The Fall

My latest binge watch series on Netflix is The Fall starring Gillian Anderson and Jamie Dornan. In many ways it’s a conventional modern police procedural – serial killer (Dornan) tortures and murders women while brilliant cop (Anderson) leads a team trying to stop him. It certainly doesn’t lack for the common tropes of the genre. However, as this Atlantic article explains, it has some interesting things to say about feminism, female power and sexuality.

In some ways it reminds me of Prime Suspect, starring Helen Mirren, which I’ve written about previously. The difference is that Prime Suspect (a 90’s show) focused on Mirren dealing with the sexism and macho culture of the police. A lot of the drama derived from her trying to both catch the culprit while simultaneously dealing with her neanderthal colleagues. In contrast Anderson’s character operates in a far more modern police culture, where women can do a job without having to constantly prove themselves or face down sexist remarks. That leaves room to address more nuanced issues like consent, female sexuality and the Madonna/whore complex. It feels like progress that this kind of show can tackle these more nuanced issues, and not have to make the fact that a women is in a position of power the main dramatic element.

I was never a fan of the X-Files, and so never really got the cult that built up around Mulder and Scully. However, after watching this series, I can understand the appeal of Gillian Anderson. She’s a very talented actress, and it’s fun to watch her play a powerful, intelligent and sexually forceful character.