A Murder at the End of the World Review: Perfect Mystery You Don’t Expect on FX Network
Cast: Emma Corrin, Clive Owen, Harris Dickinson, Brit Marling, Alice Braga, Joan Chen
Created By: Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij
Streaming Platform: FX
Filmyhype.com Ratings: 4/5 (four stars) [yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
A Murder at the End of the World is one series whose identity is complicated to identify with certainty but cannot fail to capture attention, fascinate, and give something distant from what has already been seen and heard. A highly respectable ensemble cast, where the protagonist is the queer actress Emma Corrin, one of the most prominent faces of her generation, in a mystery where we find rich metaphors on current society and the vision of our future. The final result? Strange, disturbing, and not at all bad. A group of wealthy guests gathers after an evening full of poorly hidden dislikes, vitriolic barbs, and banal small talk, and someone dies. Who could it have been? A Murder at the End of the World, a 7-episode miniseries created by Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij and out on FX starting November 14, proposes the most classic crime novel plots.
It is with the lysergic and dark notes of the Doors that the story we tell you in the review of A Murder at the End of the World opens the FX series composed of seven episodes set in the remote and isolated compound of a solitary billionaire. The series debuts with the first two episodes, followed by a new episode each week. A Murder at the End of the World is a highly anticipated series; it is created and directed by Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij, the two minds behind the success of The OA, a very particular series (loved or hated, in no uncertain terms), which aired on Netflix and then canceled after the second season. A Murder at the End of the World is a seemingly more traditional series, an investigative thriller. But it is a very particular story, told with that suspended and existential atmosphere that takes us back to some moments of The OA. It’s about finding a culprit, but also about finding yourself. In short, it a yellow but with many other colors inside.
A Murder at the End of the World: Story Plot
A Murder at the End of the World features the young Darby Hart (Emma Corrin), a writer, amateur sleuth, and hacker, who has gained small fame for her determination and investigative talent. The turning point in the editorial sector, however, does not arrive and it is therefore with double surprise that she welcomes the invitation from the supreme hi-tech guru Andy Ronson (Clive Owen) to join him for a special and exclusive event at a resort in the far snow-covered north of Iceland. At the event, she discovers that six other rather original characters have been invited, who beyond the personal success achieved, have in common that they have a mindset and an ability to go beyond the limits of the canon equal to hers.
However, it is with incredible surprise that Darby discovers that among the guests there is also her ex Bill Farrah (Harris Dickinson) who, after leaving her years earlier, has made a name for himself in the world of design and art. Together with his wife Lee (Marling) and his son, Ronson brought them together because his objective is to seek a possible solution to the many problems that currently see humanity heading at full speed towards the climatic and economic Apocalypse. However, the following morning one of the guests (no spoilers from us, you won’t know anything else) is found dead. Darby quickly finds evidence that something or someone is hiding among them with anything but peaceful intentions, but she cannot imagine who and what she will be up against.
A Murder at the End of the World bears the signature of none other than Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij, to whom we owe an unfinished masterpiece like The OA, and here they confirm their ability to be at the same time faithful to what the public expects from a mystery-thriller and at the same time capable of crafting a compelling, original, enjoyable story and yet capable of moving towards absolutely intelligent and different from the norm genre experimentation. This, combined with excellent direction and an ability to connect to a dark, oppressive atmosphere, with a narrative structure in which present and past never casually intertwine, will undoubtedly make it a point of reference for the contemporary genre.
A Murder at the End of the World Review and Analysis
A Murder at the End of the World seems to have been created by some Agatha Christie fanatic because one of the familiar elements that are immediately taken up here is suspicion within a small circle. Darby knows there’s a killer, she knows it’s someone inside the resort and that group of brilliant minds. But who is he and why did he take action? To all this, we add the very current theme of AI, expressed here in a way that is both realistic and probable, yet not without a disturbing charm, given their direct connection with that future that we are trying to create in the snow. If Corin skillfully portrays a weirdo who is much less confident (fortunately) than many modern female characters of the genre, almost a mix between Clarice Starling and Lisbeth Salander, Dickinson is equally excellent in creating an extraordinary chemistry with her. and ambiguous, above all giving a more thriller edge to the whole. We cannot fail to mention the revived Clive Owen, who creates a disturbing and effective character although perhaps not very new in the conception of recent years.
Capable of giving and taking away certainties with extreme ease, of creating suspense and not giving points of reference, A Murder at the End of the World often winks at the old thriller that was, at the concept of the unknown and unseen danger as a primary source of fear and tension. Although we often see traces of Conan Doyle, Fincher, and even a master like David Lynch, the series’ ability to keep the promises of entertainment that is both complex but not artificial is largely maintained. Of course, you have to love the style halfway between dark prophecy and cynicism of the showrunner duo, but even for those who have never met them, A Murder at the End of the World will be able to give emotions and guarantee what many products of this type on the market today small screen they no longer know how to give: the pleasure of an authentic mystery.
The innate investigative and technological skills make Darby one of the best characters in the series, well written and played magnificently by Emma Corrin. Thanks to this role she was able to demonstrate her versatility in playing different characters (most will remember her for playing Lady Diana in The Crown) and enrich her roles with skill and intelligence. In addition to Corrin, however, in A Murder at the End of the World, we have other actors with great skills. One above all is certainly Clive Owen, in the role of billionaire Andy Ronson, a mysterious and charismatic role with which, thanks to a glance, he would make the most daring of men tremble. Together with him, Harris Dickinson (Triangle of Sadness) as Bill, demonstrates his abilities and confirms himself as one of the most promising young actors on the English scene. All the characters have their charm and can boast a characterization worthy of a series of the caliber of A Murder at the End of the World.
The title of the FX miniseries refers to the location in which it is set, in fact, by the end of the world we do not mean a place at the end of time but rather Iceland, an isolated but undoubtedly fascinating country. A fantastic photograph contrasts the warm lights of the minimal rooms of the Hotel with the cold white of the exterior which creates a combination of heat and cold with a strong impact, capable of transmitting anguish and isolation. In short, we liked these first five episodes a lot and, if the series were to maintain this level, A Murder at the End of the World rightfully enter the list of the best series of this television season. Now we just have to wait for the release of the new episodes to discover new details on the case! We look forward to seeing you at the next review!
A Murder at the End of the World makes contamination between genres its signature: the central story set in the present, inspired by the model created by Agatha Christie, is counterpointed by flashbacks, which instead refer to the Nordic-style hard-boiled thriller -European. The particularity and value of the series lie not so much in the switch between different genres (romance and the dystopian story with a technological background à la Black Mirror also appear), but in the ease with which the creators bring home a unitary and coherent story, although supported by a potpourri of contrasting suggestions. The embarrassing banalizations regarding technology and the borderline absurd simplification of the thriller genre must be looked at with the right indulgence, focusing on the general picture and not on a single detail. Marling and Batmanglij, rather than credibility tout court, seem to be interested in the coherence of the characters, understood more than anything else as tools to effectively represent the basic idea of the series.
This emerges little by little, until it explodes in the two shocking final episodes, very enjoyable even in the eyes of the most skeptical spectator. Darby on the one hand, with his idealism and his obsessive search for truth and justice, and Andy on the other, a tormented and serious version of Elon Musk, are the expression of different but equally extreme attitudes. The thematic core of the work is entrusted to the contrast between these two figures, centered on the potentially catastrophic implications of a technology that feeds on the paranoia and thirst for control of its users. The conduct to be taken as a model is that adopted by Bill Farrah’s character, endowed, yes, with a certain candor, but with his feet firmly planted on the ground, aware that not everything has a logical explanation, even more so if you are talking of choices and actions dictated by instinct or human fallibility.
Upon closer inspection, A Murder at the End of the World talks about humanity more than machines and, precisely for this reason, the panorama it describes is even more desolate: governed by atavistic fears and inappropriate emotions, grappling with a society incapable of coping with our insecurities, we rely on computers, hoping to find in them the reassurances that no one else can give us. However, the topicality of the topic, combined with the urgency of delivering to the public a compelling and stimulating product, must have led to the main flaw of A Murder at the End of the World: verbosity. The numerous superfluous and boring digressions (especially in the central episodes) rather than adding interest, detract from the effectiveness of the story. Despite this verbosity – seventy minutes per episode are too many for a product of this kind, the series remains miraculously anchored to its thematic fulcrum, which is already quite difficult and delicate in itself. Even in a sometimes-rambling way, the series manages to communicate a good dose of anxiety.
Whoever is behind the camera knows what he is doing, especially when it comes to effectively outline the atmosphere of isolation, made even more suggestive by the extensive use of long shots, with the insignificant human figures that are lost in the indifferent majesty of the Norse landscape. Aesthetics is certainly a very pleasant way to reach the crux of the matter: we have not yet reached the extremes described by the series, but we are close. Just think of the very current debate on artificial intelligence and Chat GPT, concerning which A Murder at the End of the World takes a clear and highly agreeable position: Darby Hart’s parable encourages us not to demonize these tools, but to use them with detachment and clarity, without expecting to find in them worthy substitutes for human compassion and reasoning. The story avoids providing answers to the problem but suggests between the lines the only possible solution: rediscover empathy and return to enjoying contact with others, while maintaining the cynicism necessary to accept that evil in the world exists and is not the result of no algorithm, but only of the weaknesses and irreparable bugs of the human soul.
A Murder at the End of the World: The Last Words
A Murder at the End of the World is an excellent murder mystery worthy of an Agatha Christie story but in a modern style, with technological and current implications. Emma Corrin plays an interesting character, defined as the Sherlock Holmes of Generation Z with innate investigative skills. The series manages to maintain high interest in the first five episodes even if, at the moment, nothing is resolved yet. As we explain in the review of A Murder at the End of the World, it is a traditional series, an investigative thriller. But it is a very particular story, told with that suspended and existential atmosphere that takes us back to some moments of The OA. It’s about finding a culprit, but also about finding yourself. In short, it a yellow but with many other colors inside.
A Murder at the End of the World Review: Perfect Mystery You Don't Expect on FX Network - Filmyhype
Director: Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij
Date Created: 2023-11-14 13:16
4
Pros
- The series is beautifully shot and has a unique and stylish aesthetic.
- The performances are all excellent, with Marling giving a particularly standout performance as Darby.
- The mystery is well-plotted and suspenseful, with plenty of twists and turns.
- The series raises interesting questions about artificial intelligence, climate change, and the nature of reality.
Cons
- The series can be a bit slow-paced at times.
- The ending is a bit ambiguous.
