Echoes Review: Netflix Series Is Quite Dark and Full Of Suspense! Read Full Review
Starring: Michelle Monaghan, Matt Bomer, Karen Robinson
Director: Vanessa Gazy
Streaming Platform: Netflix
Filmyhype.com Ratings: 3.5/5 (three and half stars) [yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
A new original miniseries, Echoes, will be available on Netflix from August 19th. Created by Thirteen creators Brian Yorkey, the TV series has seven episodes. With numerous crime elements, the story has a psychological thriller slant with some parts that result in incredible and horror. The protagonists are two identical twin sisters – Gina and Leni – used to exchanging identities since childhood. Both are played by the same actress, Michelle Monaghan known for The Path and Gone Baby Gone. In this hot summer on Netflix could not miss a thriller miniseries with to further warm my spirits.
They are usually Spanish, or Mexican, this time it’s up to Echoes who is a bit ambiguous by origin. Surely it is considered an Australian original gave the production of EndemolShine Banks Australia and the origin of the tip of authors and writers. Vanessa Gazy created and wrote the series, with Brian Yorkey and Quinton Peples in the role of showrunner. Echoes, however, was shot in the United States, in North Carolina to be precise, and that allowed her to attract actors who didn’t have to fly thousands of miles from home to shoot the series. Actors quite known in the serial world and not: the protagonist is played by Michelle Monaghan, and her husband by Matt Bomer to name two. Echoes is made up of 7 episodes that will all be available today on Netflix.
Echoes Review: The Story
It is also a bit complicated to tell what the series is about; we choose not to use the official description because in our opinion it gives a detail that perhaps could have been avoided. The series starts with twins Leni and Gina who lost their mother as children and now live far away. Leni has stayed home and takes care of her estate with her husband, while Gina has escaped to Los Angeles where she is a writer. The two sisters, despite the distance, have a good relationship, they know everything about each other’s lives, but this contact will be interrupted when Leni disappears into thin air. So, Gina will return to North Carolina to look for clues as to the reasons for her sister’s disappearance. And from that moment chaos will sink into their lives.
While the theme of the double is interesting, it is probably quite overused. The role exchanges between the twins are so frequent that the spectators are not always able to understand who is on stage. If on the one hand, this contributes to creating a mysterious atmosphere, on the other it does not make clear some fundamental passages of the story and consequently, it is difficult to get passionate about the plot. For example, in the final episodes, there are some twists with a lot of potentials. However, they lose some of their effect on the public because the developments are too confusing.
Echoes Review and Analysis
Echoes could have been a TV movie, it could have been a well-distributed, intriguing thriller, but in the end, it’s nothing. The series, for being a thriller, misplaced the number of revelations during the episodes. He almost made fun of everyone for four episodes, until, inexplicably, they decided to put everything on the plate making the before and after practically useless. So much so that we have seen 6 episodes out of 7 and perhaps it would even be superfluous to finish it.
Echoes could be an erotic thriller, like the many presents on the platform, great for the Top Ten, but it doesn’t even push on the erotic or romantic part. The series probably begins by trying to explain, digressing, the human component that moves the protagonists, trying to establish points of view that then decides, inexplicably, to overturn with an episode that simply adds things that have not been deliberately put on the plate before, just for the fun of it. In this sense, Echoes could have been a film made up of the fifth episode, we would have suffered less teasing, because adding details to a story, completely upsetting the previously built system, does not mean having made a twist or even a thriller.
The theme of the double is undoubtedly the pivot of the miniseries, already anticipated by the title Echoes. Leni and Gina are two homozygous twins, their appearance differs only in their outfit and their hairstyle. They have very different lives: Gina is a writer and lives in the city with her husband, while Leni works on a farm in the countryside with her family. The twins have been exchanging identities for several years, right on their birthday. Leni and Gina know each other perfectly but hide important secrets from the rest of the world. Switching roles allowed them to get away with it even after committing very serious actions. But everything gets complicated when Leni suddenly disappears.
Echoes reinterpret originally a theme typical of horror/crime literature and filmography. Since the times of Inseparables and The Shining, the theme of the double manages to arouse suspense and anxiety in the spectators. The subtle and characterizing interpretation of Michelle Monaghan largely contributes to the success of the two characters. We can distinctly recognize Leni and Gina from their attitudes, or at least we delude ourselves that we can.
In addition to the central core consisting of Leni and Gina, Echoes features numerous secondary characters. In general, the latter appears well built and helps to better delineate the figures of the twins. First, Leni and Gina’s husbands highlight the different personalities of the protagonists, as well as highlight their inability not to share the sentimental aspect of their lives. Jack – Leni’s husband – introduces himself as a countryman with a tenacious and decisive character, while Charlie is a man of letters with delicate ways. Furthermore, the elder sister of the two twins, Claudia, shows herself as a character initially hidden: in reality, her story hides an essential dark secret in the plot. In the end, Dylan James turns out to be a highly mysterious character, convincingly developed and suitable for creating suspense.
From the very beginning, the atmosphere of Echoes is quite dark and full of suspense. The series doesn’t adhere to the horror genre, but it still has many elements. First, are undoubtedly the rural settings that take on a menacing aura in incredible situations. In this sense, Leni and Jack’s farm is a truly apt scenario, as is the village church. In addition, the frequent twists and turns and unsettling scenes generally keep the audience’s attention alive. Echoes has a fast pace, supported by quick and essential editing. The suspense and the mystery assert themselves as the protagonists of the series, even if sometimes, to reach them, few credible scenes are presented.
In fact – in addition to the unresolved police cases and the dark details about the protagonists’ past – sometimes the effect of mystery is obtained with unlikely narrative junctions. For example, in certain passages of the series, it is unrealistic that Leni and Gina exchange lives without warning with relative ease, practically making no mistakes in interpreting each other.
One of the most striking aspects of Echoes is precisely the relationship between the two twin protagonists and the depth with which it is told. In addition to forming the basis of the crime and horror stories of the series, the relationship between Leni and Gina impresses with its complexity. First, it represents the only sincere relationship that the two women have. Affection and extreme confidence are often overwhelmed by the sense of possession and repressed rancor. Even if Leni and Gina are the same, they have radically different temperaments as they show from an early age. Precisely the background of their childhood makes the plot more compelling and opens the doors to surprising twists…
Echoes Review: The Last Words
Echoes tell the theme of the double subtly and originally, through the figure of the twins Leni and Gina. There is no shortage of horror elements and suspenseful scenes, in a complete thriller storyline. Michelle Monaghan raises the bar with her portrayal, supported by compelling supporting characters. However, the frequent repetition of the same narrative mechanisms makes the series chaotic and less compelling to follow.
