TV adaptations of the American author Harlan Coben’s “extravagantly plotted” thrillers tend to attract A-list casts, said Rebecca Nicholson in the Financial Times. And it is often the case that the actors are “more believable” than the plot lines. This is very much the case with “Lazarus”, a new six-parter on Amazon Prime.
Cold-case murders
Bill Nighy and Sam Claflin play father-and-son psychiatrists Jonathan and Joel Lazarus, both of whom are haunted by the unsolved murder of Joel’s sister 25 years earlier. The series begins with Jonathan’s death, an apparent suicide – but “it doesn’t take a super-sleuth to work out that Nighy was never going to join the cast for a mere two-minute cameo”.
It soon gets “a bit ‘Sixth Sense’”, said Anita Singh in The Telegraph. Joel starts receiving spectral visits, not only from his dead father, but also from his father’s former patients. He becomes convinced that his father was murdered. The apparitions then draw him into “a series of cold-case murders” that may or may not be connected to the death of his sister, said Katie Rosseinsky in The Independent. Helpfully, he has a cop friend who can give him access to old files, to make sense of all this.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Ridiculous but addictive
It’s utterly ridiculous, convoluted (flashbacks of flashbacks) and “often clichéd”, with far too many scenes “where suspects stand lurking in dark corners or stare moodily from under hoods”. There’s some dreadful dialogue, too, and Nighy is under-used. But “it’s plotted as if it has been precision-engineered to hook you in”. And as ever with Coben, it’s “embarrassingly compelling”.
-
Dutch center-left rises in election as far-right fallsSpeed Read The country’s other parties have ruled against forming a coalition
-
The Rose Field: a ‘nail-biting’ end to The Book of Dust seriesThe Week Recommends Philip Pullman’s superb new novel brings the trilogy to a ‘fitting’ conclusion
-
Judge rules US attorney ‘unlawfully serving’Speed Read Bill Essayli had been serving in the role without Senate confirmation
-
The Rose Field: a ‘nail-biting’ end to The Book of Dust series
The Week Recommends Philip Pullman’s superb new novel brings the trilogy to a ‘fitting’ conclusion
-
Nigerian Modernism: an ‘entrancing, enlightening exhibition’The Week Recommends Tate Modern’s ‘revelatory’ show includes 250 works examining Nigerian art pre- and post independence
-
The Mastermind: Josh O’Connor stars in unconventional art heist movieThe Week Recommends Kelly Reichardt cements her status as the ‘queen of slow cinema’ with her latest film
-
Critics’ choice: Watering holes for gourmandsFeature An endless selection of Mexican spirits, a Dublin-inspired bar, and an upscale Baltimore pub
-
Film reviews: Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, Frankenstein, and Blue MoonFeature A rock star on the rise turns inward, a stressed mother begins to unravel, and more
-
Beth Macy’s 6 favorite books about living in a divided nationFeature The journalist recommends works by Nicholas Buccola, Matthew Desmond, and more
-
Book review: ‘Joyride: A Memoir’Feature A journalist’s story of how she chased and accomplished her dreams
-
Art Review: Downtown/Uptown: New York in the EightiesFeature Lévy Gorvy Dayan, New York City, through Dec. 13
