“I would say Lisa is hardworking and driven, she’s not fearless but is definitely someone who feels the fear and pushes through it,” India Mullen says thoughtfully. “She’s compassionate, but steely in her approach to doing what’s right, and she takes no prisoners.”
She’s describing her character in The Vanishing Triangle, a new six-part Irish crime drama now on SBS on Demand. Inspired by true events, created by Ivan Kavanagh (Never Grow Old, The Fading Light) and set in 1995, the series sees Mullen as Dublin-based journalist Lisa Wallace, who is asked for help by a young woman, Susan Reynolds (Laoise Sweeney) in regard to her missing sister, Amy (Gráinne Good).
The police have written off Amy’s disappearance as simply a case of a party girl going off the radar for a few days, but when Lisa receives an anonymous envelope containing a number of old and new photos, she realises the missing girl could be connected to both the murder of her own mother two decades ago, and a broader pattern of missing and murdered women in the area.
Mullen says she was drawn to the character's unwavering determination to chase justice. Credit: Park Films
It’s worth noting that The Vanishing Triangle is not a recreation of the actual tragic events, but a work of fiction that uses that time and place as a framework. Regardless, Mullen, who first came to prominence in the 2015 Irish crime drama Red Rock, was mindful of both the actual history and the still-prevalent themes the series deals with.
The events in 'The Vanishing Triangle' are fiction but inspired by the real-life disappearances of a series of women. Credit: Park Films
“I did very extensive research in the preparation of the role,” she explains. “But it became evident very quickly that the show was a separate story and very much a work of fiction. Even its style is heightened and the characters are fictional, but the core issues of femicide and homophobic violence is very real and active today. And so, it became about those themes, within the framework of a thriller/drama, rather than a retelling of real events.”
Nonetheless, she was mindful of the both the pressure and the scrutiny that the series was under. For recent comparable local examples, the Australian crime films Hounds of Love and The Stranger were both inspired by real life murders and received some criticism because of that.
“I felt a huge sense of responsibility and at times hesitancy.” she recalls. “When I first read the script, I thought, ‘How can we possibly honour this?’ And I think the decision to move to a fictional story meant that we’re not taking ownership of telling someone else’s story. Instead, it is a drama about a series of under-investigated, horrific crimes.”
Allen Leech as detective David Burkely. Credit: Lawrence Howe
In the course of her investigations, Lisa repeatedly finds herself stymied by garden variety misogyny and bureaucratic indifference, coming from both the official investigation and her boorish editor. She does find an ally in detective David Burkely (Allen Leech of Downton Abbey and Bohemian Rhapsody), but his own efforts are hampered by political manoeuvring within the Gardaí and the possibility that his own covert homosexuality will be exposed.
It could be argued that Mullen’s intrepid reporter is up against two villains: the killer at large and the broader, less easily defeated antagonism of institutional disdain. She and we know that, even if the criminal at hand is defeated, the culture and society that incubated him rolls on.
“I think I was drawn to Lisa’s unwavering dedication to justice in an incredibly unjust society,” Mullen reflects. “She’s enraged and made to feel hysterical or mad, when actually she’s having an appropriate response to a maddening situation.
“Which is, unfortunately, regularly the case when it comes to violence against women.”
The Vanishing Triangle is streaming now at SBS On Demand.
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The Vanishing Triangle
