Review: 'Under the Bridge' - A True Crime Genre Probe Miniseries

The latest true crime adaptation on Hulu, Under the Bridge, is a gripping series based on the horrific murder of 14-year-old Reena Virk in Saanich, British Columbia. The series stars Riley Keough and Lily Gladstone, but it's the young talents who are stealing every scene with their compelling performances.

Each episode starts with a disclaimer that says, "Based on actual events. Dramatic purposes have fictionalized or invented certain elements, reminding audiences about the fine line between reality and fiction in such stories. The show confronts head-on our cultural obsession with packaging real-life horror into entertainment through star-studded series or slickly edited documentaries.

Under the Bridge is adapted from Rebecca Godfrey's book of the same name, which focuses on Virk’s brutal murder by her peers, some of whom she considered friends. Rather than turning this into a prolonged mystery thriller, Under the Bridge delves deep into its vast cast of characters to provide viewers with an understanding of each one’s complexities.

Vritika Gupta plays Reena, who struggles with loneliness due to her Indian heritage and Jehovah's Witness faith. Her overbearing parents, Suman (Archie Panjabi) and Manjit (Ezra Farouke Khan), kind yet controlling figures, add another layer to her struggle, while Josephine (Chloe Guidry), Kelly (Izzy G), and Dusty (Aiyana Goodfellow) represent girls from the local community whose approval becomes fatal for Reena.

Parallelly runs another storyline featuring Rebecca Godfrey, played by Riley Keough, returning to Saanich, haunted by past losses, intending to write about its youth culture, when she reunites with childhood friend Cam, played by Lily Gladstone, a cop seeking promotion via solving Reena’s case.

Despite overlapping plotlines filled with flashbacks that create complex story structure, it successfully paints vivid character portraits where no one is purely good or evil. This moral ambiguity makes justice elusive, but the impact of Reena's murder is felt deeply.

Under the Bridge, the young cast shines brilliantly. Gupta, as Reena, brings out profound insecurity and loneliness, making her death more devastating; Josephine, played by Guidry, exudes intimidation while hiding fear beneath her strong facade. Javon Walton captures Warren Glowatski’s fragility convincingly, and newcomer Aiyana Goodfellow delivers a heartbreaking performance as Dusty, who shares horror at what she was complicit in, radiating palpable pain and guilt.

Under the Bridge might not be perfect with its flaws, like the underutilized chemistry between Keough and Gladstone or some hard-to-believe performances, yet it stands out for being thought-provoking. It urges viewers to sit with the gravity of children killing another child, not casting judgment but trying to understand how such horrific events happen and how those involved live with it afterward.

Under the Bridge premieres on Hulu on April 17th, promising viewers a thoughtful exploration into a gruesome crime that poses questions about morality, justice, guilt, and living amidst all this.