Netflix is today releasing “Eric”, a 6-episode thriller starring a crazy Benedict Cumberbatch. Critical.
What is it about ?
New York, 1980s. After the disappearance of Edgar, his nine-year-old son, on the way to school, Vincent embarks on a desperate search. Considered one of the best puppeteers in the Big Apple, creator of a very popular children’s show, Vincent tries to cope with the absence of his son, but consumed by grief, he gradually loses his footing.
Disgusted with himself and overwhelmed by guilt, he clings to Eric, a puppet drawn by Edgar, convinced that he can bring this blue monster character to the screen when his son returns. As Vincent’s increasingly destructive behavior alienates him from his family, his colleagues, and the investigators who try to help him, Eric, an illusion born of necessity, becomes his only ally in his quest to find his son.
A UFO signed by Netflix
In this month of May marked by the return of The Bridgertons Chronicles, Netflix is also offering its subscribers a 6-episode mini-series with Benedict Cumberbatch. The English actor, who needs no introduction and who has already collaborated with the platform in the past, proves with Eric that he likes composition roles.
In this English thriller set in 1980s New York, Cumberbatch plays Vincent, the creator of a puppet show of the same ilk as Sesame Street. If the father seems to flourish in this childish world, he is in reality an abusive and alcoholic man.
To the great dismay of his wife (Gaby Hoffman) and his son, Edgar, whom he clumsily pushes to come out of his shell. The disappearance of the latter will create an unprecedented cataclysm for their couple but also the rest of the city.
Eric is not a simple series about a kidnapping. Well, not only that. If the intrigue around Edgar is the main thread, creator Abi Morgan takes the opportunity to take a snapshot of America in the 80s: the rise in crime in New York, systemic racism, police violence , minorities increasingly sidelined, poverty increasing…
Netflix
The series questions and points out the failures in the American social, judicial and political system: how can we let a child go to school alone? Why is the disappearance of a white child treated with more importance than a black teenager? And what do the police do when many homosexuals are attacked in the city? Eric mixes all these topics while remaining relevant and consistent, even when it takes a little fantastical turn when the giant puppet comes to life.
Cumberbatch is stunning in the role of Vincent, both in his acting and in his voice. A true chameleon of the small and big screen, the actor has proven to us in the past that he is extremely talented in dubbing – he voices the dragon Smaug in The Hobbit and that of the Grinch in the 2018 cartoon. It is naturally he who doubles Eric, a foam character who is none other than his conscience which comes to life.
Eric is a UFO in many ways. It doesn’t really look like Netflix’s usual productions (it’s more high-end) and is aimed at a seasoned audience. The good news is that this is a mini-series so there is no risk of cancellation. If you have 6 hours to spare, we advise you to at least take a look.