Prime Video‘s psychological thriller The Girlfriend brings Robin Wright and Olivia Cooke collectively in a narrative the place love and manipulation change into wickedly warped. The drama, which premiered on Sept. 10, relies on Michelle Frances’ 2017 novel of the identical title. It follows the distinctive relationship between Laura Sanderson (Wright), an achieved gallerist, and Daniel Sanderson (Laurie Davidson), her son and medical scholar, usually entangled in troubling conduct, and the drama that ensues when Daniel’s girlfriend, Cherry Laine (Cooke), an actual property agent, steps into the image, making a rift of their dynamic.
Set in modern-day London, the six-part collection is an examination of familial co-dependency and the idea of helicopter parenting by means of a twisted story involving management, jealousy, manipulation, and love. From the opening scene to the unsettling closing shot, accompanied by an ominous voiceover, the collection grips viewers as chaos unfolds, concurrently prompting them to query their very own ethical compass.
The Girlfriend was tailored for tv by Gabbie Asher and Naomi Sheldon. Becoming a member of Wright, Cooke, and Davidson within the solid ensemble are Waleed Zuaiter, Karen Henthorn, Tanya Moodie, Shalom Brune-Franklin, Anna Chancellor, Sheldon, Ben Miles, Francesca Corney, and Leo Suter. All six episodes have been launched concurrently, so viewers can binge with out ready for weekly releases. Every episode flows into the following, making it exhausting to cease watching.
Olivia Cooke Meets the Dad and mom in Prime Video’s Psychological Drama ‘The Girlfriend’
The Girlfriend is a psychodrama collection that depicts each boy mother’s worst nightmare: the conclusion that they don’t seem to be the one girl of their son’s life. The story revolves round Laura Sanderson (Wright), a girl who seems to have all of it: a extremely esteemed artwork supplier, married to profitable lodge tycoon Howard Sanderson (Zuaiter), and mom to her golden youngster, Daniel Sanderson (Davidson), who’s on his solution to changing into a physician.
Laura and Daniel are extremely shut, a little bit too shut for consolation, one may say. Nonetheless, after the loss of life of his sister, Rose, Laura turns into protecting and depending on Daniel. Nonetheless, her picture-perfect life begins to unravel when Daniel brings his new girlfriend, Cherry Laine (Cooke), house for dinner. As quickly as Laura units her eyes on Cherry, their mother-in-law/daughter-in-law relationship is doomed to fail.
Cherry’s ambition, intelligence, and wonder are overshadowed by Laura’s rising suspicion that she’s hiding one thing. The query for Laura turns into: Is Cherry a femme fatale, or is that this merely a case of paranoia? Refusing to take any possibilities together with her son’s life, Laura begins digging into Cherry’s previous to uncover any darkish secrets and techniques that might hurt Daniel. Nonetheless, a mom’s concern can shortly be perceived as smothering by the kid, which is precisely what Daniel accuses her of.
Laura’s suspicions of Cherry aren’t that far-fetched, a minimum of to the viewer. The extra Laura backs Cherry right into a nook, the extra her true character begins to point out, and the seemingly excellent girl is equally flawed. As soon as the character of each ladies is revealed, it is as much as the viewer to find out who was proper on this wild journey.
Is There a True Villain of the Story in ‘The Girlfriend’?
Slightly than presenting the viewer with a single perspective and making one character the hero and the opposite the villain, The Girlfriend brilliantly depicts each Laura and Cherry as morally complicated characters, so there isn’t any clear-cut hero or villain on this story. In every episode, viewers are proven each Laura’s and Cherry’s views on the identical scene or situation, and so they’re naturally totally different from one another, because it additionally tends to occur in actual life.
What started as a petty battle for Daniel’s love and a focus evolves into an uncompromising warfare that continues to escalate, finally forcing one of many two characters to depart the equation. The shift in viewpoint offers the viewers extra perception into the minds of each characters and their motivation, so that they paint one another in a distinct mild.
As a viewer, you could begin on one facet, however similar to the opposite characters watching the feud between Laura and Cherry unfold, you’ll additionally change sides. Laura’s greatest good friend and confidante, Isabella Russell-Bailey (Tanya Moodie), is one instance of somebody who was vehemently on Laura’s facet and likewise noticed by means of Cherry’s lies. Nonetheless, as soon as Laura drastically escalates their squabble, Isabella begins to query Laura’s sanity and reasoning for wanting Cherry out of Daniel’s life. Cherry and Daniel’s relationship additionally turns into strained when he has these small moments of heeding his mom’s warning and pushing again towards Cherry’s accusations of his mom. Ultimately, it’s as much as the viewer to weigh the data and determine who was proper, mistaken, or if each have been unhinged.
How Does the Psychodrama ‘The Girlfriend’ Finish?
By the point the ultimate episode rolls round, the viewers appears like they’ve gone to warfare together with the unlikely love triangle. There’s a five-month time leap, and Laura is remoted from her household whereas Daniel and Cherry plan their engagement get together. Nonetheless, Laura is set greater than ever to disclose Cherry’s darkish facet to Daniel, and within the course of, uncovers a darkish household secret. Laura confronts Tracy Laine (Karen Henthorn) about John Laine (Simon Meacock), Cherry’s father, and calls for to know if Cherry pushed him from a 20-foot development website, leaving him with a fractured backbone and cranium.
Whereas Tracy doesn’t deny or blame Cherry for the accident, she does warn Laura to cease meddling and confirms that Cherry may be harmful. Unbeknownst to Tracy, Laura is recording their dialog as proof to present to Daniel. Cherry learns about this encounter from her mom and, proving how vengeful she may be, she breaks into Laura’s gallery, vandalizing the art work with the phrases “Liar Liar” throughout the canvases.
Minimize to Daniel and Cherry’s engagement get together, Laura exhibits up with cops and has Cherry arrested. Whereas the police are questioning Cherry, Daniel confronts his mom at his mother and father’ home, and Laura convinces him to remain for a goodbye drink, which she spikes with a drug that makes him lose consciousness. As she tries to play the recording to a semi-conscious Daniel, Cherry arrives on the home after being launched from custody, and the 2 find yourself in a brawl.
Close to the tip of their combat, Laura chases Cherry with a knife, and the 2 fall into the pool as Daniel barely arrives to step in. Daniel pulls Laura off of Cherry, however as he’s restraining Laura, he unintentionally drowns her. In one other time leap, we see Daniel, Howard, and a really pregnant Cherry all smiling and having fun with one another’s firm when Daniel discovers Laura’s cellphone, which she misplaced through the confrontation with Cherry. He lastly listens to the recording, and he realizes that his mom was proper. The ultimate shot leaves the collection on an ominous notice, as Daniel accepts the reality too late, leaving the viewers simply as surprised and silent. The Girlfriend is streaming on Prime Video.