TV Show Name: Unbelievable
Year of Release: 2019
Directors: Lisa Cholodenko, Michael Dinner, Susannah Grant
Stars: Kaitlyn Dever, Toni Collette, Merritt Wever, Blake Ellis, Dale Dickey, Liza Lapira, Kai Lennox, Omar Maskati, Eric Lange, Danielle McDonald, Connor Tillman, Elizabeth Marvel, Annaleigh Ashford, Bridget Everett, Bill Fagerbakke, Brent Sexton, Treisa Gary, John Hartmann, Tate Ellington, Tim Martin Gleason
Netflix continues its cadence of regularly releasing new shows. While the cadence of their releases is consistent, the same can't be said for the shows themselves. However, and following the second season of "Mindhunter", "Unbelievable" is a great new addition to the best ones they have produced and distributed thus far. Hailing from the creative minds of Susannah Grant (who wrote Steven Soderbergh's "Erin Brockovich" and Curtis Hanson's "In Her Shoes" to name but a few), Michael Chabon (responsible for the novel "Wonder Boys", but also for the scripts for Sam Raimi's "Spider Man 2" and Andrew Stanton's "John Carter") and Ayelet Waldman, the show is based on a 2015 Pulitzer Prize winning story (and its follow up) by authors T. Christian Miller and Ken Armstrong. The show focuses on the story of Marie Adler, a young adult woman who is raped, and the aftermath of events that occur upon her reporting the occurrence. Marie who lives in Washing State and has had a very difficult upbringing with a run through a series of foster homes, is eventually forced to take back her testimony, when the police can't find enough evidence to sustain her story (and when upon further scrutiny, there are inconsistencies in Marie's report). Marie is also fined and charged with false reporting, on top of the crumbling of her living arrangements and abandonment of friendships. A few years later, a case similar to Marie's is unveiled in Colorado. Detective Karen Duvall responds to it, but this time around, the victim has witnessed some physical aspects of the suspect. Duvall is informed that another Detective, by the name of Grace Rasmussen is also investigating a similar case to hers, and they both join forces in order to identify this criminal. They realize this is a series of cases that have gone by unresolved. Their task is tremendously challenging, as the suspect leaves no DNA behind, there is no forced entry and aside from the birthmark, he has no physically differentiating marks. It takes all of their resources, frustrations and persistence to start unveiling the case.
"Unbelievable" is a show that captures the attention of its audience, primarily because of its intelligence which comes across in the way it populates itself with characters who have depth and are multi layered. It's also a yarn, in the sense that it's an enigma, one that is apparently virtually impossible to solve for the characters (and for the audience). The show smartly weaves a story that engages both the research and forensics side of it while simultaneously illustrating the disintegration of Marie's life, who witnesses first hand that downward spiral, when no one believes her statements, and suddenly all that she considers habitual/routine is taken from her. It's a show that depicts these characters beyond their typical cliches, probing deeper into who these people actually are, with their ambitions, principles and fears. Even if the ending of the season veers off into a somewhat Hollywood style ending, it's nonetheless an affecting and very well rendered show, featuring great performances from Toni Collette, Kaitlyn Dever and Merritt Wever. Worth Watching.
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