What is everyone doing talking about a new series that Netflix has posted in its catalog without any promotion? Challenge the algorithm. Or maybe not and everything is more studied than we imagine. Be that as it may, 'My stuffed reindeer' has squared the circle, it premiered ten days ago with hardly any publicity and has placed itself at the top of the platform's most viewed lists in several countries around the world, including the United States. , United Kingdom and Spain.
How is that achieved? With good reviews. But not only from the professionals – who have been enthusiastic about it – but also from anonymous users who have passed by it by chance (neither its name nor its sign invite you to see it) and, just as they started, they have not been able to stop. See it, one chapter after another. It is a very repeated comment on social networks and on traditional networks, word of mouth, come on. The plot, the way in which the events are narrated, encourages you to devour the seven episodes almost without blinking, in a single sitting.
I don't know if it's a good idea. Not bad. But it is what is happening. We have learned the lesson, it is better not to get carried away by appearances. This series seems like many things that are not. It seems like a comedy. And at most we could classify it as a dark comedy. Don't let anyone be fooled by the form, what it tells is terribly dramatic. It seems like it's going to go down some paths and ends up going down others. More devastating, less predictable. It is advisable not to go with a prejudiced idea because this fiction strives to challenge the viewer, to go beyond the clichés, to play with all the faces of the characters. Nothing is black or white. This story is full of gray.
'My stuffed reindeer' is based on a play that Richard Gadd himself (protagonist and author of the series) created for the Edinburgh Fringe festival. He narrated an event that he himself had suffered, when a woman began to harass him, chasing him and sending him thousands of emails, voice messages, letters and strange gifts. Based on real events, that's always a big deal. It worked so well that the opportunity arose to transfer it to the screen and it was done with Jessica Gunning as the stalker and with Gadd himself as the protagonist. She plays Donny Dunn, an unsuccessful comedian who serves drinks at a bar to make a living. Martha goes there one day, misinterprets the waiter's kindness and becomes obsessed with him. A twisted relationship arises between them that will awaken the worst ghosts that both of them carry inside.
We have already seen a few movies and series that take harassment as their plot. And a pattern is often repeated in the arguments. Normally the harassed person is someone attractive and successful, someone truly special, capable of arousing extreme desires and admiration. This is not the case with Dunn. That is one of the points that draw attention to this Netflix proposal, which transcends some clichés and delves into the mental health problems that accompany these cases, into the reasons that lead victims and executioners to behave in certain ways, not always justifiable or understandable.
More than a story of harassment
But harassment is only part of this story. The insecurities and lack of self-esteem of the characters and the wrong decisions they make as a result are also explored. It talks about the frustration caused by self-imposed life and work expectations that are too high. All of this was already in Gadd's theater project and in his own experiences. Because 'My stuffed reindeer' is a cathartic story, which helps the comedian get rid of the traumas he carries inside, and to represent in an extraordinary way feelings such as anxiety, stress, anguish, which we are all capable of identifying. .
In this way it connects with another shocking title, 'I Could Destroy You', one of the best productions we saw in 2021, written, co-directed and performed by Michaela Coel. Based on her personal experiences, the actress and writer proposed how she reacts after a sexual assault about which you barely remember anything. And in that one – as in this one – a hackneyed topic was dealt with, but the risky approach chosen and the chiaroscuro with which the protagonists were drawn were surprising. With both, the viewer's feeling after seeing them is similar: dejection. For what it says and for the questions and doubts that arise at the end. And that is a very satisfying experience. We could forgive Netflix for many things if it brought us gems of this type from time to time.
#talking #39My #stuffed #reindeer39 #truth
