Baby Reindeer

Baby Reindeer (2024)
Directed by: Weronika Tofilska
Written by: Richard Gadd
Starring: Jessica Gunning, Nava Mau, Richard Gadd

A kind gesture….41,071 emails later….

For the last few days, scanning Social Media for no reason apart from it being a habit, the words “Baby Reindeer!” has been appearing on a regular basis from excited people, watching what sounded like a festive film.  Making me wonder why so many are watching a Christmas setting in the middle of April, a quick search made me realise that this dark limited season is far from the season of goodwill that the title suggests.

Scottish comedian Richard Gadd who is nothing but sensational in the lead role, takes his own personal experience, in which he once shared with an acclaimed one-man stage play and now turns it into a staggering limited series on NETFLIX that hopefully should be showered with awards as I very much doubt you’ll get to see a seven episode run that will trigger so much emotions from watching.

You’ll laugh because its funny, feel guilty for doing so, cringe at the jokes on stage and then close your eyes at the horrific outcome that occurs during episode four, a period in which you can only applaud Gadd for being brave to relive all over again.   But before we even get to that atrocious act of abuse, we get the standard love story – but not quite!

When Donny meets Martha ( an equally memorable Jessica Gunning) sounds like the start of any 90’s Rom-Com but not for the poor guy, working behind the bar it sees his life change forever when Martha sits on a stool, unable to afford a drink – despite her boasts of being a successful lawyer, in which he kindly offers to get her one, resulting in a dark spiral of chaos that drives them both into a bleak dark carnage where the typed words of “Baby Reindeer” which appears on screen, can cause more fear than a dead guy in a Ski Mask appearing at a summer camp!

That kind simple gesture unintentionally invites Martha into his life, resulting in non-stop emails and voice calls, with Donny at times becoming quite a frustrated watch into why he lets this woman invade his life as such without going to the police, but when that fourth episode appears, forgive yourself in having those thoughts as we get answers that we weren’t simply expecting, the show becoming a dark uncomfortable ride, in which we just want to reach out and help Donny, our hearts in our mouths with the realisation that Gadd experienced all this.

I can’t speak highly of Gunning here.  She portrays Martha in which you’ll find yourself wrongly laughing at her behaviour, sympathetic at her own plight and then downright afraid as a violent outburst occurs and while the text messages, all with wrong spellings, may bring some form of dark humour on show, this is a tale of real humans, dealing with a disturbing turn of events that will leave you rocked to the core and is without question most likely, the best TV Show of 2024.

To say anymore would give anyone going into this without any idea what occurs a disservice.  Just be prepared to share an emotional ride dipped in horror and darkness, with a hint of laughter that will leave you feeling guilty. long after the credits roll!

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