The Cry – Season 1 (4/5)

The Cry is a thriller series with Jenna Coleman in the all-important starring role. The subject is heartbreaking and will no doubt make you angry. In other words, both Coleman and the story evolves brilliantly.

The Cry is a thriller miniseries with just four episodes. Forget about setting off a weekend to binge-watch it. You can take this thriller job down in an evening.

Or you can watch one episode at the time and really let the story fester – which it will. After all, the miniseries aired on BBC One in the UK with just one episode per week. And there are still advantages to watching a story unfold over time.

British Jenna Coleman (Doctor Who) stars alongside Ewen Leslie (Top of the Lake). This fits perfectly with the fact that most of this British miniseries takes places in Australia.

Characters you’ll love to hate

Any TV show is only as strong as its characters. After all, they are the ones who are supposed to make you come back for more. Well, along with a decent storyline of course.

Of course, you don’t have to love the characters to keep coming back for more. Feeling hate or disgust is equally valid, and don’t worry. You will probably both feel hate, love, disgust and everything in between.

For me, one character really rubbed me the wrong way from the beginning. I think this as very intentional – and I also think women will get this feeling more than men. Again, probably very intentional.

And yes, it is the lead character, Alistair, portrayed by Ewen Leslie.

Jenna Coleman, on the other hand, plays a character who remains a mystery for a long time. Her name is Joanna and her character evolves much like Jessica Biels’ character did in The Sinner. Needless to say, that comparison is very positive.

The brilliance of The Cry plot

Just as it was the case with the HBO show Big Little Lies and the USA network show The Sinner, the brilliance is in the plot. These storylines that evolve and try to coax you along towards a reveal are working like a charm.

With The Cry, we continuously get little breadcrumbs that lead us to the truth. Part of this comes through letting us view events through the eyes of several characters.

If you find yourself wondering why people are acting a certain way, then don’t worry, it will soon make sense.

Please don’t give up after watching just one episode. This is a mystery, so you’ll start out with many clues and find out which are important as you approach the reveal. By the end of episode 2, things start to go a bit crazy – in the best of ways!

Starting episode 3, you will no doubt start to have your own solid conclusion. Whether they’ll hold up is part of the suspense. Personally, I managed to guess a huge chunk of the mystery, but missed other parts. And I loved it all the same!

The Cry to be released on Sundance Now

The new streaming service from Sundance called “Sundance Now” has acquired the US rights to The Cry. The 4-episode show will be out on streaming first and then on flow TV (or linear TV).

Glendyn Ivin directed all four episodes of The Cry and he’s done quite a few miniseries in the past. In fact, this has been his primary area of work during the past 5-6 years. And it shows! As a whole, the miniseries flows together very smoothly.

The Cry is based on a novel by Helen Fitzgerald, but the script was written by Jacquelin Perske. She has written for several TV shows in the past, but also wrote the movie Little Fish, which starred Cate Blanchett.

The series premiered on BBC One in the UK beginning in September 2018. The Australian release is on ABC which co-produced the show.

The Cry will be released in the US on Sundance Now (streaming) and play on the Sundance linear channel following its SVOD release.

Details

Director: Glendyn Ivin
Writer: Jacquelin Perske (based on the novel by Helen Fitzgerald)
Cast: Jenna Coleman, Ewen Leslie, Asher Keddie, Kate Dickie

Plot

The disappearance of a baby from a small coastal town in Australia is the catalyst for a journey into the disintegrating psychology of a young couple. Both as they deal with an unthinkable tragedy under the white light of public scrutiny and behind closed doors.