IT started with one cup of tea. No-one could have predicted the 41,071 emails, 350 hours of voicemails, 744 tweets, 46 Facebook messages, four fake accounts and 106 pages of letters that would follow.
Netflix’s new mini-series Baby Reindeer was released less than two weeks ago, rapidly becoming the streaming service’s number one TV show in the UK and US and at time of writing boasts a rarely-spotted Rotten Tomatoes score of 100%.
A word-of-mouth hit written by and starring Richard Gadd, Baby Reindeer is the autobiographical story about his life and experience of being stalked in his early twenties. The streaming show is drawn from Gadd’s original one-man play which he performed at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2019.
Gadd plays a fictionalised version of himself as Donny Dunn, a struggling comedian working a dead-end job in a bar. One day whilst on shift he meets Martha (played by Jessica Gunning), a frumpy middle-aged woman who seems to be having a worse time than he is.
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Donny offers her a cup of tea to cheer her up. When she explains she can’t afford it, he gives it to her on the house which immediately lightens her mood and unbeknownst to him, sparks her new obsession.
The show follows the negative ramifications of this kind act and how Donny’s subsequent warped relationship with Martha forces him to confront other things going on in his life.
Soon Martha is coming to the bar daily and sitting through Donny’s shifts and giving him the pet name ‘Baby Reindeer’ because of his big eyes and “cute wee tush”.
When Donny eventually tries to put some space between them, Martha is unwilling to let go of the illusion she has dreamt up about what they mean to one another. Instead, she begins infiltrating every aspect of Donny’s life.
Martha’s character is well constructed by Gadd and Gunning’s portrayal is mesmerising to watch. In many ways it’s reminiscent of Kathy Bates’s performance in Stephen King’s Misery with her volatile mood swings and erratic behaviour.
Although it is a stalker story it is unique and fresh with twists and perspectives that haven’t been explored before.
For example, Netflix’s You follows fictional character Joe Goldberg (played by Penn Badgley) as he falls in love and develops an extreme obsession with various different women. You very much romanticises the idea of stalking, portraying Joe as ‘dangerously charming’ and attractive but also making it clear that he is the antagonist of the piece.
Baby Reindeer, however, is far more realistic in its depiction, highlighting the messiness of stalking and how it isn’t always black and white.
It’s rare that we see a male being stalked and harassed by a woman and even rarer that we see a man be subjected to unwanted sexual attention. Baby Reindeer deals with the complicated, psychological strain of such events in a way that is uncomfortable but direct
Although Donny is victimised by Martha, Gadd uses him as way of shining a light on this morally grey area.
Episode four rewinds the clock by five years on Donny’s life, and gives a searing account of the circumstances that inform his present state of mind. Through this experience the audience learn why Donny makes certain choices during Martha’s harassment and allows himself to be flattered by her constant attention.
It is a vulnerable, exposing and candid account of varied abuses Gadd has suffered but at the same time discusses them in a way which is often avoided.
It’s rare that we see a male being stalked and harassed by a woman and even rarer that we see a man be subjected to unwanted sexual attention. The complicated, psychological strain of such events is dealt with in a way that is uncomfortable but direct.
Ultimately, Baby Reindeer is an outstanding piece of television. What starts off as a dark, almost cringey comedy unfolds into an even darker, intricately layered commentary on abuse, mental illness, trauma and shame. Gadd delivers a brave and profound performance. Baby Reindeer is hands down the best (and only) series I have binged so far this year.
