sasha_feather | Alias Grace

jesse_the_k watched "Alias Grace" on Netflix recently. It's a 6-episode series based on the Margaret Atwood novel. We loved it: it's gripping and beautifully shot. The show uses a deliberate pace to build and hold tension.

Set in the mid-1800s, the show follows the life story of Grace, an Irish-Canadian servant woman imprisoned for murder. A psychologist, Dr. Jordan, visits her to try and determine if she is sane, and the story follows their sessions, using voice over and flashbacks.

Content notes for: some brief but brutal violence, including state violence in a prison; a botched abortion; a chicken is shown being killed.

Some spoilers below

I suppose the point of the story is that we can't really know what happened. After the death of her best friend, Grace is trapped in bad circumstances and has no one who is truly on her side.

It's possible that she is a multiple (Dissociative Identity Disorder); that she is possessed by a spirit; or that she is lying. There is evidence supporting all of these theories.

Grace seems to have no warm feelings for any of the men around her, except for the peddler Jeremiah (later called Jerome). Her main emotional relationship is with Mary, and we see her at one point reach out to touch Mary's hair. She takes the job for Nancy because Nancy looks like, and reminds her of, Mary. When Grace arrives at the farm and Nancy does not greet her (but instead shows affection for Mr. Kinnear), Grace feels a pain in her heart.

For me, this reads as Grace being queer-- longing for closer relationships with women.

I liked the small moments of the supernatural, the suggestions of magic. It was creepy and effective.