The Staircase

Have been following this story since the original trial. My impression so far is the set decorations, especially the house, is spot on. The cast, the always phenomenal Toni Collette and exceptional Colin Firth are excellent. Supporting cast portrays their roles true to their characters. In my mind's eye I'm watching the show unfold as if I'm seeing the actual victims. The writer's had a lot to work with starting with the trial transcripts and the French documentary The Staircase, so the show feels very real.

I didn't care for Michael Peterson at all during the actual documentary and didn't care for him in the HBO version but I think Colin Firth's portrayal of him is uncanny! I don't see how any woman could have been attracted to him. I do feel sorry for the people in his life, being so exposed the way they are, particularly given that they weren't given much of a choice to be in the original documentary. It's fairly evident to me that all MP really cared about was/is himself and perhaps he wasn't aware of how the media attention/social media would impact those he allegedly cares about. To me, there was way too much blood for a fall and I tend to think of him as a guilty man.

This series was rather good but a bit drawn out. They could have honestly cut an episode or two from this limited series and it would haver been a much leaner and tighter affair.

I knew nothing about this case despite the now well known documentary which I learned about through this series and watched on Netflix after completing this show but I will watch anything with Toni Collette and Juliette Binoche in it and both are excellent here.

The fact that this is based on a true story makes it even more incredible given the outcome about how Kathleen Petersen (Toni Collette) actually died makes for some fascinating, if uneven, viewing.

We enjoyed the mini-series, however it could be hard to follow in places. Why? We've noticed a trend in productions, they just can't be linear, they just have to jump back and forth in time. A little is okay and sometimes you need to do that to flush out the details of the movie, but most movies have so much of it, it feels like the show is just jumping around constantly. And this was no exception. Before her death, just before her death, after her death, the original trial, the 2017 statement, back to the 2011 retrial, then 2017, then just before her death. We were getting sea-sick. I just wish they wouldn't do this in movies all the time, it is so hard on the viewer.

I feel like this show was good until someone in post-production decided to turn it into a time-travel show. Same issue with other shows being put out these days that end up as background watching. I think one of the cardinal rules for film/TV is to not have flashbacks unless you are exposing an essential piece of information. It would have been more entertaining if the information was presented in chronological order. Maybe since this is what seems to work with docuseries they think it will work with other story telling.

The acting is good. The writing is good. Technically it is good. I just feel that it falls apart in the edit. Mind you, the edited scenes by themselves are well-edited. But who wants to see a dramatic scene thrown in at a random point of the timeline where it doesn't belong?... and this whole show ends up feeling like that. So overall, it's just kind of confusing where you're at at any given point, so you tune out.