by Austen Terry, Contributing Writer
Movies and series about imaginary friends or monsters under the bed have been almost a genre amongst themselves. Likewise, mysteries revolving around missing people, especially kids, have become prevalent in recent years. Netflix has seemed to adapt anything and everything they remotely think might get views. Recently, they dropped Eric, a mystery about a missing child whose dad must find him with the help of the monster under his bed. That idea alone made me want to visit this new limited series to see if it’s great or just another Netflix dud.
Eric tells the story of Edgar Anderson (Ivan Morris Howe), who goes missing one morning when his parents, Vincent (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Cassie (Gaby Hoffmann), let him walk to school alone. After the disappearance, Vincent pours himself into his job (running a Sesame Street-type kids show) and decides to make a character his son drew a new character on the show, while Cassie desperately tries to find her son anyway she can in 1980s New York. One morning, Vincent wakes up to his son’s drawing coming to life and talking directly to him (and is also voiced by Cumberbatch). Eric goes through the effects that cases like these have on the parents as their lives begin to fall apart around them.
Abi Morgan brings this series to us as writer and showrunner, with the help of Lucy Forbes in the directing role; they both capture the emotion of the series and the cutout of the city. The show feels and looks like one that would have come out during the time period it depicts. It doesn’t rely on nostalgia or products to date the series, but it still captures the point in time. Forbes pulls amazing work out of Cumberbatch, and you can feel what his character is going through. This story is funny at times, and it can be down right dramatic when it needs to be. With only six episodes, you can easily binge in a day, but it will sit with you.
Cumberbatch has great chemistry with Howe, especially in the beginning of the show — they truly have a great bond. You can tell where he is trying to be a better father than his own. Same can be said between Cumberbatch and all his costars, but you can feel the connection between father and son, which makes the series better. Cumberbatch also brilliantly spirals downs into madness in a believable way. Other characters do notice when he talks to Eric, and there are several moments you can feel the pain of his breakdowns.
Eric’s design is also very childlike in imagination. There’s definitely the temptation to make Eric to be a dark monster, but here, he’s what a kid’s drawing would have him to be.
Eric not only has a lot to say about what happens to families and parents when their kids go missing, but has a message for the times as well, constantly pointing out that the city is filthy, that there’s a large homeless population, and that the elites don’t really care. It also very much has a message for people being forced to live in the closet because of the AIDS crisis and just sheer homophobia. While it does have a lot to say, only some of the messages land.
This is a limited series, so I am not expecting more, but it does have its moments throughout.
Rating: Liked It
Eric is currently streaming on Netflix
You can read more from Austen Terry, or follow them on Twitter, Instagram, and Letterboxd