Netflix surprises us again with originals proposals, in this case "The Sinner" a series that deals with a woman who does not understand, and for the moment doesn't want to know, the reasons for her crime. But here is where the series takes his hook to not let you go, throughout the eight episodes that lasts the series, we try to discover the reason that led our protagonist to commit the murder. The series does not speak of justifying, but of finding the why, what this is all about.
Tired up with Hollywood only seeing her as "Justin Timberlake's wife" and not offering her the roles she deserves, actress Jessica Biel (The Illusionist, Home of the Brave, The A-Team, Total Recall) team up with producer Michelle Purple, with whom she coincided in "The Book of Love", to develop his own project. So they came up with the novel "The Sinner" by the german Petra Hammesfahr, who quickly caught them and from which they got their adaptation rights. Then, they added the almost unknown screenwriter Derek Simonds to his team and started this project.
THE SINNER
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The Sinner begins introducing us in the life of the marriage formed by Cora and Mason Tannetti (Jessica Biel and Christopher Abbot) and their son. They lead a fairly normal life, a bit monotonous, but ultimately calm and happy. Until one day everything changes.
It all starts when Cora and Mason, in the company of their baby, make an afternoon to enjoy a day out on the beach with the family. After a disturbing swim in waters beyond the limit, Cora Tanetti returns to her son to peel a fruit. Then, less than a meter away, there are two couples who enjoy music and sand.
That's when she starts listening to the song of "Big Black Delta -Huggin and Kissin", takes the knife with which she was peeling a fruit to his son and stabs that man through a rhythmic sequence, for no apparent reason and the most disconcerting way possible.
**But why? Did she know the victim? That two lovers fooling around by the sea bring back memories of some hidden trauma? Was the music and laughter to loud? Was her medication? The woman herself does not have any idea of knowing it. And the question shows up, What is happening? That's the central question at the heart of The Sinner.
For the investigation of this crime, which seems to be more than resolved, comes on the scene, Harry Ambrose (Bill Pulman) as the detective in charge, who will do something else and will come almost like a psychologist for Cora, without assuming judgments of value, the detective Ambrose will look for by all the means, the why and the disconcerting reason. There will begin a journey through the mind of this woman with a past and a tragic childhood, for the absence of love that will lead us, episode by episode, at the end of the story.
"The Sinner" differs from the rest of similar criminal fictions in two very important aspects: on the one hand, it is not based on discovering who did it, but what motivates it, the action is to know the why; on the other hand, it not play the cluelessness with the viewer, or try to show that the series can be more intelligent than you. Although it dosifies the information, "The Sinner" is very clear in the procedure of the case and not less attractive. In fact, the story is practically uncovered in the seven episode, perhaps before, but we remain hooked to the emotional scars of the protagonists, because it is not until the end that absolutely everything fits and we see the results of an exceptional investigation.
THE GREAT HITS OF "THE SINNER"
CORA TANNETTI
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This mother and wife, played in the most spectacular way possible by the actress Jessica Biel who spends much of the show without makeup, with her hair upset and a prison clothes, is completely disconcerted by her actions, and although at first she does not want to inquire into them, _the truth is that as we see the series itself, it despairs to know and remembers the part of her problematic past that make it into a merciless assassin in the present.
Between memories of his past and the action of the present, our protagonist develops. Among so many retrospective scenes, you must be very attentive and with 100% memory because watching The Sinner more than one episode at a time may give you a couple of lashes.
The series begins to take its course, when we hear for the first time what happened on July 4, 2012, a particularly fateful night that may well be the key to the sudden outbreak on the beach of Cora. But what seems to be an atypical night is full of unanswered questions, and for each memory it's a new piece of the puzzle of the desperate situation of Cora, this makes us gradually fall in sympathy with the protagonists and for other moments we reach hate for some ones.
Almost all the scenes go back to a significant moment in Cora's past, which gradually gives us a map of the distorted mind of Cora Tannetti and the terrifying reasons. These begin when we see how as a child she has to deal with the arrival of her younger sister, Phoebe, who all her life battle against a serious illness, which is attributed to Cora by her mother, an evil and religious fanatic woman, who sick on angers god, blames Cora's sins for her sister's condition. All this for years until Cora refugee in her twenties caring for her sister, plot together with her escape from their claustrophobic and sickly environment for a new life in Florida.
The complexity of this role is interpreted by Jessica Biel, who in a more than superb way exposes her true natural beauty, Biel gives her that touch of sincerity that the paper needs, we speak of a woman, Cora Tannetti, who is going through a post-traumatic attack with memories that she had buried many years ago to get a normal life, which she never had until she met Mason, her husband.
In my personal opinion, Jessica Biel is able to articulate the role of Cora Tannetti in giving the necessary emotions to her character, a sympathy and at the same time empathy towards others like Detective Ambrose, her family and herself. Biel manages to capture in the eight episodes, what we can expect from a woman in her situation and she does it naturally and with a lot of impact, since we can see her internal conflict in many scenes, where our character little by little falls into her loss mental due to the constate of Cora to surrender to his submission by others.
THE DETECTIVE HARRY AMBROSE
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The role of Cora Tannetti is very well supported by the great and well-known actor Bill Pullman as Harry Ambrose, a detective who tired a little of his life and maybe of his work, falls in this case that does not seem to have much to investigate, but that he will soon realize that this murder may not be as resolved as it seems.
Harry Ambrose, who is also interpreted in a perfectly natural way by Bill Pullman, also involves us in a subplot where we find Harry and his wife undergoing marriage counseling and on the other hand Harry visiting his long-term dominatrix. It also gives us a slight touch of instability in Harry his obsession with botanical things, to the point that he interrupts interviews and rambles in moments for details about nearby trees and plants. What makes us say, but what the fuck ?, but with the steps makes us question this detective who always appears very disheveled, living in different places and sleeping very little per day, if he is capable or has the possible concentration for the details that uncover the case, and surprisingly we see how his vocation and instinct are the opposite of the disaster that can be his personal life.
One of the things that should be highlighted in the series is the relationship, that with the passage of the episodes, Detective Ambrose and Cora finish developing, a growing bond and the most comforting thing is that it feels totally authentic, and thanks to a confession of last minute, completely understandable and endearing.
Bill Pullman, like Jessica Biel, plays this detective in what may be his last years of work in a natural and accurate way. In the same way that Biel, Pullman manages to give complexity to his character who also goes through a difficult time in his personal life and that somehow seeks to survive through this case in which he knows there is an answer at the end. The relationship between our protagonists is excellent, a chemistry that manages to catch us and feel that feeling for both of them can solve it together.
Bill hits the nail on the head when he knows how to give moments to his character who lacks a slight problem of expression towards others, from the beginning we see that he is not one of those who can speak a lot, and with his wife is that desire to solve but not achieve it, leads our detective to certain erratic moments and a lot of frustration.
JD LAMBERT, OUR FIRST SUSPECT AND VILLAIN
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Jacob Pitts, is brilliantly sleazy as the polyamorous drug dealer, controller, liar and of course the most obvious villain in the series, JD Lambert. A man with a quite characteristic personality, that from the beginning gives us the sign of villain. A controlling character, a liar and with a past as evil as his expressions, that with his way of thinking and seeing others as his objects traps us in hatred towards him, since we know that he has something to do with all this. Jacob manages in his role, to make this evil and crazy drug dealer, who in his life only thinks of himself while controlling others for their purposes as is the case with Cora and his ex-girlfriend Maddie, whom he hates but always in some way he forces her to be by his side.
THE ONLY GENERIC THING AND POSSIBLY BORING
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After several eventualities throughout the series, our protagonists are faced with a virtually closed-minded superior robotics in the form of Detective Anne Farmer, played by Joanna Adler, a woman who despite her high-ranking position and remarkable experience , recognized as a great detective in the circuit of New York, does not recognize that a woman who weighs only 115 pounds would be unable to drag a corpse for three miles entirely on her own. And what makes us say, Are you serious Detective Farmer, really? Are you so ignorant? WTF? But somehow, this character _who falls into a annoyingly monotony of blame Cora for everything that happens in the town, gives us an air of mystery, because between so much ineptitude makes us ask, is this a conspiracy? Will Detective Farmer be doing all this on purpose, and if so, who is forcing her? Although in the end, we only find a woman who thinks more like a manual and not like a detective, something a bit disappointing but again, it's not something that ruins the series in any chapter or moment.
So let's ask the big question ...
Does The Sinner justify eight episodes and more than 320 minutes of your life?
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And the answer is, of course, FUCKING YES. Totally worth spending a weekend watching this incredible and so well done, directed and written series of criminal and police plot.
Not only is the fact that the performances are incredible, accurate and natural, we also have a master directing, a very well achieved photography and an enviable atmosphere.
Each character makes us involve him in his own way, each one very unique and original. With its personal and distinctive touch that makes you want to know more about each one as the chapters pass.
But beyond everything, The Sinner is, without a doubt, Jessica Biel's masterpiece. Out of nowhere, the actress has achieved a performance that defines her career in a haunting interpretation of this mother and wife Cora Tannetti. Biel breaks the mold in which Hollywood has locked her for many years and gives a sample, and a slap too, to the critics of her amazing talent that has only given her nominations, awards and praises by the specialized critics.