Series Review: Under The Bridge

Official synopsis: Fourteen-year-old Reena Virk (Vritika Gupta) went to join friends at a party and never returned home. Seven teenage girls and a boy were accused of the savage murder.

A true crime series starring Lily Gladstone and Riley Keough? Sign me up. This 8 episode drama streams on Hulu and follows the real case of Reena Virk, whose grisly murder inspired author Rebecca Godfrey's book of the same name. Godfrey unfortunately passed away from cancer before the mini series finished production, but she allegedly liked how the episodes were written and how she would eventually be portrayed by Riley Keough.

This surprises me a bit, because there is one thing that really tanked the series for me, and it was how unbearable Rebecca became. I've read that she liked that she was portrayed as a bit of an "anti hero" in this, but I don't think that's true at all. I don't think there's anything heroic about show Rebecca and how she projected onto these teens. How she made her already complicated friendship with police officer, Cam (Gladstone) even more awkward. The first few episodes suggest a team up of sorts, and because I hadn't read the original novel I just didn't expect it to take the turn it did. I expected to be on both Cam and Rebecca's sides throughout, and I found myself fed up with Rebecca by the end of it. The show could've used more Cam.

The actors playing the teenagers knocked it out of the park. Gupta had no small task in portraying Reena. Reena isn't your typical murder victim being painted in a sympathetic light. The series shows that Reena struggled, made terrible choices, and feel deep into peer pressure to fit in. I liked that they didn't sugar coat it. Chloe Guidry and Isabella Gaspersz who play mean girl murders Josephine and Kelly were so convincing that I'm afraid I'm going to hate them in everything they do going forward automatically. 

I wish my high praise of the actors extended to the rest of the show. I thought it was very well shot on top of being acted well, but the story just frustrated me as I went on. The first three episodes were so strong, and I expected them to keep that energy week over week, but by the time the finale was available to stream. I didn't even rush to watch it. I was just annoyed with the characters, and having read what happened to the real Reena Virk, I almost didn't see the point in finishing it. But I did, and I think the series misrepresents the verdict in a strange way. I'm sure this was done to highlight the white privilege that went on during those trials, but it was a weird choice.

So is Under The Bridge worth your time? It's not a bad way to spend 8 hours, especially if you love the actors involved, but overall I can't say I loved it.