Hunt down an Eternal Murderer
The adaptation of novels to the screen sometimes has the enormous disadvantage of “divulging” crucial elements of the story to the curious who have not read the books but have consulted the summary. It’s kind of what happens with The brighta detective and fantastic series whose back cover of the novel by South African author Lauren Beukes who inspires it, should be avoided, Shining Girls. The television work approaches this story with a fairly confusing timeline by adopting the point of view of a character other than the one who is at the center of the novel, which completely blurs the dramatic progression, but also the expectations of the viewers, at least those who don’t know anything about the book…
The luminous recounts the quest for truth of Kirby Mazrachi, a researcher for a Chicago daily newspaper, survivor of a violent attack that completely disrupted her perception of reality, including the possible assailant, who would in fact be a serial killer of a very particular genre, would have resurfaced… With the help of a veteran reporter, whose reputation has been damaged by his fondness for the bottle, and despite the reservations of those around him, the improvised investigator, with a tottering mental balance (for reasons that we will keep silent about here…), masterfully embodied by Elisabeth Moss (also producer and director on this project), traces the trail of her executioner (Jamie Bell) with surprising longevity, and that of several of her victims, all young brilliant women, from different periods of the XXand century, with a promising future. The result is a destabilizing detective thriller, among other things because of its fantastic accents which add layers of mystery to its messy but never incoherent unfolding, which grips us firmly from the first episode.
The Shining Girls (VOA)
Apple TV+, from April 29
Three Women and the Flesh Trade
The title of this Flemish police and social thriller (a Belgium-Netherlands co-production) leaves no doubt about the environment it depicts: the world of “legal” prostitution, and its illegal excesses, in the red light districts of ‘Amsterdam and Antwerp, through the destiny of three women who initially seemed unconnected. The murder of a young illegal prostitute of Romanian origin and the mysterious disappearance of a man will inevitably unite Sylvia, a prostitute at the end of her life, herself a pimp with her husband who runs a vast prostitution network, Esther, a grieving singer, and Evi, a young policewoman very invested in her work, but not enough in her personal life. The rapprochement of these three heroines, at first almost always confined to their respective narrative framework, extends over several episodes, which allows the story with multiple ramifications to unfold in all their complexity and to give relief to the many secondary characters. essential to plots.
The three main actresses (including the co-creator of the series Carice Van Houten), awarded the Special Prize for interpretation with the entire cast at the Canneseries Festival 2020, constitute one of the strengths of the work, strong but terribly dark , because they manage to maintain the viewer’s interest at times when he may want to give up listening to something more “joyful”.
Red Light (VF)
Cluc Illico, from April 28
“Compulsory” maternity
The pangs of motherhood, desired or accidental, are an excellent source of comic and tragic intrigue in works of fiction. In British comedy horror The Baby, recently hailed by critics at the Series Mania festival, it is rather the refusal of the motherhood of its heroine which serves as a narrative engine. Natasha (Michelle de Swarte), an independent thirty-something, can no longer see all the women around her succumbing to their desire for children and goes to hide in the woods to forget this situation. It is then that a brat literally fallen from the sky ends up in her arms and no longer wants to leave her. This very accidental motherhood will sow chaos in the existence of Natasha, forever disturbed by this persevering baby and a bit diabolical who sends shivers down the spine. Unless she manages to get rid of it…
The Baby
HBO and Crave, on VOA, from April 24, 10:30 p.m., and Super Ecran in VF, from April 25, 9 p.m.