Eric - a Netflix Series review

Back in the day when I first became aware of the talented English actor Benedict Cumberbatch - I think it was when he was playing Sherlock Holmes -  I had trouble remembering his name. It kept coming out Cummerbund Bandersnatch.  Since then, I've been blown away by the astonishing breadth of his talents as actor and public figure and become a big fan. I won't go into the lengthy list of his accomplishments; you can find them listed on his Wikipedia page. 

He's on my mind at the moment because I've just finished the six-part Netflix Series, Eric, in which he plays the role of Vincent Anderson, a man with exceptional artistic talents. He is the father of Edgar (Ivan Howe), an equally talented nine-year-old who yearns in vain for his father's attention. The neglect leads to devastating consequences; the son goes missing and for a long time we don't know whether he has run away or been kidnapped and the story evolves into a thriller. Two other characters play major roles in the drama: Cassie, Vincent's wife, Edgar's mother (Gaby Hoffman), and a missing persons police detective, Michael Ledroit (McKinley Belcher III). Driving the plot is the fact that Edgar has had to witness regular violent conflicts between his father and mother and the fact that Detective Ledroit, known as Micky, has to relive another kidnapping case eleven months earlier where the victim died.

Some of the plot line can come across as trite or pedantic. Micky is black, as was the former kidnap victim, and he suspects not only that white racist NYPD cops were involved, but that his immediate surpervisor's refusal to let him investigate Edgar's disappearance properly is somehow connected.  This is the 1980s, Micky is gay and his lover is dying of AIDS, and the racism, no surprise, is accompanied by homophobia. But most of the tension stems from watching Vincent fall prey to alcoholism and drugs, even becoming a suspect in his own son's disappearance at one point. This is where BC adds even greater acting chops to his bulging list of accomplishments.

Besides Vincent, Cassie, Edgar and Micky, there is a fifth major character, the one the series is named for: Eric.  Vincent is the creator of a kid's television show called Good Day, Sunshine, a puppet show widely known across the country (think Sesame Street). When the producers insist the show needs a new character to boost ratings, Vincent decides that puppet should be Eric, a furry monster invented by his son, hoping that Edgar will see the character and understand that his father is trying to reconnect with his lost son and want to come home.

In his drunken stupors Vincent begins to see Eric as a real character and talks aloud to him, even in the presence of others, leading them to conclude that he has lost his mind. Eric plays the role of Vincent's conscience, uttering one harsh bit of self-criticism after another.

The plot gets a bit woozy at the end. I won't spoil things by revealing how the story progresses toward a conclusion. And I can't guarantee that everybody will find it in their hearts to forgive the character flaws of Vincent; they are seriously reprehensible.

But that, in a nutshell, is why I think so highly of Benedict Cumberbatch's performance. I don't think I've ever seen a character this troubled and difficult to forgive that I felt I could relate to. Few actors, I think, could pull that off.

But then I've already shown myself to be among those who believe BC is that good.

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