Over the weekend, I watched Netflix’s The Beast In Me. I enjoyed it, and I think Claire Danes and Matthew Rhys will likely be up for lots of awards next year, but the limited series isn’t any kind of prestige television (in my opinion). It was what I consider “elevated trash.” Somewhat glossy (great location shoots and set design), with cliffhangers at the end of each episode and deeply flawed characters who make terrible decisions/mistakes to expedite the plot. The only part of the limited series which doesn’t fit with my “elevated trash” definition is the fact that Claire Danes’s Aggie Wiggs looked terrible and unwashed in pretty much every scene. Claire thought she was making prestige television and she was styled as such!
There’s already a lot of commentary on Claire’s look in the series. The Direct pointed out that Claire “looks old” but they acknowledge Aggie was supposed to be a grieving mother who has been depressed for years. I also think Claire’s lack of styling was because Aggie Wiggs is a lesbian who refuses to perform “sexiness” for the male gaze, which is a big reason why she intrigues Matthew Rhys’s Nile Jarvis. There’s also this piece about how great it is that Claire is ageing naturally. Which I agree with – it’s wonderful to see an actress committed to moving her face and not looking frozen or pulled. Claire uses every single one of her facial muscles too, crying, twitching, wincing and trembling on cue.
Anyway, I would recommend the limited series, but go into it knowing that you’re going to be furious at Aggie in so many different scenes. She makes terrible decisions and she can’t keep her mouth shut! Claire and Matthew Rhys apparently got along famously during filming though – in press, they have nothing but lovely things to say about each other. I imagine they and their spouses are all friends, for some reason? It just feels like Matthew and Keri Russell probably socialize a lot with Claire and Hugh Dancy? Similar ages, backgrounds and experiences.
Photos courtesy of Netflix.
