Gone for Good – Netflix Review

GONE FOR GOOD on Netflix is a new mini-series based on a Harlan Coben book. The production is French (org. title Disparu à jamais), the plot is intense and the mystery goes deep. Read our full Gone for Good series review here!

GONE FOR GOOD on Netflix is a new thriller mystery mini-series based on a Harlan Coben book.

There are only five episodes in this limited series, all around the 45-minute mark, which makes it a very binge-worthy Netflix production.

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Continue reading out Gone for Good series review below.

Opens with murder

If you’ve watched a few Harlan Coben stories adapted (and Netflix certainly has quite a few of them), you’ll know that they often begin with a bang. This time, it opens with – as it’s often the case – murder. Then there’s a ten year time jump.

However, we do still go back to the event ten years earlier (and even further back) to find all the answers.

Our main protagonist, Guillaume Lucchesi, is portrayed by Finnegan Oldfield (the Das Boot series). I know, not the most French-sounding name. Probably because he was born in England and has dual citizenship (French and English). He’s a bit of an average Joe, which works perfectly for this role.

For me, the most familiar face was definitely that of Garance Marillier. She was the star of the runaway horror hit Raw (org. title Grave). You may also know her from the TV series Ad Vitam (read our review here).

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In Gone for Good, Garance Marillier plays both the first murder victim, Sonia, and Sonia’s younger sister Inès. A smart move, since it would be a damn waste to only have her on board for the small role in flashbacks.

A classic Harlan Coben story

Netflix already has quite a lot of series out based on books by Harlan Coben – and more are in the making right now. Personally, I love the fact that these series are produced (and set) in different countries. To me, that just shows exactly how universal these stories are.

For Gone for Good, each of the five episodes in the mini-series is named after a key character of that particular episode. This was something we also saw in The Innocent (a Spanish adaption of a Harlan Coben novel on Netflix). However, with The Innocent (org. title El inocente), this person was also the narrator.

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Our review of the Polish Netflix series The Woods also adapted from a Harlan Coben book >

That’s not the case here, but the series does continue directly from one episode to the next, so you could also watch this limited series as a long movie.

Watch Gone for Good on Netflix now!

The French Netflix production was created by David Elkaïm and Vincent Poymiro, while based on a Harlan Coben book. Gone for Good (org. title Disparu à jamais) works extremely well due to having just five episodes and keeping a tight grip on the core story.

All five episodes are directed by Juan Carlos Medina who directed the amazing Spanish horror fantasy Painless (org. title Insensibles) from 2012.

For me, these series always really begin with episode 2. Usually, episode 1 just sets the stage but doesn’t tell us much about what’s actually going on. The second episode tends to reveal more and also get a lot darker and creepier. Especially as we find out the secrets of some characters.

And Gone for Good is a very classic Harlan Coben story. It features crime and a mystery from the past that must be unraveled. Also, a trademark of Harlan Coben is the fact that characters can always evolve (or have pasts) in ways you would never expect.

Gone for Good is out on Netflix from August 13, 2021.