The Reel Review
An aspiring comedian’s life spirals into a nightmare when a female patron at the pub where he works as a bartender starts stalking him, wreaking havoc on his career and personal relationships. Scottish writer Richard Gadd stars in this Netflix drama series that he adapted from his one-man stage-play about his own years-long experiences with a stalker.
Gadd does a pretty impressive job capturing the psychological and physical abuse he experienced, with equally compelling performances by an outstanding Jessica Gunning (Fortitude, Pride) as his mentally ill stalker who runs through a myriad of emotions as she worms her way into every aspect of his life, and Nava Mau (Generation) as his trans girlfriend, frustrated over his odd unwillingness to properly address the stalking. Over the course of the seven episodes we come to learn about the psychological trauma and self-loathing that has made Gadd’s character, despite seeing all the red flags early on, such a willing psycho magnet. It is not for the squeamish.
The only minor faults with Baby Reindeer is that some of the episodes feel drawn out just to fill time and the big moment in episode six feels a bit contrived, crafted to create a big dramatic moment, which, while understandable, was unnecessary given the already mind-spinning story. But those complaints are minor, given the shocking account of stalking and emotional trauma. Baby Reindeer is unforgettable.
REEL FACTS
• Gadd has hinted that his stalker never saw jail time despite several years of sending him a total of 41,071 emails, 744 tweets, 46 Facebook messages,, writing him 106 pages of letters and leaving him a total of 350 hours of voicemail messages.
• Out of pity for her mental illness, Gadd went to great lengths to protect the identity of his real-life stalker, changing her name, appearance and profession in the series.
• The comedy performance where Gadd reveals the stalking and psychological trauma that happened to him never actually occurred.
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