First Reviews of Under the Bridge, Starring Riley Keough and Lily Gladstone
Hulu's #UndertheBridge is a harrowing tale of teenage cruelty while also being one of the few true crime dramatizations to actually respect its victim; @annagovert reviews: https://t.co/rEIWISyLyo
- Paste Magazine (@PasteMagazine) April 16, 2024
• The show makes sure to tell victim Reena Virk's story with a focus on her home life and racism being a factor in her murder.
• Both depictions of fictional Cam (Lily Gladstone) and real life book author Rebecca Godfrey (Riley Keough) are compelling. Godfrey's depiction in the show is interesting considering Godfrey was closely involved with the series before her death from cancer in 2022.
• "While it is a triumph in its writing and pacing, it’s the performances that truly carry this series. Gladstone and Keough are phenomenal...Archie Panjabi is a true force as a mother at her wits’ end. But while the heavy hitters (perhaps expectedly) give tour de force performances, it’s the exceptional outings from the young cast that make this series shine."
• While it caused a bit of confusion when the news broke that Keough and Gladstone are being submitted under the Best Supporting banner at the 2024 Emmys, it’s understandable once you actually see the series. It's a true ensemble show.
‘Under the Bridge’ Review: Lily Gladstone and Riley Keough Don’t Fit in Hulu’s Emotional Teen Mystery https://t.co/zNSuvOLJoF
- TheWrap (@TheWrap) April 16, 2024
• The show is too focused on Lily Gladstone and Riley Keough, fresh off their award seasons, that they forget about other characters.
• "Vritika Gupta gives [victim] Reena an air of expectancy that endears the girl from first close-up. Gupta’s open demeanor throughout “Under the Bridge” makes Reena’s eventual fate all the more heartbreaking in signifying her lack of life experience and by extension, lack of opportunity to become a full-fledged person."
• Archie Panjabi gives the show’s best performance as Reena’s mother, Suman.
"Panjabi maintains an almost rigid reserve despite her character’s exasperation when Reena does not cooperate while alive, and even when Suman learns of her daughter’s death. Yet Panjabi subtly conveys the mother’s abject grief and devastation, delivering the show’s single most powerful moment in a short reaction shot."
REVIEW: “Under the Bridge” is an entertaining series, well-cast and well-acted, and featuring what is, at its core, a compelling story. However, two flaws keep it from being a complete success. https://t.co/cA5j2E45R6
- San Francisco Chronicle (@sfchronicle) April 16, 2024
• "It’s an entertaining series, well-cast and well-acted, and featuring what is, at its core, a compelling story."
• The two flaws: too-long without enough story, Lily Gladstone's fictional character in a true story.
• The teen actors are standouts.
A lot will be said about Riley Keough & Lily Gladstone (they deliver breathtaking performances) but Archie Panjabi’s work here can’t be understated. She’s incredible & might be the best performance of her career. Also the kids in this series both carry it & impress while doing so
- Sara Clements (@mildredsfierce) April 16, 2024
This is beside the point but Riley Keough and Lily Gladstone say “gay rights” whew wlw am I right
- Sara Clements (@mildredsfierce) April 16, 2024
UNDER THE BRIDGE is a gripping crime series, a show about teenage bullying & a story about grief. Lily Gladstone & Riley Keough give exceptional performances but it’s the portrayal of the Virk family and Vritika Gupta’s acting that’s particularly harrowing. A must-watch! pic.twitter.com/cczANxdFtL
- Zofia Wijaszka (@thefilmnerdette) April 16, 2024
UNDER THE BRIDGE Review: The Kids Are (Not) Alright In This Heartbreaking #Hulu Original Starring Extraordinary #LilyGladstone and #RileyKeough / Reviewed by @thefilmnerdette 🍅 ⬇️ READ BELOW https://t.co/qTfCEbhA4u
- Nerdspin (@nerdspin_) April 16, 2024
• "Although Under the Bridge covers a wide range of topics and storylines, Reena and her family’s story take center stage, and appropriately so...The portrayal of the Virk family in Under the Bridge sparks further discussion about bigotry and ignorance among Canadians towards immigrants. The series focuses on highlighting the truth about Reena’s case to raise awareness and respect for her."
• Keough and Gladstone are unstoppable as the stars of the show and Keough’s portrayal of the real Rebecca Godfrey is "a revelation."
• Episode 3 titled “Blood Oath”, directed by Catherine Hardwicke and written by Jihan Crowther is a standout as well as the series finale titled “Mercy Alone”, directed by Kevin Phillips and written by Samir Mehta.
Riley Keough and Lily Gladstone Anchor Hulu’s Heartbreaking Murder Mystery ‘Under the Bridge’: TV Review https://t.co/NTzLjvI2Nb
- Variety (@Variety) April 16, 2024
• The series is dark and gripping.
• The series is careful not to spotlight the murder visually.
• "Sharp and devastating, with a ’90s hip-hop soundtrack laced throughout, “Under the Bridge” is an absorbing examination of cruelty, why some people receive empathy over others and how our own biases can prevent us from recognizing the truth."
'Under the Bridge' Review: Lily Gladstone and Riley Keough Star in Hulu's Timid True-Crime Drama https://t.co/GvgXrx1K7l
- The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) April 16, 2024
• The Hollywood Reporter calls the show timid, saying "the writing ultimately proves too vague and too muddled in its messaging to shed new light on much of anything."
• Though Gladstone and Keough’s chemistry grounds the story’s emotions, it’s their younger costars who truly get to shine.
• "Reena herself gets lost in the shuffle, despite copious flashbacks that detail not only the months leading up to her passing but the decades of family history that came before. As charming as Gupta is onscreen, the writing rarely transcends a generic portrait of adolescent angst."
• "Who killed Reena, and how, Under the Bridge does eventually tell you. Why it happened, it dares only to ask - but not, in the end, to answer."
‘Under The Bridge’ Review: Riley Keough, Lily Gladstone Ground Heartbreaking True Crime Mini-Series https://t.co/yrKP7c64mt pic.twitter.com/12VpU9bQux
- The Playlist (@ThePlaylistNews) April 16, 2024
• "“Under the Bridge” could have been just another tale of bullying gone too far. Still, it’s more ambitious than that, seeking to humanize and understand everyone involved and recognizing that these teenagers who have been forced to act like adults at too young an age are victims too, even if it doesn’t entirely excuse the choices they’ve made."
• Keough and Gladstone are giving performers, always moving aside to let their younger costars shine.
Under The Bridge review: A hard-hitting, scattered true-crime drama https://t.co/lnVZOVKTPo pic.twitter.com/e2ivjNkPTS
- The A.V. Club (@TheAVClub) April 16, 2024
• Under the Bridge is indeed triggering and difficult to digest.
• "Under The Bridge struggles to weave everyone’s journey equally compellingly, making it sag at intervals and stifling the crucial points it wants to make."
• Gladstone and Keough are great.
'Under the Bridge' Review - Lily Gladstone's True Crime Series Is Spectacular
https://t.co/ILPhaFqXpL
- Collider (@Collider) April 16, 2024
• Lily Gladstone gives a mesmerizing performance. An Emmy nomination is all but guaranteed. "She is not just one of the best performers of her generation, but one of the best to ever do it."
• Under the Bridge is a refreshing take on true crime, delving into community dynamics and personal struggles with authenticity rather than merely aiming for shock. The series navigates dark themes without veering into exploitative territory.
• One standout episode focuses on Reena’s parents' journey.
Riley Keough and Lily Gladstone give "Under the Bridge" an unnerving, deeply gut-wrenching sense of volatility and violence, one that makes the series impossible to look away from.https://t.co/d1w6O7xu3A
- Daily Beast's Obsessed (@beastobsessed) April 16, 2024
• Though Under the Bridge's two adult lead actors Keough and Gladstone are compelling, it’s the teen actors who run away with the series.
• In particular Chloe Guidry as Josephine is a standout among the kids.
"Guidry’s distressing performance is totally beyond her years. She sizes up every single situation and interaction is studied, calculated, and executed with astonishing precision. In all of my years watching teenagers behaving badly on television, no one has struck fear in my heart the way Guidry does in Under the Bridge."
• "Under the Bridge alters some of the names involved in Reena’s murder as well as some of the story to make it more of a dramatic adaptation. While some might find these modifications objectionable-particularly given that Virk’s murder spawned national moral panic in Canada, leading to an excess of reporting on bullying and aggression among teenage girls-they ultimately aid the show’s larger thematic framework."
Under the Bridge premieres tomorrow on Hulu with two episodes, then a new episode weekly.
Sources: [Spoiler (click to open)]https://twitter.com/mildredsfierce/status/1780264933319393633 / https://twitter.com/sfchronicle/status/1780261134869598620 / https://twitter.com/TheWrap/status/1780264921822810447 / https://twitter.com/thefilmnerdette/status/1780268800736411948 / https://twitter.com/PasteMagazine/status/1780265279806746691 / https://twitter.com/nerdspin_/status/1780266801152356860 / https://twitter.com/THR/status/1780264920384438321 / https://twitter.com/Variety/status/1780264957608681659 / https://twitter.com/ThePlaylistNews/status/1780265191969816780 / https://twitter.com/TheAVClub/status/1780268982437830986 / https://twitter.com/Collider/status/1780265719113846951 / https://twitter.com/beastobsessed/status/1780311757535285276