Is it worth wasting time on the TV series "In Her Eyes"

On February 17, a new series from Steve Lightfoot was released on Netflix, based on the popular novel by Sarah Pinborough. This showrunner has long established itself among thriller lovers: he helped Brian Fuller with the famous "Hannibal" and was at the helm of "The Punisher" from Marvel and Netflix. However, the new project turned out to be not as unambiguous as the previous works of the author.

The series "In Her Eyes" will surely surprise the audience with an unexpected combination of themes and, at first, will tighten with an intriguing atmosphere. But at some point it can get bored. And most of the characters will be forgotten immediately after watching.

An unusual mix of genres

Divorced Louise (Simone Brown) single-handedly brings up her son Adam and has become very distant from social life. But one day she still goes to a bar to meet with her friend. She refuses at the last moment, and Louise, already about to leave, encounters a charming stranger (Tom Bateman). Communication ensues, the characters kiss, but decide not to see each other again.

The next day, it turns out that an accidental counter is Louise's new boss, Dr. David Ferguson, for whom she will work as a secretary three days a week. Moreover, the boss is married to the mysterious Adele (Eve Hewson), who sits at home most of the time and takes some pills at the insistence of her husband.

But still, these vicissitudes do not stop the heroes. An affair begins between Louise and David. And in parallel, the heroine accidentally strikes up a friendship with Adele.

The start of the series resembles a typical melodrama: future lovers are shown a little awkward, but cute. And their acquaintance consists of continuous cliche cliches: spilled wine at the first meeting, a food-stained blouse at the second, a balance between work and personal. All fans of such a movie will easily find similar scenes in other projects. Although the authors of the series "In Her Eyes", through the lips of the heroes, ironically themselves speak of the stereotyped plot.

But this relaxation and banality is just a deception. Quite quickly, several other genres burst into action at once: detective, thriller and even psychedelic horror. And here it's all about Adele. Her past is mysterious: the words of different characters are contradictory, and life with her husband is as unnatural as possible. Moreover, the attitude towards the characters changes repeatedly: David looks either as a cruel control freak, or as a victim of circumstances.

And the background is either psychedelic, or even mystical component. Louise has strange dreams, and Adele helps her learn to control her visions, although she herself has many problems.

And if in the melodramatic part you can predict literally every turn, then in terms of the development of the main plot, everything turns out as unexpectedly as possible.

Too unnatural ending

In one of the episodes of the series Friends, Joey played in a theatrical production. The entire plot of the play looked like an ordinary drama, but in the finale, its hero suddenly flew away in a spaceship. Of course, in Friends it was irony about the strange performances of novice directors. But the series "In Her Eyes" offers a similar twist in earnest.

The ending of the series will surely appeal to fans of the most unpredictable endings. But those who are skeptical and expect a more realistic ending from the plot may remain disappointed. Instead of a Gone Girl-style obsession story, the project ends up with a Jordan Peele-style ending.

If we analyze the action in detail, it becomes clear that hints at such an ending were given more than once. But there are still too many coincidences and silly explanations to believe in such a turn.

More importantly, the authors were unable to strike a balance: the detective story and the thriller draw too much attention to themselves, and the true motives remain as superficial as possible. Among the famous horror films of the XXI century, there is an example where such material was dealt with much more successfully. But to call it would be an impermissible spoiler.

Eve Hewson is the real star of the series

Despite the fact that the action is more focused on Louise and David, the series only flourishes with the appearance of Adele. This heroine not only adds ambiguity to the plot, but also makes you believe in what is happening, no matter how crazy it may seem.

Eve Hewson here repeats what she has already perfectly demonstrated in The Luminaries: her heroine in the present tense and in flashbacks looks and behaves differently. She manages to turn the usual "I love you" during a telephone conversation into a frightening refrain, behind which there are clearly problems. Her silence and gaze into the void are more frightening than all of Louise's phantasmagoric dreams. And in general scenes, Adele inevitably draws all the attention to herself.

Hewson perfectly continues the type of secondary sinister heroes who literally steal the whole story. Of course, comparing her to Hannibal Lecter from The Silence of the Lambs would be an exaggerated compliment. But still the series "In her eyes" is remembered precisely because of this actress.

Pale protagonists

In part, Hewson shines only because there is no one else to pay attention to in the project. Formal performers of the main roles Simone Brown and Tom Bateman got not very successful images. And the actors themselves lack individuality.

At the very beginning, they appear in the types of romantic characters. And they never manage to add something, let alone destroy this image. And the controversial hero David is gradually turning into a function that only moves the plot.

Perhaps after watching, someone will want to discuss the feelings of these characters and the moral side of their actions. But this is a conversation for five minutes, and there is nothing more to say about them.

The story is too long

The series starts very slowly, introducing the viewer to all the characters in a British manner and allowing them to gradually understand their relationship. But somewhere in the middle of the project, there is a feeling that six episodes is too much. Interestingly, Lightfoot's Punisher was accused of exactly the same thing: the first season could be cut by a third.

All the same "Hannibal" did not seem drawn out precisely because the slow narration, in which reality mixed with sleep and fantasies, created suspense and pulled the viewer into the insane atmosphere of what was happening. But this was achieved by many methods. Including great video.

The series “In Her Eyes” cannot please with too graceful filming, although all the episodes were directed by the director of “Valkyries” Eric Richter Strandt. Therefore, it seems that many scenes can be cut in half, and the atmosphere will only benefit from this. Perhaps the film adaptation should have been turned into a film for 2-3 hours: great dynamics and the absence of unnecessary details would only be a plus, especially in the finale.

The project "In Her Eyes" leaves an ambiguous impression. The plot is intriguing, and the ending at the first moment is simply discouraging. But still, the series will quickly fly out of memory, because it does not offer anything too original, but only mixes already known ideas. All that remains is Eve Hewson and her crazy eyes. But this is not enough.