Family
paranoia. It’s not just for horror movies anymore. Dr. Mona Harcourt always assumed
her family were moderate progressive Muslims. After all, she married an Anglo
Brit who looks a little like Steve Coogan (he’s actually Jack Davenport). Her
brother Dr. Kareem Shirani even volunteers his time at a free clinic outside of
Lahore. He is like a young and dashing version of the philanthropist in These Birds Walk, except he is about to
be murdered by Islamists. The question will be to what extent was his possibly
radicalized son involved? Dr. Harcourt will do her best to protect her family
and other potential innocent victims in the six-episode Next of Kin (trailer
here),
which premieres bingeing-style this Thursday on Sundance Now.
Thanks
to Guy Davenport’s new lobbying contract, his career is poised for the next
level. Dr. Harcourt’s practice remains steady-as-it-goes and their son Sammi seems
to be thriving at school. All appears to be well as they prepare her brother’s
welcome home party, but the guest of honor never arrives.
Horrifyingly,
their worst fears are confirmed by an internet video. The family is distraught,
but the cops are only interested in his son Danish, who apparently dropped out
of university without telling anyone. In fact, he is not on holiday in Spain.
He is back in Lahore, held as a de facto prisoner by the Jihadist terror group that
recruited him in London. As part of a counter-terror power play, Dr. Harcourt
is forced to return to Lahore to claim her brother’s body, but that will also
give her an opportunity to make contact with her nephew.
Kin is bulging at the
seams with unlikely plot twists and uncomfortable family recriminations, but
that is what makes it so voyeuristically entertaining. Just about everything
under the sun is thrown at Mona and Guy Harcourt, but despite some bitter rows,
they stay strong. Indeed, their core relationship is something we do not often
see in film or TV, but it keeps us deeply invested.
On
the macro side, creator-screenwriters Natasha Naryan & Paul Rutman consistently
portray Islamist jihad as a cancerous threat and Western law enforcement as too
bureaucratic and petty to provide an effective counter-force, which certainly
reflects the state of the world. Over and over, viewers will find themselves
face-palming due to the blundering of DCI Vivien Barnes’ special task force.
Alas, it is all just too easy to believe.
Regardless,
Archie Panjabi is absolutely terrific as Dr. Harcourt. In some ways, she is
like a classic Hitchcock protag caught up in grand events beyond her control,
but she has the added protective sensibilities of a mother, aunt, and medical
doctor. Panjabi develops some unusually warm but deeply complex chemistry with
Davenport (who was absolutely smashing as the Machiavellian Earl of Warwick in
the recently closed Broadway production of Saint
Joan). Viewers will really believe them together as a couple—and root for
them.
Navin
Chowdry is also quite good as Kareem. Even though his character is killed off
early, he continues to be a potent present throughout the limited series.
Viveik Kaira is an undeniably intense livewire of barely contained energy as
Danish, but the real X-factor is Claire Skinner as the commanding DCI Barnes.
Sometimes she has viewers booing in contempt and sometimes cheering at her grit,
even within the same scene, but she is never boring.
You
need to watch Kin through to the very
end, because the closing montage ignited a mini-controversy after airing in the
UK. ITV actually issued a statement asserting a certain character’s sudden
chumminess with the terrorists didn’t really happen, even though we can see it
with our own eyes. That’s right, this series is so paranoid, it doesn’t even
believe itself. Yet, it is such a fitting way for it to end. Highly recommended
for the skullduggery and if-I-had-but-known melodrama, Next of Kin starts streaming this Thursday (6/21) on Sundance Now.
