Wooh-hoo! This is a great one for the Halloween season, if you like really scary psychological thrillers that turn out (spoiler alert) to have a bit of a supernatural twist to them. We binged it in a few days, because it is riveting and addictive, even though you know as the plot unfolds that there is something deeply sinister and scary going on.
Behind Her Eyes, the Netflix six-part mini-series, is based on a 2017 thriller by Sarah Pinborough (which I haven’t read). It begins with our introduction to Louise, an attractive but recently divorced black single mother in London (played convincingly by Simona Brown). Louise is just getting by, trying to take care of herself and her pre-teen son, while living in a small apartment on a modest salary, and working a clerical job.
One night, at a friend's urging, Louise goes to a bar, where she runs into a tall handsome Scotsman (Tom Bateman). They end up talking, and on the way out the door after too many drinks, they share an impulsive but passionate kiss – there’s definitely chemistry there, as well as the alcohol effects. Will they end up in bed together, as we might expect? But then the man stops, mumbles something about “I can’t do this”, and runs off.
Of course, when she gets to work the next day, she discovers her unfortunate mistake from the night before is her new boss at the psychiatric clinic where she works. It's very embarrassing, but let’s all be grown-ups about this, shall we? And of course, he’s married.
Soon we meet the wife (played chillingly by Eve Hewson), and start learning her backstory, which seems to involve great family wealth, and a tragic fire, but also a history of serious psychiatric problems. And we also will soon meet a strange lower class male drug addict friend of hers (Robert Aramayo), who she knew and bonded with as friends while they were both in rehab.
That’s as much plot as I can give away. As we are inexorably drawn into their webs of love and hate, friendship and deceit, and admiration and envy, the relationships become increasingly dangerous and fraught. We’re never sure who the evil one(s) are, who the victims are, and what any of the characters’ real motivations and personalities will prove to be. We only see that their relationship decisions and moral choices keep being the wrong ones, the ones that will lead inevitably to conflict and disaster.
It’s one of those “slow motion train wreck coming” shows, rich in well-drawn character flaws and a sense of impending doom, but which is also fascinating and intriguing, as you try to figure out the mysteries and behaviors of each of the characters, and where it’s all leading. And it is definitely also a good mystery story, with unexplained crimes and secrets lurking in the background.
It's an excellent piece of entertainment, very well crafted, with fine acting from all four of the leads, if your nerves can stand the psychological strain. And I can almost guarantee that you won't figure it all out until the very ending. Highly recommended.
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