“No Goodbye” – a five-episode adaptation of Coben’s next novel

“Without Goodbye” is another adaptation of one of the novels of Harlan Cobain – the famous writer of crime and thriller novels. A few years ago, it was reported that Netflix had bought the rights to produce dozens of works based on his novels, so it should come as no surprise that we watch the next series every few months. This year we’ve already seen the Spanish “Innocents”, and now it’s time to get a French copy of another book.

attention! The script may contain spoilers that reveal the plot of the series.

Different perspectives on Kobain

One of the biggest advantages of the adaptations in this writer’s literature is that the work of each adaptation of the novel is located in a different country, although all its prototypes were located in the United States and Great Britain. In the series created so far, this country and Poland have been in the lead. “Deep in the Woods” and the appearance of “Keep Calm” are productions made in our homeland. As I mentioned, this year we can watch the Spanish movie “Innocent”, and now the French movie “No Goodbye” has appeared on Netflix.

The problem, which may not appeal to everyone, is that often in such a situation there is a significant change in the plot compared to what was in the paper version. In this case, it is not known how these changes will be received and whether they will not be very large. Perhaps this is the case in the series discussed here, which many viewers and reviewers seem to have emphasized. Another drawback may also be that it consists of only 5 episodes, when each of the other mods has 1 or 3 more episodes.

But let’s move on to the plot. The main character is Guillaume (Finnegan Oldfied), a young man who works for an organization dedicated to helping children. A few days after his mother’s funeral, he cuts off contact with Judith (Nilha Harzon) – the girl he proposed to. So he starts a private investigation, which he will lead with a friend named Daco (Guillaume Gouix). The subsequent discovery of the items leads to more and more questions, and therefore they are in greater and greater danger.

The past intertwines with the present

The film “Without Goodbye” is also distinguished by the fact that not only current events are shown on the screen, but also events from several years or dozens of years ago. It is with them that the main criminal mystery may be connected. The main point here is that ten years ago, Fred (Nicolas Defuchelle), the brother of the main character, and his neighbor and girlfriend Sonia (Garence Marillier) died during one evening. The only witness to what happened was her younger sister, Ines.

Some of the events shown in Flashbacks will be related to selected heroes, whose names will be given to individual episodes. Thanks to them we will move to other timelines, as well as places, and we will be able to learn about their motives, what influenced them that they are now not other people. In this case, there is an analogy with “The Innocent”, in which the narrator of each episode, and therefore its main character, another character, is very important to the plot.

In the end, contemporary and past events will merge into a coherent whole, which will show how much can result from a single decision or behavior. Earlier, however, the screen will show not only the important elements of the criminal part of the story, but also those that will show us France itself, as well as the social problems that play an important role there.

All in all, this is not bad

In conclusion, I can say that watching these five episodes was a good time though. However, that doesn’t change the fact that I didn’t like some of the changing stuff and I can agree with unhappy viewers on this point. As for how this production compares to other Coben mods made for Netflix, it’s not bad. Although I liked Spanish “Innocent” more, Polish “Deep in the Woods” had a somewhat similar level.

In conclusion, I would like to recommend this series to all fans of this author’s work, because they will not be disappointed. I am also looking forward to the upcoming productions that will premiere next year. This will be the already mentioned Polish series, as well as “Stay With Me”, which this time will take place in Great Britain. We hope they are just as good.

What do you think of the series “Without Farewell”? How do you rate it compared to other Netflix quotes from Harlan Coben novels? Share your opinion in the comments.