Greetings And Salutations, and welcome to my review of The Chronicle Mysteries - Recovered; here's the breakdown of my ratings:
Story: 1.25
Direction: 1.00
Pace: 1.00
Acting: 1.25
Enjoyment: 1.25
TOTAL: 5.75 out of 10.00.
The Chronicle Mysteries is your simple American/Canadian feel-good murder mystery with a hint of a romance movie serial. And, as such single-story episodic series go, the first episode - Recovered - wasn't too bad.
The writer Melissa Salmons offers the usual stereotypes to the audience. A female amateur detective and their male sidekick or sidekicks. Think Aurora Teagarden and Jennifer Shannon (Garage Sale Mysteries) but substitute librarian and antique dealer for full-time amateur pod-caster. And you're right, there's pretty much nothing new under the sun. However, that doesn't mean the story is flat or uninspired. Salmons adds enough mystery to the main storyline to keep your interest piqued. On top, she throws in the secondary tale of Alex McPherson, the pod-caster who has turned up in the small township looking for answers on a missing friend. Gina DeSavio has been missing for nineteen years. Her body's never recovered, though it appears her death is more than a foregone conclusion. Having known Gina, Alex has taken it upon herself to revisit the town and look into her disappearance. Her first stop is the local newspaper - The Chronicle (yeah, you probably guessed that). She's there to check on the back issues, for story ideas and any clues. Of course, this is also where we meet the romantic side of the partnership. Drew Godfrey is the editor in charge, and there's an instant, though thorny, chemistry between the couple. You know, opposites attract, and all that Hong Kong Phooey. As story stereotypes dictate, these two are grudgingly thrown together to unravel the ever-deepening puzzle of the evanescent Gina. Salmons keeps the clues coming, and few red herrings hinder your deductive skills as an armchair dick. Thanks to Salmons's character creation and story structuring skills, both story and its mystery retain an air of freshness.
I only wished the director, Jason Bourque, had offered up some of his own. The filmmaking isn't stale; it's just everyday averageness. There are plenty of opportunities to add an ounce more here and an ounce more there, throughout the movie to empower the scene more, particularly in the key moments. Take the killer's reveal: Bourque displays it using two separate sequences. One from the floor as we watch the murderer stamp on a wine glass, and the second as they slowly turn to reveal themselves. I think it would've been better to show this in one sequence. From the floor, stamping on the glass and then panning cautiously up their body to reveal their identity. Doing so would've added extra power to the conceived threat transferred from the killer's icy stare to the witness, for whom the penny had finally dropped. Another element that required enhancing was the pace. There are a couple of scenes where we should feel nervous tension and excited worry for our daring duo of crime investigators. Sadly, because of the steady pace, we don't, and that hurts the picture a little. Salmons' characterisations make you empathise with Alex and Drew and the rest of the Chronicle crew. Bourque should have added to this, but he sadly fails to do so.
Luckily, the performers are excellent and don't fail in accentuating this positive element of the narrative. Granted, the roles Alison Sweeney and Benjamin Ayres portray, Alex and Drew, are similar to parts they have previously played, so they wouldn't have been too demanding to reconstruct. Fortunately for the watcher, the pair are skilled in their jobs. They make everything appear credible and normal. Moreover, it makes their on-screen relationship work, which always draws in the viewer. It's a ploy that's always worked, though never as well as in Moonlighting or The X-Files.
The Chronicle Mysteries - Recovered is your easy viewing for a lazy Sunday afternoon after dinner when you're podged and want nothing too taxing to watch. It's also ideal for weekend morning viewing. Recovered was my choice for my Saturday morning toast with marmalade and a nutterly aromatic fresh coffee. A pleasant and easy way to start my weekend. Should you require a calm and unruffled start to your day or a film you can dose too, then The Chronicle Mysteries - Recovered is for you.
STOP The PRESSES! Okay, now go and check out my IMDb list - The Game Is Afoot to see where I ranked The Chronicle Mysteries - Recovered.
Take Care & Stay Well.
