Alias Grace

What a well made, superbly acted and completely fascinating series this turned out to be. A true life murder is always interesting but the details here are not too well known like Lizzie Borden's story. An Irish maid emigrates to Canada but gets caught up and convicted of the murder of her employer and housekeeper. The psychological and emotional insights are so well incorporated they ring true. The dialog is such that you listen for every word though some of the accents are a bit thick.

Acting is superb. Sarah Gadon is luminous and perfectly cast. Deserves an Emmy. Her facial expressions are just right for the complexities of the role. Anna Paquin is good too in a difficult role. Zachary Levi is kind and surprisingly not out of place in the time period. The supporting cast are good too.

The directing is precise and shows you what you need for the story. The horrific and painful parts of the story are such that it could not have been shown in such detail if it was adapted many years ago. What a perfect balance of beauty and horror.

The series is 6 episodes. Just the right length - neither too long to have any draggy moments or too short to feel short changed in any way. This series shows CBC more than matching the best BBC can produce.

Very well written and brilliantly acted. Sarah Gadon is amazing. The story was told in an interesting way, and Grace's journey made me uncomfortable and tense quite often. That is until the last couple of episodes. All tension went away, things all of sudden appear rushed/forced, especially the last episode.

Could have been a 10/10. Worth watching though.

The main actress was superb in this gripping drama. It was so good, I watched all the episodes back to back. (all in one night) A very entertaining mystery, thriller, did she do it? who knows.

Since it was based on truth, from 1843 the research on this must have been difficult.

Great atmospheric period piece. I stuck with all of the episodes, though it was a little slow at times in the middle section. Exploring women during the 1800s - what it means to be feminine, what constitutes mental illness, how a female may (or may not have) committed a murder and why - those are all very interesting topics. The series spends a lot of time in the psychology of it with conversations between Grace and the doctor charged with deciding if she's still a danger to society. But because Grace has reasons to hold back her feelings and memories, she's a bit of an unreliable narrator, and I do find that hard to feel things for a main character who may or may not be telling the truth, because you don't know what's genuine and what's not.

The series is great until the very end, when they rushed it and pretty much ruined everything by leaving no satisfactory conclusion nor resolution. I loved the main character, she makes such a great psycho on moments with her comments. Her storytelling is compelling, like Scheherazade she's buying her time seducing the listener. Pity the ending was not a bit more meaningful.