Critic Reviews

Even without two astonishing performances from the lead actors – Claire Danes and Matthew Rhys – the script, the sheer style and confidence of it all, would be things of beauty. But add what that pair are doing, and this clever, taut eight-part psychological thriller moves seamlessly into top-tier television.

It’s a classic thriller executed with such panache that at times you feel you’re in the middle of someone’s nervous breakdown. But you won’t want to look away for a second.

It's a deeply appreciated bonus that The Beast in Me happens to be excellent: genuinely suspenseful, surprising enough to overcome any murder show tropes that occasionally creep into the narrative, and, obviously, well acted, not only by Rhys and Danes.

When they’re onscreen together, as they are through much of this eight-episode Netflix series, they produce a palpable crackle of matching wits and complete commitment. “The Beast in Me” is hardly a two-hander; it boasts a strong supporting cast, and the assured tone of showrunner Howard Gordon (who co-created “Homeland,” the series for which Danes won two Emmys) and creator Gabe Rotter. But the fire comes from Danes and Rhys, who won his own Emmy for “The Americans.”

This is a cerebral thriller of the highest order, and that’s reflected in the writing, acting — Danes, Rhys and Snow are all deserving of accolades — and the direction.

Danes and Rhys do a bang-up job, no doubt, of bringing two incredibly damaged people to life in very different ways. But the series could have taken more risks in blurring the lines between good and evil; after all, few of us are all good or all bad all the time. ‘Tis a mere quibble; this November, set aside your second screens and your laundry basket to give thanks for this artistic bounty.

Danes’ work feels familiar (she can really cry on a dime, huh?), but she still makes Aggie’s tension and trauma feel new and lived-in. And Rhys is enigmatic as he gets lost in Nile’s thornier, more sociopathic side, with a jolting finale monologue that rivals the one he delivered in The Americans‘ sendoff. And anchored by those performances, The Beast In Me‘s snappy premise turns into an evocative and binge-worthy exploration of the human condition.

With each revelation that's made, including one shocking discovery that Brian makes in the third act, the series becomes more of a nail-biter.

Too much talk can be fatal to a crime thriller, but the extended interplay between Aggie and Nile provides Ms. Danes and Mr. Rhys the room to create singular characters—neither very cuddly, but multifaceted and even recognizably human. .... The writing, by Mr. Rotter and others, and the direction, mostly by Antonio Campos (“The Staircase,” 2022), does enough narrative bobbing and weaving that we’re on the ropes for hours wondering who is guilty, innocent, complicit or treacherous.

The Beast in Me is a series that underscores how a well-paced and tightly written story can keep us invested.