The Girl Before (2021) User Reviews

Complex, but rewarding.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 8/10 · 29 December 2021]

The story of two women, Emma and Jane, linked by a house, and a man, Edward.

I came away from part one so confused, but curious, by the end of episode two, I was totally gripped and desperate for more, and to know the outcome.

It is pretty tough to follow, you need to be on your A game, as there is a lot going on. It does jump about quite a lot, back and forth, side to side, so watch it sober. Pacing may be an issue for some, but personally I enjoyed the way the story was told.

So many random events, drama, chaos, curiosity, you'll ask why, how and who, but ultimately there is just one single question, what happened that night? Easy to get sidetracked here in some of the strands, and there are many, but the core of the story is excellent.

I think the cast are fabulous, David Oyelowo is impressive throughout, charming and sinister.

A strange choice for The BBC I thought, putting this out Christmas week, it does deal with some pretty bleak themes, however it is worth your time, 8/10.

Good, but bad ending

[karinahatem · 6/10 · 8 April 2022]

Had a good start and the suspense kept building up, but all was ruined in the last episode. Performance was good, and I liked how the storyline kept jumping from character to another. Though there was several holes is not mistakes in the story, like how come the ex boyfriend was not being a suspect, who was living in the secret room, and manny others.

Full of issues, but worth watching

[grahamf-55542 · 6/10 · 26 December 2021]

A quirky and different drama, and I'm pleased I persisted beyond the rather slow and tricky first episode.

A story of pure fantasy, but if you accept that, the other problems are just about tolerable. What I found hardest to accept was the character of Jane, who lurches from being quite smart to extremely naive. This gets worse as the drama unfolds.

But I liked the idea of how the house and the architect's personality are enmeshed. Makes it very different from a standard thriller.

Promising story that didn't quite deliver and was too slow

[JRB-NorthernSoul · 6/10 · 19 December 2021]

Adapted by JP Delaney from his novel this is a stylish production, well directed with lovely photography and an intelligent score. Cast were OK with no standouts apart from a couple of really lame cops.

The tone of the whole show was cold and detached and will have put many viewers off. It's written as a slow burner in which the relationship between the characters slowly becomes clear, but it needed more zip.

It's not awful or brilliant and I saw it through to the end - but for me ultimately it was just too s-l-o-w moving and I spotted the twist ending some way off. Would have been better adapted as a film over a couple of hours. An average drama at best.

Stick w

[rmkellync · 7/10 · 2 April 2022]

I had it figured out, until I was totally wrong. The twist exists. The ending makes some sense which I always like. I had to go back, was told the last ep had an after credit scene that matters. The characters will annoy you, and the premise is just silly.

It is not a haunted house kind of story, the AI isn't a character, so don't run away just because of that.

The visuals are great, there is tension, its not wholly predictable. Not everything is fully answered, but it has a clean ending.

At four episodes, if you're a limited series kinda person- do it. You'll laugh bc it's stupid how stupid these people are, but boy are they pretty.

Hoping for something that never comes

[peter-laganis · 6/10 · 21 January 2022]

Everything seems so good: the idea, the storytelling, the acting, the atmosphere and the mystery... but... completely lets you down by the cliched and predictable ending. An ending so bad and poorly executed that underestimates the viewer's intelligence.

Not to mention the life experiences of the main characters that are completely irrelevant to the main story.

It's a pity as all the prospects for an intriguing and intelligent tv-show were there, by the reach of the hand.

Well scripted and acted drama; if a little implausible

[bgsmall · 6/10 · 24 June 2022]

Caught on BBC iplayer over Christmas.

Everything after entering the house was (mostly) plausible, but it was based on the condition that those agreeing to the tenancy had to completely give up any privacy they once had. For me, this would have been a deal killer after reading the first of the 200 conditions. Otherwise, this was a well scripted, shot and acted drama.

House Of Secrets

[Lejink · 8/10 · 5 January 2022]

This slick, stylised and to be honest, highly improbable four-part BBC thriller nevertheless kept my wife and I intrigued and excited all the way through. Highly reminiscent of the kind of glossy thriller Hollywood might have churned out in the 80's starring a Michael Douglas or Sharon Stone, it centred on an immaculate, high-tech London town-house available for rent but only to the absolutely right tenant. It's owned by a wealthy, successful but reclusive architect who rigorously vets applicants by setting them extensive personal new-age style questionnaires to complete, sets draconian rules to live by and who even conducts a final person interview process before giving them the nod or, given the place has been empty for some three years, more often, a shake of the head.

As we join the action, the story diverges into two separate timelines as we see firstly a young mixed-race couple and then a single black woman separately make it through all the owner's hoops and jumps to finally graduate to picking up the keys, or in this case, bracelet-passes to the swish new property which has every mod-con going including mood lighting and music, sensory-operated showers but, as we discover later, pretty much zero security. More than this though, both the owner and indeed the house itself, have dark secrets which the narrative teases out as both timelines, one present-day for the single girl and the other three years ago for the couple, end up in explosively dramatic conclusions.

It's fair to say that the other lead character in this drama is the house itself, both inside and out. Personally I'm something of a gadget-fiend myself so the idea of a fully automated property has always appealed to me but giving it a HAL-like personality has to be a mistake as we all know where that usually ends up.

After taking a little while to work out the intersecting stories and indeed separate out the two young women who, essentially for the narrative, closely resemble one another, this was a dark tale of obsession and control. I'm not sure I agreed with the domination and manipulation of two obviously emotionally damaged young women by a mysterious but superficially attractive male figure nor was I impressed by the relatively unsympathetic police treatment of a rape victim, but nevertheless my wife and I soon fell into step with with the intricately-plotted double mystery.

Strongly acted by all the principals and atmospherically directed, what it lacked in political correctness and credibility, it made up in vicarious thrills and chills.

A Good House to Rent?

[bwmcg · 7/10 · 22 December 2021]

I enjoyed this whodunnit even allowing for the police overlooking what would appear to be obvious evidence in Emma's case but i suppose it could happen.

The rest was pacy and well acted.

Just one thing. If i owned a smart house I'd like it to be a bit smarter than this model. A good security review wouldn't go astray.

Loved the book

[dziedzicanna · 3/10 · 6 February 2022]

I loved the book, therfore I did not like the series. The way they portrayed Edward is very off. His character in the book was captivating, charizmatic, cold-ish, hyper intelligent, a straight talker, never sorry for who he was and what he wanted to represent. Edward from the series is more confused than confident, he appears needy and unsure. The story was supposed to be based on his narciccistic and over the top tendencies. For the story to be a full on thriller, it was lacking in that department from the very first scene.

Ignore the haters!

[jonclynch · 9/10 · 30 December 2021]

This was never going to be a fast-paced thriller, nor was it meant to be. It was stylish, brilliantly acted, seemlessly edited, and intelligent (perhaps that's what some people struggled with?). It had an interesting premise: if you move into this house you have to abide by the rules. This story dealt with abusive and controlling relationships, trust, loss, and toxic masculinity (possibly another trigger for haters who label anything that deals with this subject as 'woke'). A great effort by the BBC. Jessica Plummer deserves an award for her performance. And David Oyelowo was superb.

What came first ... the house or the story?

[rich-mac · 6/10 · 28 December 2021]

I suppose that in a way it doesn't much matter where the inspiration for this 'thriller' came from, but it has all the hallmarks of someone seeing the house and then building a story from it (yes, I know its actually an adaption from a novel...but)..

The implication of that is that the house didn't inspire liberation, rather a didactic constriction - which is the overarching mood of this series - it's meant to be stylish and smart in its minimalism, but instead it's barren.

'The Girl Before' could easily have been told in two episodes. Dragging it out to four only served to undermine the 'who dunnit' aspect. The characters lacked sufficient dimension to justify the four episodes, as a result, the pace of the show suffers. It seems to either move way too slowly, or it's forced by the proximity of ending to move too quickly.

Ultimately though, this show fails because of realism - it's just not remotely believable, and it's not capable of surpassing that lack and enticing a suspension of disbelief.

This should be a 7-8, but I couldn't justify more than 6 - all style, no substance.

Another

[Headturner1 · 5/10 · 13 February 2022]

Series that cares more abut how beautifully filmed than if there's a good story or a cohesive one. It had great potential. A creepy, mysterious house as well as the architect and all the back story. Started out muddled and disjointed. Give us some more back story( since the women look so identical before showing each's separate story lines back and forth, also way too many red herrings and irrelevant stuff. I knew there wasn't much of a story when this went on for episodes. It's not a bad serie just not a well thought out one with a good linear story. Wasn't really a thriller in the end. Just a Series masquerading as one...

Good but predictable

[bangel3322 · 6/10 · 3 January 2022]

I watched to see if they'd changed it much from the book, but it's pretty much exactly the same. It's an interesting story but lack of suspects leads to a predictable ending.

I have to say though this was very well acted by the three leads, but especially Jessica Plummer. I thought her performance in this was absolute perfection. Really well cast, I truly believed her character. She pulled the character of Emma off with ease. Good story, not a great ending but fantastic acting.

Was Ok

[suzannetho · 6/10 · 23 December 2021]

I was looking forward to this after reading the book which was something I didn't put down for 2 days. I found the series to miss quite a bit of the start of the book and was very slow in building.

It does get better after the first episode and is worth watching until the end.

Like all series/films adapted from books, they miss so much. I would read the book again, but not sure I would watch the tv series again.

That said, I still enjoyed it.

Did someone hire people to give "watching paint dry" reviews? Hmmmm...

[h2223 · 7/10 · 13 February 2022]

These reviews are like a whole other mystery to be solved: so many low-star ratings where they use the expression "like watching paint dry." Makes you want to investigate who hired a bunch of people to kill this film's rating...

Anyway, here's my (non-paid) review -- and I give it a solid 7.

There were some extremely improbable actions that the characters took (or didn't take) and a few eye-rolling lines... and I didn't much care for most of the music... but other than that it was a great little series.

The pacing was medium (not whiplash-inducing, but NOT slow), the acting was quite good, and it wasn't hard to look at all the attractive people, settings, and clothes. And I definitely didn't feel like the plot was handed to the viewer on a silver platter. It wasn't super complex, but neither was it a slam-dunk. There were enough characters and sub-plots to keep things interesting.

There were also sensitive themes presented in a thoughtful and not in-your-face "woke" way, which I found truly refreshing. The characters seemed real -- as in, not caricatures of whatever they were meant to symbolize -- while at the same time there was a thorough treatment of the subject. Well done.

And even though there wasn't a huge "OMG!" climax, it was still an interesting plot and definitely not one of those, "Oh, how stupid..." endings AT ALL. I've seen plenty of those, and this is not that.

There were just a couple of loose ends that weren't quite tied up, and I got the feeling it's because they ended up on the cutting room floor (they weren't HUGE plot points but they were big enough to make me go, "What about...?"), but overall I still really enjoyed it.

The last couple of minutes even made me wonder if they'll be trying to make another season. I'd watch that!

A strong start then falters at the end

[julieshotmail · 7/10 · 15 February 2022]

This show starts out with very high marks, possibly a 10, as the mood is very mysterious with very mysterious people and a very mysterious house that is imaginative, very modern, and beautiful. I immensely like how the characters are introduced and how the beginning slowly unfolds. However, the big villain reveal becomes so obvious and underwhelming in the end. In that moment, you feel dirty for being manipulated that the twist and turns have exploited race as a plot point. Think about it.

I was umming and ahhing about watching this

[samthejudgeamos · 8/10 · 1 January 2022]

And really only did because 8 couldn't find anything I really wanted to watch. So glad I did, dark and very clever, it had me on the edge of my seat. Great acting and an interesting plot, a little away fro the norm with its complexity, it needed concentrating on, rather than half watching. Definitely worth a watch.

Better than the reviews say......

[renandnick · 7/10 · 28 December 2021]

Having read the book and enjoyed it, I almost let the poor reviews put me off but I am glad they didn't! Yes it is not the best drama ever but stll very good and worth a few hours of your life.

Basic "thriller" that borders boring

[arod_85 · 5/10 · 26 February 2022]

Started off intriguing. I watched intensely trying to spot clues and hints to see if I could figure out what the twist would be. Once I started to figure out what the plot twist was going to be around the third episode, I thought surely I had to be wrong because it was too unoriginal and unclever for the foundation the first two episodes set. Unfortunately, I had guessed what the plot twist was going to be and I was disappointed because I expected the conclusion to be far more clever than it actually was. Stellar cast and well shot, but a little disappointed with the story. The faucets that made the story interesting in the beginning ended up having no real impact toward the end of the story (the dead family, why the architect selects women that look like his dead wife, his need to control, the obsession with the house, the "big brother" component of the house, the falling out with the architect's peer). There really wasn't any point at all to the architect by the time the story concluded....and that did not work because the entire story was centered around him and his relationship. He was an irrelevant main character.

Jessica Plummer and Ben Hardy smashed it

[audelshirin · 8/10 · 8 January 2022]

The central 4 characters were amazing I think this one under rated . Unique thriller not the same old same old . With out any spoilers Jessica was fantastic and so was Ben with acting out the emotions of their characters . Well worth a watch . I enjoyed it.

Strong adaptation of the book

[shane1181 · 7/10 · 13 February 2022]

I remember really liking the suspenseful book when I read it years ago, but I didn't remember how it turned out so watching this was still like watching a new story unfold.

What I liked:

• The house is just like I imagined. High-quality production values!

• Acting is great.

What could have used some more attention:

• They rushed the material in the first episode, so the story was confusing. I think this would have been a better story stretched out over a few more episodes. Perhaps 6. They also rushed the flow of the relationships with the landlord so before you know it, it's been months, but it feels like they just met and hardly know one another because we've only seen them together twice.

• They could have done a better job highlighting which timeline we are watching. In the book, they start a new chapter with the woman's name (Jane or Emma), but the women look so much alike, that at first it is difficult to tell when what you're seeing is happening.

full of bad acting and bad plot

[Itsmepaddy · 1/10 · 17 March 2022]

The performances are HORRIBLE jesus this series is worthy of pity BBC is worse than hollywood Was this meant to be BAD, HORRIBLE AND SHAMEFUL? CONGRATULATIONS YOU MADE IT!

OK Thriller With a Crummy Ending

[harpyg · 6/10 · 26 December 2021]

Starts well, if not a little confusing until you realise it is dodging around in time. What really lets it down is the ending which has all the hallmarks of a hastily devised codge-up. Simply not believable with too many unanswered loose ends which make no sense when held up against the rest of the plot.

Black Mirror lite vs murder mystery vs psychological thriller vs romance

[demaym · 6/10 · 4 January 2022]

A genre confused affair that has a bit of everything. From romance, to future technology sci-fi, police drama and a murder mystery theme thowrn in, there's a lot of unpack in this 4 part miniseries. On top of this is a strong psychological and philosophical theme that attempts to ask the viewer questions throughout.

It looks polished, was nicely shot and most of the acting is on point - although one of the leads, played by Jessica Plummer, is a bit wooden at times and some of her dialogue/delivery is amateurish.

The biggest problem and let down, for me, was the incredibly slow pace - the terminology 'slow burner' is an understatement. It was quite tough to get through the whole thing but sparks of intrigue and isolated scenes of action were just about enough to keep me in. The unnecessary filler and extensive irrelevant scenes certainly sail close to the wind, so you may need some patience. I wouldn't blame somebody for giving up early. The finale is the only episode that had a quick and exciting pace in my opinion.

This is a modern BBC production so there is politicism unfortunately and a 'men bad/women good' agenda being pushed. One of the scenes, with a therapist, felt like an educational lecture to viewers rather than a vital piece of the plot

Despite the flaws. I will give this a 6/10 as it is unique and dares to differ from the usual formula seen in similar shows.