Review: Unbelievable on Netflix
Crime stories are to Hollywood as peanut butter is to jelly — reliable and almost always delicious.
Crime stories are to Hollywood as peanut butter is to jelly — reliable and almost always delicious.
Last night I tore through the new Netflix miniseries Unbelievable, starring Merritt Weaver and Toni Collette. The show takes you on an odyssey to catch a serial rapist. If you’re looking for a show that is spectacularly written, methodically paced and brilliantly acted, you don’t need to look any further than Unbelievable.
The show is based on the 2015 article An Unbelievable Story of Rape, written by T. Christian Miller and Kem Armstrong. Produced by writers Susannah Grant (Academy Award nominee for Erin Brockovitch), Ayelet Waldman and Michael Chabon (Pulitzer Prize winner for The Adventures of Kavalier & Clay — also Waldman’s husband) have created a masterful piece of television.
The three producers share writing with Jennifer Shuur and Becky Mode on the eight-episode miniseries. It would be pretentious to call the writing in Unbelievable poetry. Unfortunately, I can’t seem to find a synonym that works as well, so poetry it is.
Given the pedigree of writers, it’s no wonder that the show’s writing is as riveting as it is. There is no fancy wordplay or lyrical grandstanding here. It’s just a solid and methodical narrative. The type of show that contains real dialogue that you would expect real people to say.
As a fan of the crime genre, this is the kind of authenticity that reminds me of The Wire. Also, like The Wire, this is the type of writing that will be taught in screenwriting classes in the future.
Yes, it is that good.
The eight episodes (simply titled “Episode 1”, “Episode 2”, etc.) were directed, in order, by Lisa Cholodenko (ep’s 1, 2, 3), Michael Dinner (ep’s 4,5,6) and Susannah Grant (ep’s 7,8). If you don’t think this matters then you’re not paying attention.
With those first three episodes, Cholodenko makes her directing as much a part of the show as the writing and actors. When directors flex their visual muscle, it can disrupt the narrative. However, a masterful director, like Cholodenko, will remove you from the story with camera angles, close-ups, lighting, focus, etc.
In what may seem contradictory, active viewers may be removed from the story momentarily but a director’s choices, they are soon jettisoned back into the story trying to determine what the visuals are showing in conjunction with the writing and acting. It’s not only just what is being said but what is being shown.
In “Episode 1”, if you’re not feeling any emotion, watching what happens, you may need to question your level of humanity. And that’s a result of Cholodenko’s finesse in her visual storytelling. I was all over the map but by the end, I landed on rage.
Lisa Cholodenko’s direction in the first three episodes is a master class in understanding mis-en-scene.
The next three episodes, directed by Michael Dinner are no joke either. While not as visually adventurous as Cholodenko, these next three episodes don’t require that. He takes the baton from her and moves the story along solidly, allowing the viewer to become more invested in the characters and the story.
Deftly directing the last two episodes, the show’s producer and writer Susannah Grant brings Unbelievable to its end. Consider the direction on Unbelievable to be like a three-person relay race. Each director brings their specialty, Cholodenko takes the lead and sets the tone and pace, Dinner keeps the pace and Grant sprints across the finish line.
The performances in Unbelievable are sublime. Kaitlyn Dever, as Marie Adler, is the narrative throughline of the series. Dever’s performance carries Adler’s lifelong tragedies with the weight and gravitas, and considerable talent, that belies the actors 22 years. As a viewer, when Dever shows up on screen you know your heart is going to break.
Toni Collette as Detective Grace Rasmussen is as perfect as you would expect her to be. Collette is the kind of actress that just galvanizes every performance. In Unbelievable, she once again proves to be perhaps one of the most reliable and masterful actors of this generation.
But let’s not kid ourselves, this is Merritt Wever’s show. She, like Collette, proves that she is also one of the most artful actors in Hollywood today. It’s a rare talent that can embody a character in such a manner that the performance transcends recognition of the actor. Her portrayal of Detective Karen Duvall as skillful as anything that Meryl Streep has done.
Yes, she’s that good.
With Dever, Collette and Wever delivering such platinum performances, it’s no wonder that the other performers in Unbelievable all bring their A-game. In a show that requires all actors to deliver powerful emotional scenes, it’s Eric Lange, as Detective Parker and Daniele Macdonald as rape survivor Amber who deliver more than a couple of gut-wrenching moments. You may hate Lange’s Detective Parker by the end, but you won’t doubt his sincerity. And Macdonald’s Amber is as tormented, and real, as you’re likely to see.
Brooke Smith shows up in the later episodes as Marie Adler’s therapist. Her scenes Kaitlyn Dever are astounding. Remember how Judi Dench got an Academy Award for her eight-minute performance in Shakespeare in Love? Brooke Smith delivers that kind of performance.
While the show does toggle between 2008 and 2011, that may initially be a little confusing for some, but once you settle in, you’ll be fine. The pacing of Unbelievable is not going to be for everyone. It’s artful and methodical, which can be perceived as boring or slow. That said, it’s not uncommon to hear cops refer to a police investigation as artful and methodical.
If you want a smashy-crashy, hot chicks t-n-a crime show — this isn’t it.
If you want a crime show that is going to throw curveballs at you now and again to keep you guessing — this isn’t it.
If you want a show that sprints from scene to scene, holding each shot for seconds — this isn’t it.
But if you’re looking for an analytic, disciplined and authentic crime show, this is it.
Believe it, Unbelievable is one of the most skillful and beautiful works of television this year.