The Girlfriend

It's not unusual for a mother to think no one is good enough to marry her son, but that idea takes a sinister turn in the thriller “The Girlfriend”.

Robin Wright stars as rich, successful Laura, whose son, Daniel (Laurie Davidson) introduces her to his fiancée, Cherry, played by Olivia Cooke. Laura thinks Cherry is hiding something and is not what she seems.

Perhaps she saw Cooke as the scheming Alicent in House of the Dragon? As Laura's suspicions grow, we are led to wonder if she is being jealous, overprotective and paranoid – and looking down on the upwardly-mobile Cherry.

Or maybe, she's right. Wright also directs several episodes of the show, which is based on Michelle Francis' 2017 novel.

Like the source material it's based on, this series is best enjoyed for what it is: a scandalous (albeit sometimes silly) mystery, designed to be entertaining above anything else. And to that end, it's a rousing success.

From the moment she walks through the door, Laura has a strong mistrust of Cherry, although it isn't initially clear whether that's a warranted hunch or a projection of her own issues; chiefly, a fear of being replaced and an underlying classism.

For its part, the show keeps our allegiances shifting with its superbly executed narrative structure, which splits each episode between Laura and Cherry's points-of-view – even revisiting the same scenes from their conflicting perspectives.

These moments are purposefully inconsistent, both to disorient the viewer and accurately reflect how certain statements or gestures can be wildly misinterpreted when two people become clouded by their frustration and rage.

As a result, both Wright and Cooke get turns at playing the harassed victim and the calculating villain, doing so with aplomb, while never losing sight of the core traits, values and motivations of their characters.

Davidson completes a strong trio as their sought after prize, Daniel; as handsome, alluring and privileged as he might be, one can't help but feel the most sorry for this lost creature as he casually strolls into every deceptive bear trap put in front of him. Bless.

Motherland's Tanya Moodie is charismatic as ever in the role of Laura's close friend and confidante, Isabella, although it seems quite apparent that this is another instance of the 'Black best friend' trope rearing its head.

This archetype refers to any Black character whose sole purpose is to serve a white character's story, either by providing comic relief, exposition, emotional support or some other function, while having very little in the way of their own business.

Both Isabella and her daughter, Brigitte (Shalom Brune-Franklin) – Daniel's childhood friend – strike as cases of this trope in action, which is disappointing to see after more than a decade of its recognition in mainstream media.

Moodie and Brune-Franklin certainly do fine jobs with what they're given, as do Karen Henthorn and Waleed Zuaiter in the somewhat underwritten roles of Cherry's mother, Tracey, and Daniel's father, Howard.

The relative shallowness of the supporting characters doesn't derail the show as, for the most part, it is laser-focused on the rivalry between Laura and Cherry anyway, which is deliriously fun to watch escalate in all manner of strange and sinister ways.

Indeed, whatever The Girlfriend lacks in plausibility, it certainly makes up for in watchability, as the heightened and (at times) darkly comedic conspiracy never fails to grip the attention.

Alas, its bleakly catastrophic ending – heavily foreshadowed from the opening flash-forward – proves to be a tad deflating after such a gleefully deranged ride, but still, you won't regret giving five-and-a-bit hours to this slick, stylish trip.