Episode Guide
The Beneath Truth Person Of Interest Pact Of Silence Heaven and Earth The Fightback Dark Places Truth and Lies Somebody Knows To this date, £11.75 million has been spent on the investigation into finding Madeleine McCann. With a story that spread like wildfire the world over, Netflix’s latest true crime documentary pieces together the entire story of this infamous case into an 8 hour comprehensive fact file of what happened and the ensuing mystery that followed. While it fails to offer any new evidence or substantial ideas into exactly what happened to her, the series does what it sets out to do – comprehensively break down what happened, leaving the door open for our own interpretation into the story. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, the story of Madeleine McCann has been closely watched by maintream news media the world over. For those unaware, in the dead of night a young girl went missing from a holiday resort whilst on vacation with her parents in Portugal. After her distraught parents, Gerry and Kate McCann, find her missing from bed, what ensues is an investigation that sparked a worldwide frenzy that gripped the world over. The first episode begins with a break down into what happened that night and a brief introduction to the McCann’s themselves. From here, one of the McCann’s friends Jane Tanner allegedly saw a man carrying a child across the street away from the complex which sparks up a manhunt across the world. As the police begin ramping up the investigation and following leads, the ensuing episodes then look into whether the parents are being completely truthful and the role of both the media and police in Portugal regarding the case. This then leads on to the last episode which acts as a reflection on everything that transpires across the prior episodes and the shreds of hope the McCann’s still cling to that their daughter will one day be found alive and well. Much like previous documentaries in this genre, The Disappearance Of Madeleine McCann gathers together a mixture of archival news footage, a haunting score, re-enacted segments and face to face interviews. There’s a wide range of sources interviewed too, including the Portuguese, Americans and friends and family of the McCann’s to provide a wide range of sources. While the series itself does well to collate together as many different pieces of information as possible, this does feel like very well-trodden ground. Given how much money has been poured into the investigation as well as the constant media updates and reminders into the case, this tragic story has almost become synonymous with British history. Don’t get me wrong, the story itself is tragic and at the time, touched the hearts of millions of people across the world. While there isn’t anything substantially new or different here, for those who haven’t followed the case that closely, The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann is a really comprehensive and detailed breakdown of everything we know so far. Does it offer any new evidence or questions? Not really. Is it an engrossing, true crime documentary? Yes it is. For that alone, this one is worth checking out but if you’re all caught up with the case, there isn’t much here that hasn’t been showcased before.
