There\u2019s no denying it \u2013 Shining Girls<\/a> has a killer concept.<\/p>\n The problem is, to even talk about it could be considered something of a spoiler. So I\u2019m going to say up top, if you want to go into Shining Girls completely cold, if you know nothing about the book it\u2019s based on or the turn the story takes, look away now. This review won\u2019t spoil specific character or plot beats, but it will outline a central feature of the series and the novel it\u2019s based on.<\/p>\n So\u2026 Harper Curtis, an obsessive and self-serving man from the early 1900s happens upon a house through the entering and exiting of which he can travel to different times in the future. Using this mechanism he becomes a time-travelling serial killer, taking the lives of promising, strong, \u201cshining\u201d women.<\/p>\n When Kirby \u2013 one of his intended victims and an archivist in 1990s Chicago \u2013 survives, her world begins to shift and change as Harper continues to move through time. Kirby then realises that another recent murder is linked to her attack, and teams up with her friend, a reporter named Dan, to uncover the truth.<\/p>\n As an elevator pitch, I\u2019d say that\u2019s hard to beat \u2013 it\u2019s a truly thrilling set-up, the kind that makes you immediately want to dive in. But that\u2019s not the pitch we\u2019ve been given. The offical syynopsis for the series states: \u201cYears after a brutal attack left her in a constantly shifting reality, Kirby Mazrachi learns that a recent murder is linked to her assault. She teams with veteran reporter Dan Velazquez to understand her ever-changing present and confront her past.\u201d<\/p>\n Confusing, right? Pretty vague? Unfortunately, it\u2019s a problem which extends beyond the marketing.<\/p>\n While the blurb of the novel on which the series is based tells us Harper\u2019s backstory and the time-travel plot up front, the series refuses to reveal its hand. We see Jamie Bell\u2019s character in the past in the show\u2019s first scene, so we know he\u2019s a man out of time, but the it takes the majority of the season before we see things from his perspective and understand how and why he\u2019s been committing his heinous crimes.<\/p>\n This means that the series instead becomes a mystery thriller, a \u201chow-dunnit\u201d as Bell, who plays Harper, put it in an interview with RadioTimes.com<\/a>. We know it\u2019s Harper \u2013 we\u2019re just (maybe) not meant to know how he\u2019s doing it.<\/p>\n But Shining Girls is an Apple TV+ series. It\u2019s not like stumbling onto a new series on ITV when flicking through the channels \u2013 to watch it you\u2019re likely have sought it out, and if you\u2019re seeking it out you\u2019re likely to at least have looked at the details of the plot. It\u2019s based on an acclaimed book, yet the adaptation acts like the entire concept of that book is a big secret.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a bizarre decision, because as an audience member who knows even the vaguest details about it, you\u2019re just spending episode after episode waiting for the shoe to drop, for the characters to realise and for the show itself to admit its most interesting plot device to its audience.<\/p>\n The cast are all game, and the decision to focus on Elisabeth\u2019s Moss\u2019 Kirby over Bell\u2019s Harper is admirable from a social standpoint, highlighting victims over aggressors, but there\u2019s no denying that the latter is a more engaging screen presence.<\/p>\n Moss gives a strong performance, but it\u2019s one we\u2019ve seen before, most recently in The Invisible Man<\/a> \u2013 traumatised and going through something no one else could possibly believe or understand, making her experience all the more alienating. It\u2019s an apt allegory for the experience of trauma itself, but playing out over eight episodes its impact is lesser than it was in the aforementioned horror film.<\/p>\n Bell on the other hand is truly revelatory, bringing a slightly charming yet highly unnerving presence to every scene, ensuring you just can\u2019t look away. Harper is a villain for the ages, someone we can get under the skin of and grow to understand, yet detest all the same.<\/p> Once the series does show its hand allow the audience in on its \u2018secret\u2019, it does so in its strongest episode, and the rest of the series benefits dramatically from the reveal. Its picks up the pace and gains a sense of clarity, honing in on its thriller and sci-fi elements which work so much better than its mystery. It\u2019s just all a bit late.<\/p>\n That\u2019s not to say the early episodes aren\u2019t without merit or promise. In fact it\u2019s never too far off from greatness. The direction from Michelle MacLaren, Daina Reid and Moss herself is strong, the series looks gorgeous and Wagner Moura and Phillipa Soo give phenomenal, moving performances in their supporting roles.<\/p>\n Meanwhile the shifting world is handled in a subtle, surprisingly non-invasive yet effective way, and the era of \u201990s journalism is lovingly recreated. This world feels lived in and tactile in a way so many series don\u2019t.<\/p>\n All of these positives are exactly why it is so maddening that the show made such a crucial misstep in its structure. In the age of streaming, where spoilers abound and audiences search for any insights into the series they watch, especially mystery thrillers, you have to assume they will have done such basic research as to have googled the book.<\/p>\n Non-linear storytelling has always been more easily accomplished in novels than in films or series, and Shining Girls unfortunately struggles to get it right. It does mostly stick the landing, but it\u2019s a bumpy, occasionally frustrating road before this series is truly able to shine.<\/p>\n Shining Girls premieres on Friday 29th April 2022. Sign up to<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>Apple TV Plus<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>now. Visit our<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>Drama<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>hub for more news, interviews and features, or find something to watch now with our<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>TV Guide.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n The latest issue of Radio Times is on sale now \u2013\u00a0subscribe now<\/a>\u00a0to get each issue delivered to your door. For more from the biggest stars in TV, l<\/strong>isten to the\u00a0Radio Times podcast<\/a>\u00a0with Jane Garvey.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section><\/body><\/html>\n By James Hibbs Published: Friday, 29 April 2022 at 12:00 am 3.0 out of 5 star rating There\u2019s no denying it \u2013 Shining Girls has a killer concept. The problem is, to even talk about it could be considered something of a spoiler. So I\u2019m going to say up top, if you want to go […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":14582,"template":"","categories":[5],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/04\/shining-girls-review-killer-concept-gets-muddled-in-needless-mystery.jpg",1434,955,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/04\/shining-girls-review-killer-concept-gets-muddled-in-needless-mystery-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/04\/shining-girls-review-killer-concept-gets-muddled-in-needless-mystery-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/04\/shining-girls-review-killer-concept-gets-muddled-in-needless-mystery-768x511.jpg",768,511,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/04\/shining-girls-review-killer-concept-gets-muddled-in-needless-mystery-1024x682.jpg",800,533,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/04\/shining-girls-review-killer-concept-gets-muddled-in-needless-mystery.jpg",1434,955,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/04\/shining-girls-review-killer-concept-gets-muddled-in-needless-mystery.jpg",1434,955,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By James Hibbs Published: Friday, 29 April 2022 at 12:00 am 3.0 out of 5 star rating There\u2019s no denying it \u2013 Shining Girls has a killer concept. The problem is, to even talk about it could be considered something of a spoiler. So I\u2019m going to say up top, if you want to go…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/14581"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14582"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/04\/Shining_Girls_Photo_010201-9b1ad99.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
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