be disheartened by what you just heard, though. 'Thirteen' is a great mini-series and definitely worth the watch. It's just not flawless, but then, what is?
I was impressed by Jodie Commer's performance as our protagonist, Ivy. Not that I expected anything less; I've been a fan of hers since My Mad Fat Diary. The rest of the cast also delivers strong and powerful performances.
The writing is good and the story is given in a thoughtful and believable way. Everyone's reactions, from Ivy's to her family's to her friends' was pretty spot on for someone going through what they were going though. A lot of characters got on my nerves but I still saw where they were coming from.
The mystery aspect of the story was also handled well. It was interesting and compelling and had nice twists.
The only weak link to this otherwise great TV series is its final episode. Ivy is set to meet with her kidnapper in a mall to give a chance for the police to catch him. Except the police handles the whole thing sloppily like a bunch of idiots and Ivy ends up being captured by him again. The police continues with the sloppiness as it tries to find Ivy. Meanwhile, her family and friends conduct a search of their own, which I personally found somewhat cheesy.
Don't be disheartened by what you just heard, though. 'Thirteen' is a great mini-series and definitely worth the watch. It's just not flawless, but then, what is?