The Girl Before_A Review

This four part series about a minimalist architect who design a tech savvy, rather ugly tomb like house, rents it out at a low price to a person who meets the conditions he stipulates. In a way people pay rent by allowing him to collect the data of their behaviour while living in the house.  Needless to say the house is riddled with cameras, which he defends by saying hardly any gadget we use or somewhere we go outside doesn't do the same. This is true even if social media do not follow us to the shower also, or do they? Forget I said that; I've seen Instagram pics of people taking showers.

Anyway the architect has controlling freak almost psycho tendecies, which is where the tension of the movie is at. Though the events are happening three years apart the story is told in an overlapping, almost simultaneous mode, about the two tenants he allowed to stay on the flat. It turns out the two women actually look like his dead wife, buried under the house, which is why they were chosen. Grief is the connecting thread to all three main actors  and he eventually has affairs with both. One of them dies under mysterious conditions, which is where the thriller develops. The choice about who could have murdered her abound, my guess was wrong, which is a probably a tell-tale sign how good they manupulate the reader/watcher, because I pride myself at spying the plots most of the time. This is why I'm not really a fan of thrillers, but I enjoyed this one. It is a fairly good and entertainment for a weekend binge or something. Is also worth a watch just to remind yourself how gorgeous London city is. The  first two episodes when the tension is still at the apex because you don't really know what is going on are excellent. One of the roles, Lan, is played by the British actress, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, whom we should claim because her father is South African.

I didn't read the book is based on so I don't know how faithful the series is to it. It first played on BBC, and can still be caught on its iPlayer if you have access. I hear its also available on HBO now.