‘Under the Bridge’ Review: Riley Keough and Lily Gladstone Cede the Spotlight To the Young Cast of Hulu’s Emotional Teenage Drama
Lily Gladstone in Hulu’s “Under The Bridge” (Photo by: Darko Sikman/Hulu)
Hulu’s gripping adaptation of Rebecca Godfrey’s 2005 nonfiction Under the Bridge is quite the unusual murder mystery. In fact, one could argue it’s not even a mystery at all, as showrunner Quinn Shephard is more focused on the moral implications of what happened in Victoria, British Columbia, in November 1997, than it is on having the audience on the edge of their seats as they try to figure out who did it. (That being said, no spoilers will be found in this review.) It coexists both as a warning sign of the dangers of bullying and loveless children and also raises questions about the nature of our justice system and points out some of its limitations.
On the night of November 14, 1997, Reeva (Vritika Gupta) thought she had finally convinced her juvie friends of her worth. She’s a teenager full of heart and with a lot of life inside her, but all she ever wanted was to fit in — too desperately for her own good in the past, but to devastating consequences now. That night, her “friends” (a group of people who would lead her to think there will be an unbreakable bond between them one day, but be capable of beating her to death the next one) turned on her one last time, and to everyone’s shock, she was found dead a few days later.
Heading the investigation into the troubled youth of Victoria is aspiring cop Cam Bentland (Lily Gladstone), who wants justice to be served. But she’s not alone in her efforts, as Rebecca Godfrey (Riley Keough) just returned to her hometown after a traumatic incident forced her to leave for New York years ago. She wants to reconcile with her past and write a book about teenage life in Victoria — little did she know what she was stepping into.
Under the Bridge lives and dies with how real their characters feel. Though she certainly lived up to the task and some, Lily Gladstone’s character was slightly underwhelming, particularly for an actress coming off a near-Oscar win. She’s never bad in the series, but her character was always a bit more surface-level than the rest. That may not be a detriment to her character’s writing as much as it is praise for how all of the rest were handled. I was particularly impressed with Riley Keough, who plays the real-life author of the book that the series adapts, and who herself has a lot to juggle as she returns to her hometown. Those layers of complexity were so beautifully portrayed by Keough, who is herself haunted by her own past as a teenager as she tries for the town not to judge the new generation at first glance. She’s living proof that there’s a way out of being a terrible 15-year-old and sees the current investigation and trial as her own reckoning.
Vritika Gupta in Hulu’s “Under The Bridge” (Photo by: Bettina Strauss/Hulu)
Though the series is anchored by much more experienced adult actors, the heart and soul of the story lives with the teenagers that populate it. Vritika Gupta as Reeva is precisely as loving and relatable, but also frustrating and exasperating as one could dream of an actor playing the part. At her core, she’s just like the rest of us: she wanted a place to belong. The tragedy is that she didn’t realize she already had one and did not appreciate it enough — and it’s that duality that led her to both distance herself from her family but also put her in a very vulnerable position with her new “friends”, who simply wanted someone to divert themselves with. It’s certainly easy to judge the extent to which she took her actions across the show, yet I also understood her going back to the terrible people she called friends every step of the way. It is one of the most toxic relationships imaginable.
Two other kids stand out in particular, but definitely not because of the same qualities. Chloe Guidry plays the lonely and much-troubled Josephine Bell to such perfection that it’s never not clear who she is exactly in this world: someone who was left behind and treats everyone else as if they deserved that fate instead of her. She puts on a hard face but her insecurities pop up the first time she is forced to face actual consequences for her actions. But her character takes a most interesting turn after that, which I won’t get into; she very quickly becomes one of the most interesting aspects of the show.
Jo’s best friend, Kelly (Izzy G), becomes much more integral to the narrative as the series goes on, and the young actress also gets to show off her psycho skills in ways that are both absolutely terrifying but also so captivating to watch. I also found her fate, as revealed by the end-credits title card of the finale, to be the most fascinating one — though I certainly don’t blame the show for not including it, as it would have derailed the entire point.
(L-R) Chloe Guidry and Aiyana Goodfellow, in Hulu’s “Under the Bridge”. (Photo by: Darko Sikman/Hulu)
Besides Reena, however, the heart of the show after a few episodes becomes Warren Glowatski (Javon “Wanna” Walton). If Reena represents a cry for help when it comes to teenagers and bullying, and the need for psychological therapy, Warren represents the need for a justice system that doesn’t think the worst of all of us, and one that allows us to be forgiven. A case can be made that the story leaned too much on his point of view during those final episodes and that it may have abused from that to make a point.
The more facts-based title cards at the end support that narrative angle, but one could also argue that they were put there by the people who made the show, so naturally, they were always going to fit their vision. Despite that, Under the Bridge should not be taken as a documentary and it’s not proof either way of who did what. It simply brings attention to issues that are very real to our society and tries for us not to judge people because of their worst sides. It attempts to reach a level of understanding that may allow us to progress as a society and perhaps prevent terrible acts like these from happening in the future.
Its unusual structure, which prioritizes character drama over plot (so much so that some audience members might think the series ends with the sixth episode — but oh, there is so much more there), is also one of its best assets. Its central focus, and also theme, are constantly changing throughout the series, which caused it to lack some identity at points, as it struggled to figure out what to say exactly. Yet it’s also in the contradictions of the points it’s trying to make (justice for Reena, but mercy for her killers because they have enough already) that the true power of the story is displayed.
Under the Bridge doesn’t force us to choose sides between the family who want justice and Rebecca who is trying to find some atonement for someone who she thinks is still salvable (but ultimately for herself), and instead argues that both can coexist. Its final shot, however, brings the whole point home: despite all the bickering and fighting and noise, at the end of the day, this is all about a family who will never get to see their daughter smile again.
The first two of eight episodes of Under the Bridge are currently streaming on Hulu.
Miguel Fernández is a Spanish student that has movies as his second passion in life. His favorite movie of all time is The Lord of the Rings, but he is also a huge Star Wars fan. However, fantasy movies are not his only cup of tea, as authors like Scorsese, Fincher, Kubrick or Hitchcock have been an obsession for him since he started to understand the language of filmmaking. He is that guy who will watch a black and white movie, just because it is in black and white.
