Common Sense Media Review
By Melissa Camacho
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Slow, deliberate, tense thriller has cursing, drinking.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
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The Last Thing He Told Me
What's the Story?
Based on the book by Laura Dave of the same title, THE LAST THING HE TOLD ME is a thriller about a man who disappears and leaves his new wife and beloved daughter to figure out why. Hannah (Jennifer Garner) is an artistic woodturner living on a houseboat in Sausalito, California with her husband of 14 months, computer engineer Owen Michaels (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau). They also live with his 16-year-old daughter, Bailey (Angourie Rice), with whom Hannah has a difficult relationship. When Owen mysteriously disappears on the same day the tech startup where he works is raided by FBI investigators, Hannah soon realizes that she can no longer trust many of the people around her. Now she must find a way to connect with her stepdaughter so they can work together to learn the truth about what happened.
Is It Any Good?
The slow and deliberate thriller is shrouded in a fog of mystery as Hannah and Bailey attempt to deconstruct the past and come to terms with the present to get to the bottom of Owen's disappearance. Through flashbacks, viewers follow Hannah's thought process as she revisits conversations with her husband that offer clues to what happened. There are moments in the story that feel more far-fetched than they need to be to keep the narrative moving, but The Last Thing He Told Me is still easy to get caught up in. Fans of the book will find it a solid TV adaptation, and those who haven't read it may still find themselves immersed in it.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the use of flashbacks and other devices to tell a story that was originally written as a novel. How do they help audiences understand what's happening? Can they also make the story harder to follow?
How does The Last Thing He Told Me reveal clues about Owen's disappearance? How does the series hint at what happened in ways that the audience can pick up on, even if Hannah or Bailey don't?
TV Details
- Premiere date : April 14, 2023
- Cast : Jennifer Garner , Nikolaj Coster-Waldau , Angourie Rice
- Network : Apple TV
- Genre : Drama
- Character Strengths : Perseverance
- TV rating :
- Last updated : April 23, 2023
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