The Girlfriend evaluation: Olivia Cooke`s sequence is a shiny escapist fare

Title: The Girlfriend (Amazon Prime)
Forged: Olivia Cooke, Robin Wright, Laurie Davidson, Waleed Zuaiter, Tanya Moodie, Shalom Brune-Franklin, Karen Henthorn, Anna Chancellor, Leo Suter, Francesca Corney
Director/Creator: Rabin Wright, Andrea Harkin
Score: 3/5
Runtime: 6 eps/ 50m every

Amazon Prime’s psychological thriller sequence “The Girlfriend” options Robin Wright as an obsessive mom who finds it troublesome to let go management over her son. She performs Laura, a rich artwork gallery proprietor who will go to any lengths to guard her treasured son Daniel (Laurie Davidson) after he falls in love with a seemingly capricious younger girl, Cherry Laine (Olivia Cooke).

Is Laura’s concern justified, or is she simply being paranoid?

That is principally a melodrama about high-powered ladies participating in subterfuge and intrigue. The sequence is tailored from the 2017 novel of the identical identify by Michelle Frances. Wright directs the primary three episodes of the six-episode sequence whereas Irish filmmaker Andrea Harkin does the honours for the remaining.

The story is introduced from totally different POVs. We see Laura’s and Cherry’s variations of the identical occasions and are in a position to arrive at an unbiased understanding of what transpires between the 2. This sport of high-stakes psychological warfare gives some startling insights when seen from contrasting views.

Tears for fears’ “Everyone Guidelines the World” performs on as Laura welcomes house her son, Daniel, a medical scholar in his closing 12 months. He reveals to her that he has a brand new girlfriend who reminds him of Laura…and that’s sufficient to get the warfare going.

Laura thinks Cherry is a gold-digger whereas her husband, Howard (Waleed Zuaiter), a financier with deep pockets, is charmed by Cherry. When Cherry goes alongside on the household’s annual trip to Málaga, the battle strains are drawn. Finally, the mom and the girlfriend get embroiled in a twisted battle over Daniel’s affections.

The incestuous tones are parried away by Cherry’s dodgy behaviour. So it turns into fairly troublesome to take sides. Each characters have darker shades that render them unsympathetic. So that you don’t actually root for both to win. It’s the warfare between the 2 that provides you the highs right here. And it’s a pleasant sight to relish. The 2 ladies on the centre of it do issues no sane particular person can be caught useless doing. You possibly can take all of it in with a pinch of salt due to the measured performances and the difficult dialogue.

The upscale backdrop, appropriate set design, flattering costumes, stunning locales and nice manufacturing values make this a shiny manufacturing of devilishly gratifying escapist fare.