Captive

"Alias Grace" is a show that, normally, would not necessarily come across my radar as something to watch. I started it after a recommendation from a family member, who very interestingly told me "it looks like a period piece, but it's done very well". That was telling to me. Often, when one thinks of "period piece", they think of stuffy dramas that look old and outdated even when they are new. A few really rise to the surface ("John Adams" a while back comes to mind), but many just reside in that "muddy middle". Fortunately, "Alias Grace" is a period piece done absolutely perfectly, as it creates and advances great characters, is at the same time a commentary on more contemporary times, and features writing/acting that is top notch.

For a basic plot outline, "Alias Grace" follows the story of Grace Marks (Sarah Gadon), who is held in prison for the charged murder of Nancy Montgomery (Anna Paquin). A psychologist, Dr. Jordan (Edward Holcroft), takes an interest in her case, and decides to interview her to determine if her conviction is legitimate or based on faulty confessions/evidence. Through these interviews, Grace reflects back on much of her past, filling in the backstory until getting to the day of the murder itself.

The main reason "Alias Grace" works so well is because it is just an incredibly written show. What's funny is that the main conceit (Grace being interviewed by Dr. Jordan) might lead one to think that this was a "nuthouse" or prison-centric type of show. While perhaps nominally the guiding path for the show, the real "meat" comes in the story of Grace's life and the events that happen to her over the course of a lifetime, really. Using Margaret Atwood's text, the filmmakers here really paint a visceral picture of what life likely consisted of for women (and men) of that time period. As I said previously, period pieces often have the tendency to "soften around the edges" a bit, but "Alias Grace" pulls no punches. It can be happy and cheerful, but also disturbing and dour.

Another highlight is Gadon's performance as Grace, which is probably award-worthy. While the auxiliary characters are great too, this is Gadon's show to carry, and carry it she does! One can't help but get swept away in her saga, as she displays such a wide range of emotions and actions from beginning to end.

I won't spoil any details here, but let me just say this: For the first five episodes, "Alias Grace" is an 8-star, "very good" type of show. The final (sixth) episode vaults it into 10/10 "excellent" status. That finale is one of the best single episodes of television I've seen since "The Leftovers" left the airwaves. It literally had me on the edge of my seat, with my jaw ajar when the final credits rolled.

Final verdict: Another step in the right direction (and a big one!) for Netflix Original programming, on the heels of "Mindhunter" and "Stranger Things S2". Netflix has show in the past year that it can "play with the big boys" when it comes to original programming, and that's a net win for appreciators of quality scripted television as well.

I am somewhat sate of all these flashy trailers that leave me breathing air through my mouth and then i realize i've fallen for the same old marketing trick.

Like many others that probably watched this show, i myself have not read the book, nor do i intend to because it just leaves me questioning so many different aspects of this book/show that i never thought i would be questioning.

What i expected was a psychologically disturbed pathological liar that got away with killing and manipulating more than five people in her favor, what i got was a bible study of the feminist mind and her hot 50 year old master. He is hot, stop denying it.

The last two episodes should or could have been so much more but they never culminated for me it just went up, up and then down down and flatlined.

I have the feeling we are probably missing a lot of backstory. Nevertheless i think the show was good...maybe. Let's leave it to god shall we?

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.

There are many good things about this, especially in the first half. The characters are well played. In the end, however, I was unsatisfied. It was as if there was a rush to be done with it all. Not a lot of depth in the last couple of episodes.