Netflix’s new release, The Beast in Me, is a critically acclaimed psychological crime series created by Gabe Rotter. The mystery stars Claire Danes, who plays a struggling author named Aggie Wiggs who begins writing a book about her neighbor Nile Jarvis, played by Matthew Rhys. The show also features well-known actors like Brittany Snow (Nina Jarvis), Natalie Morales (Shelley Morris), Jonathan Banks (Martin Jarvis), David Lyons (Agent Brian Abbot) and many more.
In the series Nile is a real estate executive who allegedly killed his wife and recently moved next door to Aggie. Nile grows a liking to Aggie, who shares her rough past about her 8 year old son Cooper, who died years earlier in a car accident.
The show is a Netflix production where the series and its actors received lots of recognition including nominations for three major Golden Globe Awards. Rhys was nominated for Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Limited Series. He did a wonderful job portraying the psychologically insane aspects of his character. He had a very emotionally charged performance, and he acted without words by selling it with his menacing facial expressions.
Danes was nominated for Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Limited Series. Don’t get me wrong, Claire Danes had a wonderful performance, but I do think that Brittany Snow deserved a nomination as well, maybe even instead. I was very impressed with her acting in this series, and was happy to see her more and more as the episodes went on. I enjoyed watching how her character evolves over the span of the show, starting as a side character and shaping into one of the most important characters in the series. She did a wonderful job in the ending of the show especially, helping me feel the sense of completion and closure you want at the end of a production.
The show itself was nominated for Best Television Limited Series and the production also received many favorable reviews, making it a very high-rated thriller on Rotten Tomatoes with a 100% score. I do think the show deserves this praise, not only because of the acting, but also the camera work. There are many scenes with intense close-ups, which brings focus to the eyes and expression of the characters. This only brings the excellent acting in each scene to its full potential.
The series consists of 8 episodes, each ranging from 40-55 minutes long. It’s a pretty lengthy series, but somehow I managed to finish it in only a week. And this is very unlike me, as I often get bored of shows and never end up finishing them. But luckily, the many plot twists, unsolved mysteries, and thrilling scenes convinced me to keep engaged and invested in the series.
My favorite scene is towards the end of the series featuring Nina and Nile Jarvis having an intense conversation. After Aggie’s arrest, Nina confronts her husband about setting up Aggie and killing his old wife Maddison. This scene kept me on the edge of my seat as Nina is face-to-face with a possible cold-blooded killer, where you can feel the tension through the screen.
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