Where to start? This show ravished my heart. I loved every single second of the 8 episodes and had difficulties thinking of anything else the entire week. To me, this TV show is an incredible accomplishment that makes the most out of the medium and excels on every single level.
Plot: Camille, a reporter with some serious problems, returns to her small Southern home town to report on the murder of two teen girls. She has to reckon with her own family bagage in doing so.
Rarely have I witnessed such an atmosphere in a movie or show. Incredibly heavy and oppressive (impeccable sound-design, watch with headphones for optimal experience), despite the visuals telling us an entire different story. A beautiful summer-sweetness (gorgeous young girls in pastel outfits, pristine interiors in soft lighting) that turns cloying, bloody and rotten in the blink of an eye. The show lives from those contrasts, from the rot beneath the beauty, the ugly and violent darkness hidden beneath velvety voices and beautiful appearances.
We experience all of this (the Southern culture, the progression of the intrigue, the lush Missouri nature) through Camille's eyes, a deeply damaged woman trapped in her past traumas. We follow her closely, her gaze guiding us through her journey. Late director Jean-Marc Vallée chooses an intuitive, almost expressionistic way of weaving Camille's thoughts and memories into the present, through flashbacks and associations that appear and disappear in the blink of an eye. In part confusing, in part deeply illuminating, and always requiring an attentive viewer.
Despite those unconventional editing choices, the dialogues and acting bring an almost naturalistic sensibility to the show. Amy Adams is excellent as Camille, her vulnerability and raw edges almost difficult to witness. She is FASCINATING and endearing as an adult still trapped in her teenage experiences. Patricia Clarkson and newcomer Eliza Scanlen are equally stellar in their roles and give frighteningly intense performances for their respective, enthralling characters.
After a first episode that is one of the best hours of television I've ever seen, rich in reveals and deeply intriguing, the show finds a rhythm in its reveals, its twists and turns, with very rare lulls but instead a steady increase in tension and darkness that is almost difficult to endure. I'm still reeling from the ending.
I'm deeply grateful for Gilian Flynn's writing that puts the focus on women, the darkness of the female condition and especially of that of teenage girls. The story feels almost allegorical in part, though people more clever than me would have to unweave that richly woven tapestry of meaning.
I know I will be thinking about this show for ages and rewatching it more than once.
(Also, bonus points for introducing me to a new musical discovery, "The Acid")
Plot: Camille, a reporter with some serious problems, returns to her small Southern home town to report on the murder of two teen girls. She has to reckon with her own family bagage in doing so.
Rarely have I witnessed such an atmosphere in a movie or show. Incredibly heavy and oppressive (impeccable sound-design, watch with headphones for optimal experience), despite the visuals telling us an entire different story. A beautiful summer-sweetness (gorgeous young girls in pastel outfits, pristine interiors in soft lighting) that turns cloying, bloody and rotten in the blink of an eye. The show lives from those contrasts, from the rot beneath the beauty, the ugly and violent darkness hidden beneath velvety voices and beautiful appearances.
We experience all of this (the Southern culture, the progression of the intrigue, the lush Missouri nature) through Camille's eyes, a deeply damaged woman trapped in her past traumas. We follow her closely, her gaze guiding us through her journey. Late director Jean-Marc Vallée chooses an intuitive, almost expressionistic way of weaving Camille's thoughts and memories into the present, through flashbacks and associations that appear and disappear in the blink of an eye. In part confusing, in part deeply illuminating, and always requiring an attentive viewer.
Despite those unconventional editing choices, the dialogues and acting bring an almost naturalistic sensibility to the show. Amy Adams is excellent as Camille, her vulnerability and raw edges almost difficult to witness. She is FASCINATING and endearing as an adult still trapped in her teenage experiences. Patricia Clarkson and newcomer Eliza Scanlen are equally stellar in their roles and give frighteningly intense performances for their respective, enthralling characters.
After a first episode that is one of the best hours of television I've ever seen, rich in reveals and deeply intriguing, the show finds a rhythm in its reveals, its twists and turns, with very rare lulls but instead a steady increase in tension and darkness that is almost difficult to endure. I'm still reeling from the ending.
I'm deeply grateful for Gilian Flynn's writing that puts the focus on women, the darkness of the female condition and especially of that of teenage girls. The story feels almost allegorical in part, though people more clever than me would have to unweave that richly woven tapestry of meaning.
I know I will be thinking about this show for ages and rewatching it more than once.
(Also, bonus points for introducing me to a new musical discovery, "The Acid")
