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A mystery thriller wrapped in a character-driven drama, In My Father's Den explores deceit, family and the sins of the past. Matthew MacFadyen - from 麻豆官网首页入口 series Spooks - is Paul, a burnt-out war photographer who returns to his pokey New Zealand hometown for his father's funeral. Drawn to Celia, the teenage daughter (Emily Barclay) of his old flame (Jodie Rimmer), Paul wrestles with his own memories to unravel a dark truth only for Celia to then disappear...

MacFadyen impresses. Handsome without being clean cut, he broods his way through the striking Kiwi landscapes, never once afraid to show his character as a spiky, sometimes unpleasant person. Barclay, meanwhile, is excellent as the sparky teen whom Paul finds in his dad's old den, a book-lined hideaway perfect for a young girl dreaming of escape.

"AN INVOLVING, HAUNTING PICTURE"

In My Father's Den doesn't quite conjure the atmosphere of dread that enshrouds similar Antipodean drama Somersault. But it nails the same feeling of life in a claustrophobic backwater, where everyone knows your business, and ambition and success is looked on with as much envy as pride. (There's a telling scene where Paul's intelligence and experience is powerless before the dog-eat-dog mentality of a grown-up schoolyard bully.)

The story is stretched a little thin over the generous running time (the mystery isn't quite as surprising as it thinks it is), but Brad McGann's adaptation of Maurice Gee's novel is still an involving, haunting picture. The tale of a prodigal son, misunderstanding and tragedy, this Den is well worth exploring.