Hulu turned Margaret Atwood’s book, The Handmaid’s Tale, into a thrilling television series. Netflix tried to do the same with Atwood’s other book, “Alias Grace.” Unfortunately, the show just didn’t live up to the standards that were set Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale. “Alias Grace” is a story within a story. The outer layer is about a psychiatrist who is trying to determine if a servant girl, Grace, should be pardoned for insanity, after possibly killing her masters. The inner story is about Grace explaining to the psychiatrist her life leading up to the crime. The whole series is only 6 episodes and 40 minutes each, but is it worth 240 minutes of your life?
If you are a true crime fan like me, then you would love a good murder mystery like this one. “Alias Grace” is actually historical fiction. Grace and her crimes are true, but the part about a psychiatrist determining her sane is fiction. “Alias Grace” starts off very creepy and mysterious. You try to piece the puzzle of what happened through Grace’s flashbacks. The TV series takes place in Canada during the 19th-century, making it a tad more creepy. The acting is what saves the show. Grace is played Sarah Gadon, a native Canadian herself. She played Kari in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Gadon’s performance is breathtaking as she perfectly embodies a young girl with a personality disorder. Her psychiatrist is played by the handsome Edward Holcroft, who is most notable for his role as Charlie in the Kingsman films. Holcroft may look like the “pretty-boy” but he does have great acting abilities. Did I mention he is attractive and British? Holcroft has the whole package.
So the acting was great, but the storyline was just a little too confusing at times. I finished the show in less than a week and at the end of the last episode I was still asking myself questions. I just wanted a clear answer. And the way the series ends there will definitely not be any more episodes. They tried to tie it up by having an epilogue, but that just made it more confusing. The whole series was so good up until the last five minutes. Try to think of the movie Gone Girl in terms of it being very good until the end, and then you’re just left with a pit in your stomach screaming, “what just happened?”
I actually “read” “Alias Grace” for class my sophomore year of high school. If you can imagine how confused I am now you can imagine how confused I was then. Overall, the series is thrilling and keeps you at the edge of your seat, waiting to know what happens next. The acting is believable and transports you to 19th-century Canada. For any true crime fans, I suggest the watch even if the ending isn’t what you want it to be. For everyone else, I suggest you binge the series so nothing is confusing or else everything will be.