CinemaBlind’s Review – 85%
If you think about it the true crime phenomenon itself is pretty pornographic and that’s one of the themes being explored in Netflix’s latest murder mystery with a touch of dark comedy series Bodkin. Created by Jez Scharf, the Netflix series is set in the fictional idyllic town of Bodkin and it revolves around three out-of-town people looking to make a podcast about three mysterious disappearances that happened decades back on the night of Samhain.
Bodkin is simply a great murder mystery for all the true crime enthusiasts out there as it shows us all the things that are in true crime podcasts and adds up the personalities of the people who are making them. It is Fish out of Water series as an American podcaster Gilbert is heading to Ireland to make a podcast and he is joined by a meek researcher and a brash investigative journalist Dove, who is forced onto this assignment by her boss to get her away from a scandal back home in London.
From the very first moment, Bodkin establishes the tone of the series and it tells us that we are about to strap in for a dark and uncomfortable ride. The stand-out character in the series is Siobhán Cullen‘s Dove who is dealing with her demons as she takes on the mystery of Bodkin. Dove’s character is as untrustworthy and foul-mouthed as she is quick-witted and hilarious.
All of the performances are exceptional and that mixed with great writing truly makes you fall in love with all the characters including a guy who is supposed to be a murderer and a smuggler. Bodkin stars Will Forte as Gilbert, Cullen as Dove, and Robyn Cara as Emmy in the lead roles with The Young Offenders‘ Chris Walley as Sean O’Shea, David Wilmot as Seamus, Charlie Kelly, David Pearse, and Kerri McLean.
Scharf does a great job of getting you to invest in these characters and the world with all of its quirkiness and the dark underbelly that is just below the surface and we needed Dove to see it. The main mystery of the series does progress a bit slowly at first but that just gives us more time to understand our main characters, the townspeople, and the town itself.
So, in the end, Bodkin is a fun dark comedy thriller series that will have you laughing by its dry while keeping you on the edge of your seat with each of its new reveals. It is a slow burn so don’t expect a fast-paced run you over the road and burn your car stuff even if that happens in the series.