Based on a true story, seven-part Netflix series Baby Reindeer is an honest attempt to tell a story with feelings and courage, something which makes for compelling viewing

Nonika Singh

title as endearing as Baby Reindeer, and a subject as harrowing as stalking and rape. The seven-part Netflix series not only shows how a victim’s life is messed up, but also that of a perpetrator. Only not all crimes are of the same kind and not all accused can be put in the same bracket. Sexual violence is both insidious and universal and often cuts across gender, and stalkers come in different shapes and sizes. Here the victim is not a hapless woman, but a struggling comedian, Richard Gadd, as Donny. Before we get a peep into his life, we see him approaching cops. Authorities, however, do not find anything repugnant enough in his stalker’s countless emails or messages for them to take any action.

Flashback and we learn how Martha Scott (Jessica Gunning), the serial stalker, entered his life. His empathy for her and offer of a cup of tea soon transform into an obsessive fascination for him. Why it has taken him six months to report her too is kind of mysterious and unravels episode after episode. Soon we are led into his reasons, which at times appear inexplicable. Clearly, the feelings are not one-sided, even if his are not quite romantic but born out of sympathy, ‘I felt sorry for her.’ Somewhere the fact that in a city like London which ‘red carpets no one’ and when ‘you notice them noticing you’, you can’t help but enjoy the attention.

Besides, the real monster lies in his backstory, which is far darker. Compared to what someone else has done to him, Martha’s actions, though dangerous, as she attacks his trans-girlfriend Teri (Nava Mau) are nowhere near as reprehensible or unforgivable. Lust for success can often take us down the path we never intend to walk.

Based on a true story told in first person by the very man who has experienced it all, Richard Gadd bares the hurt and shame of a victim in a show written, created and starring himself. There is no attempt to camouflage his bisexual orientations or other sexually dysfunctional behaviour or make him seem like a classic victim ‘victim’. Gadd, himself an ambassador for We Are Survivors, a UK charity dedicated to helping male survivors of sexual abuse, tells us the way it is. In his own words, he was trapped in ‘self-hate’ which explains why he found it difficult to severe his toxic relationships. The answer to why can’t the victim call out the aggressor in the very first instance is hidden in this very anomaly of hate-attachment.

With explicit nude scenes and a discomfiting theme, though peppered with humour and some great one-liners, Baby Reindeer, is not always an easy watch. The assault scenes will make you squirm and queasy. To watch the psychological damage of not one, but two individuals takes more than just heart. But it’s not just Donny who has ambivalent feelings for Martha. The drama series makes you feel for her and that one could say is its core strength. Gunning looks pretty and pretty unhinged. Now you see her vulnerability, now her aggression and all of it makes her human if not humane.

Of course, the narrative ends on a tender note and the title of the series stands for the inherent human need to be comforted. Trauma is devastating, but often can form a twisted connection between two battered souls too. Watch it to understand how no holds barred honesty to tell a story with feelings and courage makes for compelling viewing. Coming out clean with spotlight on you requires some guts and on that count alone Gadd, who has previously recounted his story through a one-act play, needs to be applauded. Of course, the series with excellent soundtrack by Evgueni Galperine and Sacha Galperine, and songs by notable musicians, such as Happy Together by The Turtles, My Name is Trouble by Karen Ann, and Something’ Stupid by Frank Sinatra, holds your attention for weaving the many elements of a story told well, candid and upfront.