Will Darnell // Contributing Writer
While rumors circulate of a possible reprisal of her iconic run as Agent Dana Scully on the out-of-this-world X-FILES, Gillian Anderson is currently starring as a tight-lipped, detached detective on the unheralded Irish drama THE FALL.
With motley choices, even in the weighty and serious crime category, it would be easy to miss the Belfast-centric series amid the hundreds of options on Netflix.
However, unlike many of its contemporaries, this show, like its leading lady, is taut and terse and more than moves the needle. The years between major projects has not tamed Anderson’s ability to lead a drama, even if this time the actor opposite her is less comic, alien-obsessed foil, and more dark and brooding strangler.
Fans of FIFTY SHADES OF GREY will quickly recognize her co-star, Jamie Dornan, as Christian Grey in the year’s most tepid sex soiree. Dornan, here as Paul Spector, plays an unhappily married bereavement counselor, who spends his time hunting, dominating and strangling business-savvy brunettes.
Through the series’ first six episodes, it’s nearly impossible to determine who is cat and who is mouse, as Anderson delivers a stunning and sturdy performance equaled by the cold and menacing depravity Dornan emanates every time he opens his mouth.
The series, featuring exceptional writing and characterization, alters point of view between its two leads, alternating between the strong, cool detachment of Anderson and the quiet intensity and white-hot anger of Dornan.
The second six-episode season just hit Netflix, and is more than worth the time for fans of slow-moving, though tense, crime dramas.
