Review of Gone Forever (Series, 2021)

You never fully know your loved ones

It is not the first time that the novelist Harlan Coben has seen one of his books carried on television, both abroad and in France (One chance too many). Gone for good, translated by Gone forever, is adapted by David Elkaïm and Vincent Poymiro – talented duo who have already worked on In therapy. Harlan Coben is never far away since he is also the producer of the series. Fans of the writer’s universe will be delighted because the suspense and the rhythm of his intrigues are rather well transcribed.. And those who have never read his books will certainly want to.

What is very successful in Gone foreveris the speed with which the director Juan Carlos Medina hooks the viewer to the basques of Guillaume Lucchesi (Finnegan Oldfield). His companion Judith (Nailia Harzoune) disappears on the day of the funeral of Florence Lucchesi (Julie-Anne Roth), the mother of this inhibited, generous and endearing young man. The emptiness then felt by Guillaume revives painful memories. Those of the unsolved murders, ten years ago, of his brother Fred (Nicolas Duvauchelle) and his ex girl friend Sonia Kasmi (Garance Marillier).

Each of the 5 episodes of season 1 bears the first name of one of the protagonists, allowing to deepen the story through his angle of view. Gone forever opens with Guillaume’s gaze, then it will be that of Inès (Ambre Hasaj), the anguished little sister of the so smart and sensual Sonia. Become an adult and followed by a psychologist since the drama, Inès disturbingly resembles Sonia.

Not all truths are good to say

The series delicately addresses the place of each within a sibling. Guillaume and Inès have indeed in common to wear the mourning of their elders and to continue to live in their charismatic shadow. And it is through the two cadets linked by their trauma that Gone forever subtly deals with the resilience process, subject dear to the psychiatrist Boris Cyrulnik. In an attempt to overcome his trauma, Guillaume has thus built himself a useful profession as a committed educator. His whole life is dedicated to helping young people in difficulty, in a social center created by Jérémie Daco (Guillaume Gouix).

Gone forever also offers the viewer interesting moments of reflection on the relationship of educators with young people on the one hand, and with the police and justice on the other. It is thanks to his work that Guillaume fell in love with Judith and with whom he concluded a pact: that of not asking any questions about the past.

Harlan Coben’s heroes are often presented as ordinary people who, suddenly confronted with the mystery of the unexplained, have no other choice but to modify their life trajectory. The writer likes his heroes to find unsuspected strength and courage to face obstacles and discover the truth. Even if it is painful, unlikely or disappointing. It is thus alongside Daco, whose episode 3 reveals the past, that Guillaume seeks to find Judith. The series shows the intimate questioning of the young man about the love he felt for a woman he didn’t know that well.

This will not be the only person to reveal his dark side, even if the revelations are sometimes a bit choppy. Without spoiler, we can just point out that during his quest, Guillaume will meet junkies, dealers, guns, extremists. But also migrants in squats, a mac, former prostitutes, a mysterious man in black and a private detective. He will learn the truth about his brother’s friends, Alexandre Kessler (Grégoire Colin) and Joachim Ostertag (Tomas Lemarquis), but also about his father (Jacques Bonnaffé).

Gone forever walks the spectator in several French cities but also in Spain and in Sardinia, and makes him cross space-time. But it is precisely these too many didactic comings and goings between years and places that give the impression of a somewhat drunken whirlpool for the viewer. Series Gone forever Overall holds up well to the thriller road with a relevant cast. We hope that season 2 will highlight characters that are at the very least anecdotal in season 1, such as Guillaume’s sister, Maeva (Julie Moulier).

Disappeared at …