Chloe Guidry looking to the side as Josephine Bell in Under the BridgeImage via Hulu
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Erin Konrad
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Erin Konrad's love for everything entertainment dates back to elementary school when she became obsessed with classic Hollywood musicals. When she's not catching up on all her favorite television shows, she's advising her friends and family on what they should binge watch next.
She has her Bachelor's degree in Journalism and a Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing. Creating content for Collider gives her the opportunity to combine her writing skills with her passion for television and movies. She spends her free time trying to beat her personal record of reading 126 books in a year and cuddling with her dog, Gracie.
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Part of the reason we're all so obsessed with true-crime stories is because they're typically excellent at catching our attention. So many of them are shocking and contain wild plot twists, proving that old adage to be true: sometimes truth is really stranger than fiction. Whether you're getting invested in a serial killer like in Ryan Murphy's controversial Monster series or learning more about a crime you didn't know about, like in Hulu's Murdaugh: Death in the Family, it's pretty much guaranteed that you'll be sucked into the storytelling. But there's one more Hulu miniseries that you might have missed when it aired last year, and it's perhaps one of the most fascinating true-crime stories you'll ever watch.
What Is the Hulu Crime Miniseries 'Under the Bridge' About?
Under the Bridge premiered in April 2024, and in just eight episodes, masterfully depicts a brutal murder mystery that is both hard to watch and also ultimately extremely compelling. The series follows the real-life story of 14-year-old Reena Virk (Vritika Gupta), who goes missing one night after being out with her friends in a small town in British Columbia in 1997. Her body is ultimately discovered, and we learn that the young girl has been savagely beaten to death.
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Posts By Hannah R. Wing Jun 5, 2024Under the Bridge, a reference to where Reena's life ended, recounts the investigation into who could have done this to Reena, but it also features flashbacks so that the viewer can get to know who Reena was as a person before her life reached an untimely end. This is a necessary storytelling method that isn't always utilized in true-crime offerings; so often, we learn more about the perpetrator than we do about their victim. However, because we get insights into Reena's dreams and her fears, Under the Bridge honors her as a victim without merely sensationalizing her death.
'Under the Bridge' Dives Into the Dark Underbelly of Adolescence
There are several adults who work to solve Reena's case. Cam Bentland (Lily Gladstone) is an underappreciated cop who wants to get justice for the young teen. And then there's Rebecca Godfrey (Riley Keough), who has returned to town after a traumatic loss in her childhood prompted her to flee. She's fascinated by Reena's case and begins interviewing everyone involved for a book she's writing. (This book was published in real life under the same name as the television series in 2005.)
Rebecca and Cam have a fraught connection from their youth that often colors the investigation, but also works to provide some insight into how female friendships often don't get easier just because you've reached adulthood. As Cam and Rebecca delve further into the case, they become more enmeshed in the toxic, dangerous, and sometimes deadly world of teenage girls. Before her death, Reena was trying to survive with "friends" who engaged in harsh bullying, hazing, and cutting insults. The more you see how Reena's innocence was lost way before her death, the more tragic her story becomes.
Because we see multiple perspectives in the storytelling in Under the Bridge, we better understand how one crime can have such an overwhelming ripple effect on everyone it touches. Reena's murder doesn't just affect her family, who is torn apart by the loss. Her death is also felt by her school and her community. Even Rebecca, who's merely writing a book about the case, becomes drawn deeper and deeper into the pain that surrounded Reena's life and her subsequent death. In each Under the Bridge episode, it illustrates how one out-of-control act of violence can impact scores of people. There's also an underlying theme of how trauma can shape the people we become. The girls in Reena's life have been molded by neglect, abuse, and the everyday chains that shackle women in our culture, and Rebecca has been bruised by grief. Each of these characters reminds us of the harsh realities of life, and this creates a recurring theme of tension and somberness that runs throughout the series.
'Under the Bridge' Will Draw You in With Several Haunting Performances
Vritika Gupta as Reena Virk sitting outside her school in Under the Bridge.Image via Hulu
Under the Bridge is an intriguing murder mystery all on its own, but the most gripping parts of the series are the performances that actually allow you to feel sucked right into the story. Each of the teenagers featured are based on real people, and every actor brings them to life with authenticity and honesty. Particularly impressive is Chloe Guidry, who portrays Josephine Bell, the ringleader of the friends that target Reena. Her insolent attitude and snarkiness perfectly capture the personality of a teenage girl who's already been hardened by the world's unfairness. Gupta is also heartbreaking as Reena, accurately portraying the many tiny moments of torment that often go along with adolescence.
When it comes to the performances by the adults in the cast, Keough shines as a woman who is still being tortured by ghosts from her past. Gladstone is the perfect straight-laced foil to her messy character, even though Gladstone's character is one of the few that was actually invented just for the show. A Collider review noted that Gladstone is "operating on a wavelength that represents both the show and television itself at its very best." Her nuanced and graceful performance landed her an Emmy nomination. Archie Panjabi becomes the backbone of the series as Reena's mother, Suman Virk. As with any teenage daughter, their relationship was complicated, but Suman fights for her daughter, even through the arduous trial to hold the guilty parties responsible. Punjabi is able to master the portrayal of all the complicated emotions that surface after a loved one's murder, while also reminding the viewer of the importance of Reena's short life.
Under the Bridge is all the more disturbing when you stop to think about these events actually transpiring in real life. The graphicness of the murder and the heartbreaking aftermath can turn your stomach, but are also incredibly captivating to watch. Even though you learn what happens to Reena fairly early on in the series, the way the story unfolds still makes it a suspenseful, gripping narrative that is definitely worth a binge watch. Even though Reena's life ended in such a brutal and disturbing way, you can pay a small tribute to the real Reena by watching this series that depicts her story so honestly.
Under the Bridge is available to stream on Hulu in the U.S.
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