With actors like Claire Danes and Matthew Rhys, how do you go wrong?
To be fair, it's not that Netflix's "The Beast in Me," a new psychological thriller starring the Emmy-winning alums of "Homeland" and "The Americans," respectively, goes entirely wrong. It just doesn't go quite right enough to live up to the talent and credentials of its two leads. And no matter how strong your actors are, it doesn't make up for weak scripts surrounding them.
"Beast" (now streaming, ★★ out of four) is a sadly middling new limited series, too much of a slow-burn to be a proper suspense drama. Instead of tension, emotional stakes or anticipation, "Beast" is built mostly of suburban New York moodiness, withering glares from Rhys and Danes' furrowed brows. There is something there, but it takes far too long to arrive at anything interesting. And in our age of near-infinite television to sort through, that's precious time most viewers just don't have to spare.
"Beast" opens with an almost painfully plodding first episode before its subsequent episodes start to tell the actual story. In a wealthy New York City suburb resides Agatha Wiggs (Danes), a once-celebrated author struggling to deliver her hotly anticipated book number two. She's divorced, mourning a loss and living alone in a huge crumbling house, when a notorious billionaire moves in down the block. Everyone thinks ruthless real estate mogul Nile Jarvis (Rhys) killed his first wife and got away with it, and now Nile and his new Stepford bride Nina (Brittany Snow) are knocking on Aggie's door asking for lunch and favors. And, she suspects, Niles is possibly still committing violent crimes.
