Alias Grace
Alias Grace
Based on the true story of Grace Marks, a housemaid and immigrant from Ireland who was imprisoned in 1843, perhaps wrongly, for the murder of her employer Thomas Kinnear. Grace claims to have no memory of the murder yet the facts are irrefutable. A decade after, Dr. Simon Jordan tries to help Grace recall her past.
Razorbitz reviewedJuly 23, 2025
An interesting and competently executed story that plays around with the unreliable narrator in some fun ways but left me feeling underwhelmed by the end.
This is one of those mini-series that I think would have been better as a movie, and for all intents and purpose my memory remembers it as such. There is a lot of fluff, and plays out like a victorian era drama that I think is better suited for a different audience than myself, but I ultimately fell out of love with the series by the end due to the plodding pacing.
There are some great performances scattered throughout, especially once the narrative finally gets to the actual narrative about 4 episodes in (yes, it takes that long before we even get to the initial set up of the drama). Anna Paquin's sickly sweet southern drawl comes into wonderful play here, and the strange dynamic of the household crawls to a fever pitch--that would have again felt better executed if the episodes building up to it were cut entirely.
The context the earlier episodes provide are fine, but rarely does it feel like time well spent in the way it might have felt reading Atwood's excellent prose. The narration style telling of this somewhat-true tale at times is rivetting but feels like much has been lost in translation bringing it to screen. Grace herself is sometimes interesting, but she fills the role of any femme fatale in media with every man wrapped around her finger by the end to questionable results.
For me, the best part was when I realized David Cronenberg was the Vicar--which may highlight how I was yet again not the target audience for a work such as this. Who talked him into this? Not a complaint! Likewise Zachary Levi and other notable faces pop in and out, although I didn't realize it at the time. Certainly not lacking in star power and quality acting, just wish this had a far tighter script.
In all, Alias Grace is a fine adaptation with moments of greatness once Anna Paquin enters center stage. If you enjoy the occasional historical romance or crime drama this one is a competent addition, but I would go in with tempered expectations lest you get caught up in the critical reception trap like I did.