‘Baby Reindeer’ Review — A Dark Masterpiece That Will Leave You in Shambles

The Big Picture

• Richard Gadd’s autobiographical masterpiece
  Baby Reindeer
  skillfully explores themes of trauma and obsession in only seven episodes.
• Intense performances by Jessica Gunning and Richard Gadd make this complex and heavy series a must-watch on Netflix.
• Baby Reindeer doesn’t shy away from triggering themes like sexual abuse, offering a frank and important look at a survivor’s complex emotions.

The thing I couldn’t get out of my head when I started watching Netflix’s new miniseries Baby Reindeer was, “How much of this story is actually true? There’s no way all of this is true.” And then, when I finished bingeing the series, having made my way through half a box of tissues and stress-eaten a bowl of popcorn, I was shocked to learn that not only is Baby Reindeer a true story, but it’s autobiographical. Not only is it autobiographical, but the leading star, Richard Gadd, who plays the protagonist Donny, is also the creator of the series — meaning, Gadd was literally replaying a fictionalized version of some of the most traumatic scenes in his life. The series explores themes of ambition and fame, trauma, obsession, mental illness, sexuality, and shame. What’s impressive about Baby Reindeer is that it does all of this within seven episodes. The show quite literally grabs your interest and refuses to let go of it until it’s over. After watching, I felt physically and mentally drained, but was without a doubt in awe of Gadd’s masterpiece.

What Is ‘Baby Reindeer’ About?

Baby Reindeer kicks off in 2015 when a bartender named Donny (Gadd) buys a cup of tea for a customer who walks in. Her name is Martha (Jessica Gunning). After this random act of kindness, Martha subsequently becomes enraptured by Donny. She comes to the pub every day, saying that she is a lawyer and is just stopping for a moment, but ends up spending hours chattering at Donny. As Martha’s attachment to Donny grows, he becomes aware that she doesn’t simply have a crush on him, but is obsessed with him. It all comes to a head when he goes to perform a comedy show and Martha turns up.

From there on, the story spirals deeper and deeper into Martha and Donny’s psyches. Martha’s stalking escalates from emails to Facebook messages to physically stalking Donny at his home and stalking his family. We also discover more about Donny’s past and the trauma he’s experienced, which offers us an explanation of how he ended up working at a bar and living at his ex-girlfriend’s mom’s house. As Martha becomes more obsessive and even turns violent, Donny becomes more entangled with her in an attempt to gather enough evidence to use against her.

Richard Gadd Is a Master of Crushing Your Soul With ‘Baby Reindeer’

What’s so disarming about Baby Reindeer is how the narrative creeps up on you. Starting the series, Donny seems like an average dude. Yes, he’s being stalked by a woman who is mentally ill, but he’s not exactly a perfect man. As a comedian, his acts are awful and sometimes offensive. He is also lying to Teri (Nava Mau), the woman he’s dating, and seems to have some inherent transphobia when it comes to being seen with her. So, while it’s certain that Donny is a victim of Martha’s, he’s also got his own issues.

But as Baby Reindeer slowly peels back the layers of Donny’s life, previousassumptions no longer hold as much water. As Donny unravels, so too does his facade, and what we find underneath is absolutely devastating. Gadd offers a flashback episode, right near the midpoint of the series in Episode 4, that completely realigns our perspective of Donny. He’s not just some failed comedian who seems to be trapped in a dead-end job he hates; he’s a man haunted by serious sexual abuse and crippled by self-loathing and alienation from his own sexuality. Gadd is careful not to give much away leading up to this point, offering bits of comedic moments in the first three episodes to lure us into a false sense of safety.

The series, up until that moment, is serious but hasn’t become completely devastating. After Episode 4, we are now fully aware of Donny’s truth and the struggles he’s been facing. Recent breakups, struggles with his sexuality, difficulty in his career, and even his relationship with Martha are seen in a new light. It is absolutely soul-crushing to connect the dots of Donny’s life with the benefit of hindsight, and that’s where Gadd achieves brilliance.

Martha Isn’t Really the Villain of ‘Baby Reindeer’ — And That’s Good

Baby Reindeer‘s Martha is certainly not a good person. She is a seasoned and convicted stalker, but Gadd doesn’t paint her in a traditional light. She’s not as insidious as you might believe, and although you might find yourself screaming at the screen for Donny to just get away from her, it’s also not hard to imagine why Donny sympathizes with her. As viewers, we should revile Martha, especially when she gets worse and her crimes escalate. But it’s hard to forget that at the center of this disturbing character is a woman who is seriously mentally ill. You should feel bad for her, just like Donny does.

In fact, although Martha is Donny’s stalker and the cause of many of his problems, she’s not the true villain of the story. That title goes to Darrien (Tom Goodman-Hill), a serial rapist and monstrous figure. The series makes it clear that we are meant to feel conflicted about Martha, and the glimpses we get into her life when the mask slips show someone vulnerable and fragile. She can be incredibly cruel and manipulative, but that doesn’t prevent her from being a complex figure.

‘Baby Reindeer’s Performances Make the Show a Must-Watch

So much praise could be given to Richard Gadd, whose writing, voice, and acting make Baby Reindeer the masterpiece it is, but Jessica Gunning also deserves her flowers, playing the different facets of Martha superbly. One moment she’s cheery and awkwardly flirtatious, and the next moment she’s menacing and screaming expletives. Gunning captures the nuance of a character who could have very easily been a two-dimensional villain.

Alongside Gunning, Nava Mau is also fantastic and enchanting as Teri, Donny’s girlfriend, a voice of reason in his life. Given that Teri is confident in herself as a trans woman, she also seems too good to be true sometimes for Donny. Meanwhile, Tom Goodman-Hill captures Darrien’s bizarreness and arrogance as well as his cruelty and abuse. Goodman-Hill’s performance is flawlessly eerie, just watching him converse with Donny is enough to make your skin crawl. Of course, Gadd’s performance reigns supreme in this production. He gives his all in every scene, especially a monologue in the penultimate episode. The unabashed way the narration interrogates his inner thoughts, mixed with the way Donny presents himself and his slow physical deterioration over the time of the stalking, make the show memorable.

‘Baby Reindeer’ Is a Heavy Story That Needs To Be Told

One complaint I had after completing my full watch of the series was that the Netflix rating at the beginning of the episodes was simply not enough. Some scenes can be downright triggering for audiences. For people who are sensitive to sexual abuse, the series interrogates the feelings that come during and after abuse. It is an honest and thorough look at the complex emotions that a survivor is left with, as well as the complex relationship a survivor can have with their abuser.

While it’s a difficult story, it’s also one that is both beautifully told and important. At no point does Baby Reindeer ever feel like it’s wagging its finger in your face or trying to teach you a lesson disguised as a Netflix series. But, the frank and personal nature of the story ends up being a window into a man’s life and experiences that we don’t often see on film and television. For that reason, and so much more, Baby Reindeer deserves both its time in the limelight and the praise it’s getting. There’s nothing really like this series, and its unique story makes it vital to the television landscape.

Baby Reindeer is available to stream on Netflix in the U.S.

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