Run Away Review

Run Away is the 11^th adaptation of a Harlan Coben novel by Netflix. This adaptation transfers the story of a man looking for missing drug addicted daughter from New York to England.

Simon Greene (James Nesbitt) is a successful finance advisor whose oldest daughter, Paige (Ellie de Lange), has been missing ever since she got hooked on drugs. When Simon stumbles upon Paige busking in a park, he tries to take her home, but ends up in a fight with her boyfriend, Aaron (Thomas Flynn), which ends up going viral. Simon’s search soon gets connected to a series of murders of men who were adopted.

Coben is a popular novelist. He has written many novels since the early ‘90s, and they clearly have an appeal. The reviews for the Run Away on Amazon and Goodreads have generally been positive. Oddly, most adaptations of Coben’s works have been made outside the US, with the most famous being the French film Tell No One.

Netflix pulled out all the stops when adapting Run Away. The showrunner/executive producer, Danny Brocklehurst, has adapted other Coben novels for Netflix and other streaming services like Amazon and Sky. The cast was filled with talent. Besides Nesbitt, there were Minnie Driver, Alfred Enoch (How to Get Away With Murder), Ruth Jones (Gavin and Stacey), Ingrid Oliver (Doctor Who), and Lucian Msamati (Gangs of London, Conclave), as well as a lot of young up-and-coming talent.

The cast was the strongest aspect of the series. Nesbitt has played everyman-type characters, so it was easy for him to slot into the role of a desperate dad discovering his family secrets. Ruth Jones offered a bit of cheek and levity as a private detective who was handling multiple investigations that ended up linking to Paige’s disappearance. The most entertaining member of the cast was Maeve Courtier-Lilley as Dee Dee, one half of a pair of assassins and clearly a sociopath since she enjoyed the job and had a cheery personality. Yet she did show some humanity towards the end of the sixth episode. Minnie Driver was arguably the most famous actor in the show, but she was in a coma

Even though the series changed the setting to England, the American origins were felt. There were small details like Paige’s uni experience feeling more American than British, and the idea of a private detective working on cases involving missing people and murders felt it would fit better in America. The main reason why the series felt more American than British was tonal. If Run Away had been made by the BBC or ITV, it would have been more grounded and grittier. Run Away had more flashy visuals than a British series and had brighter cinematography.

The most notable Americanisation was the story. Halfway through the series, it was revealed that a major character was a member of a cult that operated out of a country manor. The cult idea and its portrayal felt more fitting in an American setting because of its portrayal, and it would be easier to hide in a big country with swathes of empty land.

As a mystery, Run Away was built on twists and subplots. Simon was in the dark for most of the series because he wasn’t aware of what his family were really up to. A lot of the Greenes’ issues could have been solved if they just talked to each other. It would have made the series a lot quicker if they had. As the series progressed, the plot became more elaborate and ridiculous as Simon and Elena Ravenscroft (Jones) uncovered a wider conspiracy. If a show has too many twists, it can lead to it tying itself in knots.

Due to the length of the series, it allowed for mini-stories to develop. These include Elena investigating a café owner during her free time, and Ash (Jon Pointing) and Dee Dee taking a detour from their murdering assignment to visit their old foster carer.

Run Away was a series for people who like their mysteries to be more outlandish. The story can be picked apart easily if there was some thought into it, but it was a silly ride.