Baby Reindeer 2024

 

A woman walks into a pub in London and starts chatting up the bartender a young man who is also a stand up comic who does the bartending thing to make a living of sorts. She has a pathetic air about her, she's pleasant looking enough, probably in her 30s, somewhat overweight and very outgoing. She has no money so Donny the nice guy buys her a tea and the nightmare for him and indeed for us begins.

Martha is the name she gives along with a lot of tall tales about who she is and what she does. Most of which are lies. Soon she is showing her true dangerous and deranged self as she starts a months long stalking of Donny. Donny played by Richard Gadd who is also a stand up comedian and playwright wrote this series that is based on his life and tribulations with stalker Martha who made his life miserable for a couple of years. Gadd first wrote an hour long stage show based on his terrible story that was eventually turned into this 7 part series that is now raging on Netflix. It is a troubling story with sad detours into Donny's own troubled past including his being a victim of male rape, drugs and a hard luck career as a stand up comedian. He is not very funny and his act is at times embarrassing to watch.

This is a harsh compelling tale that caught me off guard, as I had no idea what was coming down this rough road and rough it is. Besides his stormy hurtful relationship with Martha he also starts dating a trans woman which also becomes bumpy and violent because of Martha. Martha also starts stalking Donny's parents and gets violent with an ex-girlfriend and throws a bottle of soda in her face. After 6 months of this crap, he finally goes to the police who basically throw up their hands in helplessness. The stalking goes on and gets worse and worse. Donny is a co-worker in this terrible situation, he doesn't do much to stop her because somewhere he doesn't want to and he adds and enables her mental sorry state, along with his own despair. Weirdly Martha gives his life meaning. This tale is not for everyone, sad, violent and full of harshness but it is engrossing and full of wonderful performances especially Jessica Gunning who plays Martha with a knife sharp edge. Also a hats off to Gadd's talent as a writer that he makes Martha a weirdly sympathetic character who caused me to have multiple feelings and takes on her. One minute I was sorry for her, the next I hated her with a passion. One of the best of 2024.