Penance

Kiyoshi Kurosawa joins the miniseries hype. This short 4-epper feels like a long film, except that it lacks the cinematic qualities that make feature films so special. Not that Penance is bad, it's a perfectly serviceable narrative, and Kurosawa's inherent skills for directing these kinds of stories are present, it's just not enough to fill four whole hours.

Fifteen years ago Emily was murdered by a mysterious man. She was playing outside with four of her friends, but they claim they didn't see what happened to Emily. Emily's mom doesn't trust their stories and she curses them. It's a curse that will linger, and each of the kids will have to confront the consequence of their unwillingness to reveal the truth.

The performances are solid, while the setup of the plot is interesting enough and helps to cover the more episodic nature inherent to a miniseries. But 270 minutes is a hefty chunk of time and Penance fails to keep the tension going for the entire runtime. It's a classic example of why I prefer feature films over series. Not bad, but not fully worth the investment.