Review: The Sinner on Netflix

After I returned from our house in the country, I've been dog sitting.

Freddie is a delight—most of the time. He's 1 year old so he's basically still a puppy with a puppy's energy and playfulness. 

If he sees something, he wants it in his mouth. Pretty much like a toddler.

What that means is I must keep a watchful eye on him because he's large enough that he can reach the counter top and just about any place he fancies.

Binging on Netflix

It's amazing how crafty Freddie is in getting to something that has been put away to keep him from getting it. So there has been so writing this week, but a lot of Netflix watching and Freddie monitoring.

That brings me to my review of The Sinner, the third season of stories that are part  suspenseful police procedural and part psychological suspense, starring Bill Pullman, who was nominated for Best Actor by Screenactors Guild and Critics Choice. The Sinner has been nominated several times for best this or that.

Review of The Sinner

Billed as an anthology series that analyzes why seemingly ordinary people commit brutal crimes. This is the third season of the series which is noted for its plot twists and twisted characters. 

Actually, the "seasons" are not referred to as season 1, 2, or 3. Instead, they're named for the character who is the subject of a murder investigation. 

Season 1 was named Cora with Jessica Biel starring as Cora. Season 2 was Julian with Elisha Henig in that role. Season 3, which I'm reviewing, is named Jamie, played superbly by Matt Bomer who really displays his acting skills.

What ties all the seasons together is Harry Ambrose, an experienced police detective headed toward retirement, whether he wants it or not. Ambrose is portrayed so well by Bill Pullman that it's difficult to imagine another actor in this role.

Detective Ambrose is the one who investigates the crimes that are the centerpiece of each season. 

Ambrose is obsessive when it comes to solving the murder or murders, but solving them, for him, means understanding the psychology that drives the person to commit murder.

In watching movies and TV series about brilliant detectives, one must wonder if any genius sleuth has a functional relationship with a lover or spouse or children/grandchildren. It seems not.

I'd be interested to know if real live police detectives are as single-minded and obsessive as the fictional ones. 

Jamie, the recent installment of The Sinner, is creepy and disturbing. Matt Bomer is amazing in his characterization of a man beset by his demons. 

I'd look for Matt Bomer to be nominated for best actor for Jamie. He's that good. As Jamie, he makes you hate him, fear him, know he's going to be evil but wish he'd find his way back to normal, and even feel sorry for him. 

The viewer feels Jamie would have lived a normal life if he had never met Nick, a psychopath who is basically a nihilist. Nick, compellingly portrayed by Chris Messina, knows just how to tempt Jamie and leads him into some truly weird crap. Suffice it to say, Nick fills some emptiness inside Jamie. (Messina is too believable as Nick, yet he makes you feel sorry for him—you'll know that scene when you see it.)

If you've read much about psychopathic killers, you probably know that a psychopath with a dominant personality looks for a weaker person to dominate. True crime annals are filled with stories like that.

At some point, Jamie breaks aways from the spell cast by Nick and tries to have a normal life, marrying, and seemingly happy, about to become a father. But his past with Nick is ever-present in his thoughts.

If you're looking for compelling characters, great acting, moody suspense, psychological creepiness, and emotional truth that pushes all of your buttons, watch The Sinner, but start at the beginning with Cora. 

Watch them in order because each story adds to Ambrose's emotional growth. The first story begins in Dorchester, New York, where Ambrose is a police detective. The second story, Julian is set in Keller, New York, the town where Harry is from. Jamie, the third story, is back in Dorchester.

Takeaway Truth

Each story or season of The Sinner is brilliant. To me, it's Pullman's best acting ever, and he should have won the Emmy, Golden Globe, and all the other best actor awards.