User Reviews

I did manage to keep a straight face throughout the show, not that it was much demanding in that sense, but at that scene where Marie Adler earns her driving licence and has to ask a stranger to take her photo where she proudly holds her certificate... I lost it. I completely lost it. It seemed as if the whole series was produced for the beaming smile in that single, short, unassuming scene. I don't remember any other series, film or book conveying the sense of being completely alone in the world nearly as good as Unbelievable. I will never forget that sense of void.

One way to do a show about tricky social issues is to proselytize about it quite a bit. This includes long speeches or continued hammering-home of messages. Another way is to create a show that is about so many more things than just the overriding message at hand that it is easy for viewers to find a way in and not feel fatigued by any constant sermonizing. "Unbelievable" takes strictly that latter approach and as a result is one of the overall best miniseries I've seen in quite some time.

For a basic overview, "Unbelievable" sees young woman Marie Adler (Kaitlyn Dever), who has already been tossed around the foster care system, become a victim of a rape. In dealing with the police investigation, Marie is basically coerced (or at least heavily "led") to put on the record that she made the attack up. Fast-forward three years later, and to a different area of the country, and odd couple Detectives pairing Rasmussen (Toni Collette) and Duvall (Merrit Wever) are investigating a string of rapes with the same M.O. as what was done to Marie.

Almost without a doubt, the highlight of this show is its ability to be so many different things and succeed at all of them. It is, in turn...

-A crushing story of how rape can mentally and physically destroy a person's psyche and body -A treatise on how investigators need to be careful to avoid victim-blaming and show sensitivity rather than bluntness -An excellent police procedural, as Duvall & Rasmussen leave no stone unturned in their rape investigations -A touching look at how police work can affect one's home life

Despite biting off all these different pieces, the combination is never more than the show runners can chew. Each of the above areas are given perfect screen-time and pacing. Plus, as I mentioned in the opening, never in this show are there any "turn to the camera speeches" moments or hammy dialogue. Very much a "show, not tell" approach to dealing with all these important topics.

The acting in "Unbelievable" also lives up to its name. Dever basically has the marketed corner and down-on-their-luck teen roles at this point, and Collette is always a strong presence. In many ways, though, Wever often steals the show. Her combination of police detective style but also very much being a "normal person" off the job is truly impressive. When I think back to the best scenes of this series, she is in most of them.

While the show was solid all the way through, the last couple of episodes (especially the finale) vault it into memorable territory. All the angles come together perfectly, and even the little character moments (finding out the origins of "Max the Knife", for instance) are wonderfully executed. I felt myself caring for these characters in a deep way, and that's no feat to scoff at have been executed over just 8 episodes.

Overall, "Unbelievable" is a series that will still with me for quite some time. Perhaps this is a personal trait, but I very much prefer shows that don't get too "preachy" (or dialogue or setup) and this one found that perfect niche. It expertly comments on major social issues while still managing to be supremely entertaining in its own right.

After you get through the brutal but necessary first episode, this is engrossing both as an above average police procedural and an exploration of what rape does to the victims, and how the damage is compounded when they are not believed. I especially appreciated how it avoided theatricality, never forgetting that this is real life, where people are flawed, and mundane life continues even as you are trying to process tragedy and injustice. The detectives, portrayed by Merrit Wever and the always wonderful Toni Collette, were depicted as normal people, without tragic backstories. And I also appreciated the work of Eric Lange, in the difficult role of a detective who thinks he's a decent cop suddenly realizing he did an incredibly crappy thing to a young woman. Emmys all around and I hope people come out of this with a better understanding of this horrific crime.

At first yall made us think the suspect was the cop husband and that would be more sick but those things happen in life. Anyways i just want to say that the show is great i was so concentrated in the cases because i watched it all in one day. The law doesn't always do the right thing or the correct one. Has flaws but like the victim said do they ever learn or will they learn, that is the question.

Inacreditável (2019)

Finished Series #5

1st Season

Episode Eight - Episódio Oito

Very good and extremely necessary miniseries, I can't understand people who, even watching it, can still suspect Marie, there are comments in which it is written that they think that on the pen drive that they were unable to decipher, Marie was being an accomplice to the criminal, enough to be revolting how people suspect the victims.

The dynamic between the two protagonist researchers was wonderful.

The bald investigator's reaction to learning that he wronged Marie and that she was telling the truth was wonderful to watch.

Another thing I saw in the comments on YouTube and IMDB is that they thought it was bad for Marie to accept the money and that she was happy because of it.

She was not happy when she received the money but when they recognized that she told the truth.

And about accepting money from the city, it was totally within her right, and she deserved much more, for everything they did to her, she lost several things, even the lawyer said she could receive more money but she didn't want to because that would already be the enough for her to start over.

Previous Series: Chernobyl (2019)

Next Series: Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022)

Fifth Series Completed.

The Inacreditável Miniseries marathon started and ended on May 1st and 2nd, 2024.

Rating: 10/10.

Really interesting concept.

As someone, a man, who has been on the other side and had false claims made against him it would be nice if Hollywood/Netflix made a film highlighting the impact of false claims on those they're made against. I'm not aware of any such films or series as yet.

That prelude said, I thought the limited series (meaning it is definitely concluded by the end) was well worth the watch. You must persevere through the very slow (perhaps unduly so) first episode.

Some people have said they liked the character of the non-blonde detective. I found her so roboticly lacking humanity. Her character really grated on me... I guess she just seemed entirely dispassionate as a human being but entirely passionate as an investigator of this particular case.

I wasn't sure if Marie had ended up being raped when she'd said it had happened or if the rape had happened at an earlier point in time (I think it was the latter). In any case the show resolved the unanswered question throughout.

Finishing my fourth series and what an unbelievable series, it lives up to the name of the series. How delightful it was to see the reaction of the Marie Case investigator upon learning that everything she said was true. And he still wanted to deny it at the beginning, if Collette's character hadn't had proof and hadn't insisted that he see the proof, he would still be thinking it was a lie. He wanted to justify himself by saying that he had no proof, but the most that Duvall had was the birthmark while Collette's character had the same clues as him. Obviously Marie's mothers got in the way (a lot) in this case, but the investigator was very bad. I cried at his dialogue with Marie at her work and also at the criminal's trial, especially at the question you ask, Why her? What did she do that made him choose her? That she changed her gardening routine, reading by the window for fear of it happening again. Just 150 thousand dollars for Marie was very little for everything that happened. I missed seeing Marie's adoptive mothers' reactions when they found out it was true, but if it wasn't true then it wasn't true in real life. I loved the actresses, especially Marie, the three main investigators, Duvall, the lady who has an intern and the character of Collette, both are magnificent in their roles. Eight-episode marathon. Started on March 12, 2024. Ended on March 13, 2024. My Average for this miniseries: 10/10.

Useless last episode, just one hour of screen time wasted in an endless happy ending. The story was well over at episode 7... The scriptwriters left lots of hanging ends, such as the "uncrackable" hard disk (what's in there? We'll never know), or the undeveloped role of the brother (all that BS about being tracked and followed, and all we get is a guy pretending he knew nothing about his rapist brother?). All girls and women must look good in this story, even the foster mom who plays the hardest character... Instead, most of the men are stupid or badass, or play light side roles, lightweight husbands, even the FBI guy is just a spectator of the two leading women... a script with a purpose... maybe too much of a purpose.