A lot of other reviews compare to the book. I hadn't read the book. The themes and ending still work despite the apparent change to the book because the themes mirror the struggles of its characters - ie the burden of uncertainty and doubt.
Acting is brilliant throughout, nicely paced, sharp cinematography. JK Simmons just never fails to disappoint. Chris Evans steals the show.
Spoilers below:
The story ends with ambiguity; was Jacob a killer? We never really know, although his story is a very clear indicator he's a murderer, and that audience experience mirrors the emotion of the parents. The fact that the suicide / confession was staged adds to the parents' ambiguity about their son - they are robbed of the pure innocence of their son. If people here were frustrated by the ending, that feeling is a great insight into how a mother would feel not knowing if her son is a psychopath or not and why it would drive her to smash into the bridge.
The series chose this path - the not knowing is what tore the family apart more than the knowing and this is the central storyline. The book makes it clear he is the killer but I think the anguish at the end of the series is more powerful and more believable - a mother's murder/suicide to end her own pain and kill the son she believes is a murderer. The father is the one left behind, with a son he thinks could be a murderer and a wife who could have attempted to kill her son.
Acting is brilliant throughout, nicely paced, sharp cinematography. JK Simmons just never fails to disappoint. Chris Evans steals the show.
Spoilers below:
The story ends with ambiguity; was Jacob a killer? We never really know, although his story is a very clear indicator he's a murderer, and that audience experience mirrors the emotion of the parents. The fact that the suicide / confession was staged adds to the parents' ambiguity about their son - they are robbed of the pure innocence of their son. If people here were frustrated by the ending, that feeling is a great insight into how a mother would feel not knowing if her son is a psychopath or not and why it would drive her to smash into the bridge.
The series chose this path - the not knowing is what tore the family apart more than the knowing and this is the central storyline. The book makes it clear he is the killer but I think the anguish at the end of the series is more powerful and more believable - a mother's murder/suicide to end her own pain and kill the son she believes is a murderer. The father is the one left behind, with a son he thinks could be a murderer and a wife who could have attempted to kill her son.