SummaryThe second television series adaptation in 2017 from a Margaret Atwood novel is based on the true story of Irish immigrant in Canada named Grace Marks (Sarah Gadon), who in 1843 was convicted of murdering her employer and the housekeeper with the help of a stable hand named James McDermott (Kerr Logan).
Alias Grace
Season 1 Premiere:
Sep 25, 2017
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
81
User score
Generally Favorable
7.1
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All Seasons
Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
90% Positive
27 Reviews
27 Reviews
10% Mixed
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Nov 1, 2017
100
It does take six full hours to get there, but the journey — her journey — can be an immersive one. ... Terrific. Immersive. Melancholy.
Nov 3, 2017
90
Harron has found an original cinematic language to convey Grace’s memories, a dream-like narrative propulsion that carries us along. ... Levi is Alias Grace’s only false note: he seems to have walked right off the set of Chuck without adjusting for the time-period here. Sarah Gadon’s performance is transfixing.
Oct 28, 2017
90
What might have been a rather talky script is enlivened by the peerless performances of Sarah Gadon (who played the romantically doomed librarian in the Hulu miniseries production of 11.22.63) as the wan but flinty Grace and Canadian TV regular Paul Gross as the bewildered Dr. Jordan.
Nov 2, 2017
80
The show’s direction, by American Psycho filmmaker Mary Harron, is elegant, and the script, by Away from Her writer/director Sarah Polley, is crisply modern in its understanding of characters’ psychological realities yet blurry enough on the margins to allow in delicious ambiguity.
Nov 2, 2017
80
The danger that “Alias Grace” might be too talky is allayed, partly by the camera work — anyone who has seen “In Treatment” knows that therapy can be visually dynamic when handled properly — and mostly by Gadon’s performance.
Nov 3, 2017
70
It’s more quiet and contemplative (and occasionally a bit dull) than it is propulsive. But viewers drawn to quiet, thoughtful character stories and a largely unknown story from women’s history may find “Alias Grace” engaging enough.
Oct 26, 2017
50
[Sarah] Gadon is alluringly enigmatic as we wonder if she's playing him [a doctor interviewing her], but the overall effect is less than hypnotizing. [30 Oct 2017 - 12 Nov 2017, p.13]
User score
Generally Favorable
73% Positive
82 Ratings
82 Ratings
13% Mixed
15 Ratings
15 Ratings
14% Negative
16 Ratings
16 Ratings
Feb 11, 2020
10
The photography is amazing, costumes and performances also. Sarah Gadon is wonderful, sarcastic and willfull and flawed through experience. Anna Paquin is always good. I was a big fan of The Handmaid's Tale audiobook (read by Claire Daines) but not the show, it seemed more mean spirited and scornful of miogynism, wheres the book felt more like a female 1984, and was excellent. Then saw Sarah Polley's brilliant Away From Her. She wrote the screenplay for this. Mary Harron (American Psycho) is a perfect choice of director. So, excellent story + excellent screenplay + perfect director = amazing show. Plus, at 6 episodes, it is not designed to go on forever.
