It begins as a drama with some psychological thriller, to become a series with fantastic and supernatural elements. Fascinating and crazy are the words that define it.
I believe that many of those who have seen the miniseries, upon reaching the last two episodes, have asked themselves the same question: What the hell are you telling me?
It had been quite some time since a story had left me so unsettled with its final part, and I didn't see it coming, at least I was surprised by its ending. But I have mixed feelings about this production. Do I like it? Yes. Does it have absurd elements? Yes. Is it good or bad? I don't know. It depends on you, your tastes and whether you're willing to accept its last two crazy hours.
First let's put it in context. Who is the creator of this miniseries? Brit Steve Lightfoot is the man behind this production, writing four of the six episodes (the first two and the last two), the other two episodes are written by Angela LaManna.
Lightfoot is a man who knows television and has worked as a writer and producer on the hit Hannibal , The Punisher and the first season of Narcos. He has the experience and talent to write this psychological thriller. To direct the entire miniseries, Norwegian filmmaker Erik Richter Strand, known in his country for being the director of several films in the Varg Veum saga, was sought.
Now let's get to the point, let's see what this story is about, my impressions from watching the episodes and my opinion.
What is the plot of Behind Her Eyes?
Lousie is a divorced woman who shares custody of her young son with her ex-husband, she works in the office of some psychiatric doctors. One night, in a bar, she meets David, a handsome man, they just kiss and she thinks she will never see him again. The next day, she receives the surprise that David is the new psychiatrist where she works and she will be the secretary. Davis is married to Adele, a beautiful woman who has inherited a fortune after her parents died in a fire. By chance, Louise crosses paths with her on the street, striking up a friendship at Adele's insistence. A love triangle begins, Louise will be David's lover and Adele's friend at the same time. But the marriage hides many secrets from the past. Adele was in a mental hospital, where she was a close friend of Rob's. What is Adele hiding? Why David can't leave Adele? Who is lying and who is telling the truth? What happened in the past? Louise does not know the danger that lurks around her.
After watching the first episode, I had a hard time getting into the story. That first episode is an introduction of the characters and it seems more like a romantic drama with some small touches of psychological thriller, because of the constant nightmares Louise suffers.
The second episode confirms what I thought, a love triangle, some erotic scenes and the strange behavior of David and Adele's characters, I thought it would be a predictable love conflict story. i was wrong!
The third and fourth episodes I watched without encouragement, there was one scene that struck me as odd, when Adele wakes up and it seems she had dreamt that David was with Louise. I'm trying to guess where this story would go, could it all be a dream? The only thing that was clear to me was that the marriage was completely insane and that one of them ( or both of them) had done something terrible in the past with another of the characters.
I was about to give up, but I had to find out what the surprising thing was that the others had told me. Plus, there was another reason that kept me wanting to keep watching: Adele. The best character in the miniseries, besides liking the actress, who I had already fallen in love with a few years before, in the series The Knick. I'll tell you later who she is.
I set out to watch the last two episodes of the miniseries and it is in the fourth episode where the big plot twist of the story is revealed. going to be honest, that's how I was left when I saw the scene that changes everything:
What the hell is this, is this a joke, is this a hidden camera, am I hallucinating?
What the hell is this, is this a joke, is this a hidden camera, am I hallucinating?
I paused the video playback and rewatched the scene. I had to take it in. The miniseries had jumped the shark. It's the pinnacle moment when you have to decide whether to stop watching or continue to the end.
In my case, I chose to accept the facts. It's an abrupt change, for me it's fantastic and supernatural elements. That shocked me at first, but after digesting it with patience, I enjoyed the ending. In the last episode we understand where everything is going, all the mysteries are unveiled and we can glimpse what will be the other surprise he has prepared for us to close the story.
I think the story is a little slow, I think six episodes was too much. The whole story could have been summarized in just four episodes. For many viewers it will be hard to get hooked watching the first three, most will give up at that point.
I also think that the way the fantasy element was shown was very poorly executed. Those spotlights illuminating the faces of the characters and then those things floating out, which I won't tell you what they are so as not to make spoilers. For a moment I laughed at that scene, but I accepted that it was the way the writer and director decided. Take it or leave it!
But overall I liked it. Especially the ending. Beautiful madness. Absurd but fascinating. Would I watch it again? Not all of it, I would only rewatch the final part and the Adele scenes. Do I recommend it? Yes! Enjoy the series, hold on until the end, it will surprise you. If you watch movies where there are people with super powers, why wouldn't you accept a supernatural plot twist?
Netflix says it's a success, but their data has to be handled with care, it's contributed by themselves. And they only count five minutes of someone playing a series or movie as a complete viewing.
The novel
Behind her Eyes is an adaptation of a novel of the same name, written by British author Sarah Pinborough, who has a large number of published novels. The fantasy and horror genre is present in many of them. Therefore, the fantastic element present in the miniseries is understandable. She has also written children's books and some television scripts. One of his first novels was already adapted to the small screen several years ago.
I want to get the novel, to read the ending she wrote, according to the clickbait title information on movie websites, the ending of the book is crazier than the one shown in the miniseries. will it be true? I must make sure with my own eyes, I hope to get a copy and read the ending.
The author of the novel has twitter. You can contact her through that social network and ask her if she is satisfied with the adaptation they did: https://twitter.com/sarahpinborough She is promoting her novel Dead To Her, which I will look for to read.
The Love Triangle (or the Square)
Actress Simona Brown plays Louise. The divorced woman, with a young son, who becomes romantically involved with David, at the same time she befriends Adele, without telling them both anything. Her character did not captivate me, you can say that she is the main protagonist of the story, but I found it hard to feel sympathy for her. I knew the actress from the remake of Roots and the miniseries The Little Drummer Girl, where she played supporting roles.
Tom Bateman plays David, Adele's psychiatrist and husband, who falls in love with Louise. A contradictory character and one that didn't sit well with me. For a psychiatrist, he seems to have more problems than his patients. We don't know if he is good or bad, until the final part. The actor has a more extensive career, working in several series and movies, such as Da Vinci's Demons, Murder on the Orient Express, among others. He is well known for being the current partner of Daisy Ridley, the actress of the latest Star Wars movies.
Eve Hewson plays Adele. That enigmatic woman, David's wife, who seems to be completely crazy. Her parents died in a mysterious fire, she inherited all the fortune and married David, who was the poor neighboring farmer. She is hiding something, which we will discover little by little. She has a special interest in being Louise's friend. Why?
She is the best character in the story, which really revolves around her. Also, every scene she appears in, I fell more in love with her. The first time I saw this actress was in the series The Knick, whose story was set in a New York hospital in the early twentieth century, directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Clive Owen. Excellent series that I recommend you to watch.
In addition, this beautiful actress is the daughter of the super famous Bono, lead singer of U2. In The Knick she showed great talent as an actress and here she consolidates it. For me, she was the best of the miniseries.
**Robert Aramayo plays Rob,**a psychiatric patient who becomes close friends with Adele. We will see him in the flashbacks of the story. His character is very important and the whole mystery of the story is related to him. Pay attention to the details when you see him, see if you can guess. You've seen the actor in Game of Thrones, playing Eddard Stark as a young man. I also saw him in the movie Antebellum, which I reviewed quite some time ago. Watch out for this actor, because his next project is the series about the Lord of the Rings universe ,which is in production.
Behind her Eyes is not the best miniseries of the year, but it is interesting enough and its ending will leave you surprised. Keep an open mind, it's a psychological thriller with fantastic elements. If you're willing to accept it, you'll love the ending.
And one last suggestion, don't believe anyone, you don't know what's hiding behind their eyes.
**3.7/5**
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Source of gifs: Tenor.com - inserted in the post with Peakd tool
