How many times, watching a series, do you have that curious feeling of “I’m watching the history of the medium”? You may have noticed it with series that not only impact you in a special way, but you also know that the people around you who also watch it experience a very similar feeling. If you’re watching ‘Succession‘You’ll know what I’m talking about. My last time, before HBO’s magnificent family intrigue epic, was on ‘Mindhunter‘, that Netflix premiered in 2017. Nine years later, it is still my favorite series of all those released on the platform.
Neither ‘Stranger Things‘, neither ‘The Witcher‘, neither ‘sandman‘ nor any other have managed to match the degree of intensity and perversity of this brief masterpiece by Joe Penhall (also screenwriter of ‘The Road’) in which David Fincher directed some chapters. It started from a real event in the history of criminology: in 1977, two FBI agents revolutionized investigation techniques, giving a twist to how to get into the minds of serial killers.
The series is based on the book written by some of the protagonists, and although obviously the suspense and suspicions generated by the agents’ investigation are played here, as well as the portrait of famous murderers such as the Son of Sam, Ed Kemper, Charles Manson or BTK, the realistic reflection of an era is above all. A realism that takes great care to present heroes and villains, and much less to mythologize serial killers, as the worst do. true crimes.
‘Mindhunter’ describes with coldness and a certain perverse sense of humor (and here the Fincher style is clearly evident) these first times in which psychology entered in the darkest minds and abysmal, with a fascinating portrait of these first methodologies. And all supported by an excellent cast (Jonathan Groff, Holt McCallany and Anna Torv) that not only gives credibility to the ensemble, but also catapults the empathy we experience for a group of researchers who, literally, tread on absolutely unknown ground.
Image | Netflix
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