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The Third Day begins with Sam (Jude Law), taking some time out from life for personal reasons that show he’s suffered a great loss, interrupted only to talk to his wife on the phone about an amount of £40,000 of cash in a bag, and what should happen next.
I’ll only mention the premise of what happens in the first few minutes to set the scene, but not the spoilery consequences that spin off from this.
A huge distraction comes for him next, as he chances across a teenage girl, Nepona, trying to take her own life. Although he’s sure he saw someone with her, he manages to take her home, but the problem with getting back to her island is down to the causeway which they need to drive across, and you can only do this when the tide is out.
Upon arrival, we learn she lives on a commune full of eccentric people, where they’re holding a festival. The whole atmosphere feeling very much like The Prisoner, as if he’ll never escape again… he certainly can’t get a mobile phone signal. So, what’s to happen next?
In what also feels rather like the odd village atmosphere created from Edgar Wright’s Hot Fuzz, Sam arrives at the pub run by Nepona’s step-parents (Emily Watson and Paddy Considine, the latter also in Hot Fuzz), but while he needs to make an urgent phone call, it’s proving to be impossible.
Sam’s constantly followed by a cricket, but that’s just part of the weird stuff going on, such as ants crawling out of an insect’s stomach like a weird ’70s horror movie. Plus, the pub seems even more bizarre than the one in An American Werewolf in London, when the Americans arrive and everyone (including Rik Mayall) stare at them, making them feel most unwelcome. A slightly more friendly face comes in the form of American hotel guest Jess (Katherine Waterston – Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald).
So, in The Third Day‘s first episode, it’s a case of I kind-of enjoyed what I was watching and will certainly check out more, but I didn’t have much of an idea what was going on, although that’s clearly intentional.
The Third Day begins on Sky Atlantic on Tuesday September 15th at 9pm. I’m expecting all episodes to be available on demand at the same time. The series isn’t yet available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD.
If you’re unsure of which music is in the trailer, it’s Billy Fury‘s Wondrous Place.
Check out the trailer below:
Episode 1 Score: 7/10
Series Directors: Philippa Lowthorpe, Marc Munden
Producer: Adrian Sturges
Writers: Dennis Kelly, Dean O’Loughlin, Kit de Waal
Creators: Dennis Kelly, Feliz Barrett
Music: Cristobal Tapia de Veer, Dickon Hinchliffe
Cast:
Sam: Jude Law
Helen: Naomie Harris
Jess: Katherine Waterston
Mrs Martin: Emily Watson
Mr Martin: Paddy Considine
Jason: Mark Lewis Jones
Smiling Boy: Joe Blakemore
Preacher: Amer Chadha-Patel
Kail: Freya Allan
Professor Mimir: Börje Lundberg
Boy with glasses: Stanley Auckland
Tomo: Tom Lawrence
Wallpapering Young Woman: Sonera Angel
Danny: Will Rogers
Talulah: Charlotte Gairdner-Mihell
The Cowboy: Paul Kaye
Alan: George Potts
Ellie: Nico Parker
Larry: John Dagleish
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.