The Vanishing Triangle
By Melissa Camacho,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Sensitive history-inspired drama has cursing, violence.
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The Vanishing Triangle
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What's the Story?
THE VANISHING TRIANGLE is a fictional Irish thriller based on the very real history of a series of unsolved disappearances and murders of women that took place over twenty years. It's 1996, and investigative journalist Lisa Wallace (India Mullen) publishes an article about the unsolved murder of her mother Janice (Maura Foley), which she witnessed when she was ten years old. Soon after the story is published, Susan Reynolds (Laoise Sweeney) asks for her help in bringing attention to the recent disappearance of her sister Amy. Wallace also gets some frightening mail that suggests that her mother's murderer is still actively harming women, and turns to Garda Detective David Burke (Allen Leech) for help. But department politics stymie his efforts, and the fear of his own secrets being exposed threaten to keep Det. Burke from doing everything possible to help find the person (or persons) responsible for Janice Wallace's death and Amy Reynolds' disappearance.
Is It Any Good?
This intense but sensitive series offers a suspenseful story, but manages to do so without exploiting the real victims of these crimes. Granted, some of what is presented in The Vanishing Triangle is based on unsubstantiated media suggestions that many of these crimes were committed by at least one serial killer. It also points to some believable reasons why these crimes were never solved, including (but not limited to) the corruption, systemic sexism, and lack of coordination throughout Ireland's national police force during that era. The Vanishing Triangle is an overall well-produced thriller that is worth the watch. However, the horrific story behind it may take a while to shake off.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Ireland's "vanishing triangle." Why did media come up with the term? Has this characterization led to misinformation about criminal cases associated with this reference?
Kidnapping and murder are main themes in The Vanishing Triangle, but the acts themselves are not shown or described in detail. Is this an effective way of telling the story? Why?
TV Details
- Premiere date: October 26, 2023
- Cast: India Mullen , Allen Leech , Laoise Sweeney
- Network: AMC+
- Genre: Drama
- Character Strengths: Empathy , Perseverance , Teamwork
- TV rating: TV-MA
- Last updated: October 30, 2023
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