May Day

There's a long strand of Twin Peaks DNA in this absorbing 2013 BBC crime drama centering on the disappearance and assumed murder of a teenage girl who had deep roots in the dark, ugly secrets of an otherwise picturesque and placid small town. The five-episode miniseries combines a sticky set of circumstances with a clutch of generally unlikable characters who are nevertheless captivating for their rich characterizations. Before she disappeared, 14-year-old Hattie (Leila Mimmack) was highly spiritual with a strong connection to nature, so much so that she successfully halted an environmentally unfriendly housing development. The series opens on the town's pagan May Day celebration, where ethereal blonde Hattie was to be May Queen. Hattie's twin sister Caitlin (also played by Mimmack) is the polar opposite: goth, petulant, and rebellious. Caitlin is not really a suspect, but pretty much everyone else is, including Peter Firth as the entrepreneur whom Hattie defeated, Aiden Gillen as a bitter widower neighbor, and Sam Spruell and Tom Fisher as belligerently unstable uncles. The cast is uniformly excellent, especially Sophie Okonedo and Lesley Manville as suspicious put-upon wives and mothers. The morally corrupt ambiance is both palpable and in direct contrast to the wooded glens and quaint village tableaux in the southern countryside of Surrey, England. May Day is rich with red herrings, picturesque backdrops, and nuanced studies of complicated personalities. Extras include a “making-of” featurette and photo gallery. Recommended. (T. Fry)