Alias Grace

I found this to be a beautifully told, riveting story. It is certainly a slow burn so if you require fast-passed action this may not be what you are looking for.

Alias Grace is an example of thoughtful and deliberate storytelling. It presents the life experiences of Grace Marks (Sarah Gadon) as she shares her story with Dr Simon Jordan. Throughout the six-part miniseries, you are meant to consider whether she is culpable for the murders for which she was accused. Sarah Gadon gives a powerful, understated performance that draws you in. Her nuanced portrayal made me more interested in watching the development of her character than learning whether she had committed the murders.

I have read some reviews in which Alias Grace was criticized for being feminist propaganda which presented the male characters as predatory and the society in which Grace lived as patriarchal. I certainly agree that the series provided commentary on sexism and classism. But I think one should keep in mind that it's a historical piece set largely in 1840-1850.

A little history of Ontario, Canada: * In 1884, married women received the same legal rights as men to enter into legal agreements and buy property. * In 1917, women were granted the right to vote. * In 1928, the Supreme Court determined that the term "persons" in the British North America Act did not include women. This was appealed in 1929 and women became people under the act.

So ... Personally, I'm quite comfortable with the series' commentary on sexism and the presentation of the experiences of the female characters. If you aren't considered a person under the law, naturally it will reflect how you are treated in society.

The main actress was superb in this gripping drama. It was so good, I watched all the episodes back to back. (all in one night) A very entertaining mystery, thriller, did she do it? who knows.

Since it was based on truth, from 1843 the research on this must have been difficult.

The series is great until the very end, when they rushed it and pretty much ruined everything by leaving no satisfactory conclusion nor resolution. I loved the main character, she makes such a great psycho on moments with her comments. Her storytelling is compelling, like Scheherazade she's buying her time seducing the listener. Pity the ending was not a bit more meaningful.

There are many good things about this, especially in the first half. The characters are well played. In the end, however, I was unsatisfied. It was as if there was a rush to be done with it all. Not a lot of depth in the last couple of episodes.

Great atmospheric period piece. I stuck with all of the episodes, though it was a little slow at times in the middle section. Exploring women during the 1800s - what it means to be feminine, what constitutes mental illness, how a female may (or may not have) committed a murder and why - those are all very interesting topics. The series spends a lot of time in the psychology of it with conversations between Grace and the doctor charged with deciding if she's still a danger to society. But because Grace has reasons to hold back her feelings and memories, she's a bit of an unreliable narrator, and I do find that hard to feel things for a main character who may or may not be telling the truth, because you don't know what's genuine and what's not.