Not Without My Daughter

No one can film the police procedural better than the British. Sometimes its treat­ment elevates it to a global conversation starter, like Adolescence, and at other times, it remains serviceable, suspenseful, and entertaining. The Stolen Girl is one such eminently watchable if somewhat expected thriller, across five episodes, each end­ing in a cliffhanger. It is a genre that can be loosely described as 'perfect families and their dark secrets'. On the face of it, Elisa and Fred (Denise Gough and Jim Sturgess) have the perfect life: two adorable children, good jobs and a beautiful home. That is until she allows her nine-year-old daughter to have a sleepover with her classmate upon being persuaded by her friendly mother Rebecca, played to sunny perfection by Holliday Grainger. Then, because this is a crime series, the mother and daughter dis­appear, along with Rebecca's. What follows is a chase, not only literally but also meta­phorically as the narrative takes viewers into Elisa's past, Rebecca's life, and how they intertwine. The action is taut, the emotions intense, and the female leads, Gough, Grainger, and the quirky Ambika Mod as a journalist make it worth a binge watch.