Eric Review – Retro Thriller That Embraces Its Monsters
Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Dads can be big, scary creatures, casting shadows that haunt a child for the rest of their lives. But the thing is, sometimes even the biggest, meanest, and seemingly awful fathers can love their kids just as much as “mom of the year” types. Too bad they don’t know how to channel their affection in a way that won’t result in years of therapy for their children. “Eric”, the 2024 Netflix series is led by one such dad, diving into the world of grief-stricken, alcoholic-workaholic creative Vincent Anderson (Benedict Cumberbatch), who spirals after his 9-year-old son Edgar goes missing and starts talking to an imaginary monster while working on finding his boy.
Created by Abi Morgan and Lucy Forbes, “Eric” spans six tightly paced episodes with two parallel stories. One focuses on Vincent Anderson (Benedict Cumberbatch), a puppeteer and showrunner for “Good Morning Sunshine,” a Sesame Street-like kids’ show. The other follows NYPD Detective Michael Ledroit (McKinley Belcher III) as he searches for Vincent’s missing son, Edgar Anderson (Ivan Morris Howe), and investigates a potential link to another missing boy’s case from the same area. How these two starkly different men attempt to track Edgar forms the crux of the tale.
Edgar Anderson is a bright, creative child like his father and goes missing one morning after witnessing an awful argument between his parents. Did he run away to escape the screaming matches at home, or was he kidnapped to be trafficked? There’s significant suspense and tension throughout “Eric” regarding Edgar’s fate in the show. The boy had pitched a new puppet character named Eric to his dad just a day before, so when Edgar disappears, Vincent starts talking to the imaginary monster Eric as a coping mechanism, convinced Eric will somehow lead him to his son. “You’ve gone crazy again,” is something Vincent is told more than once.
Benedict Cumberbatch is in his element, brilliantly portraying yet another genius variant (Sherlock Holmes, The Imitation Game, Doctor Strange) – Vincent Anderson is an odiously narcissistic artist with severe alcohol issues and unresolved parental problems. He’s obnoxious, foul-mouthed, and egocentric, and his love for Edgar adds the only layer of humanity to his character. A significant part of “Eric” explores Vincent’s strained relationships, from his wife Cassie (Gaby Hoffman) to his best friend Lennie (Dan Fogler), who works with him on “Good Morning Sunshine.” Cumberbatch makes you both despise Vincent yet empathize with his character’s ordeal of losing his only son. Despite what the title suggests, the imaginary monster Eric doesn’t get much screen time.
Set in the 1980s, the cinematography is distinctly retro, mixing the flashy disco era with New York’s grimy streets. The puppets are the only innocent, colorful touch in this dark, somber series. “Eric” starts as a mystery about Edgar’s disappearance but evolves into a complex web of strained human relationships and the exhaustion that comes with it. The show delves into various themes, including New York’s homelessness crisis, crime rate, child abuse, racial discrimination, rampant homophobia, and police corruption, among other things.
McKinley Belcher III stands out as the biggest hero in “Eric,” portraying the honest, hardworking, closeted NYPD detective Michael Ledroit. He leaves no stone unturned in finding Edgar. Ledroit suspects a shady, queer-friendly club called the Lux might be involved in Edgar’s disappearance, as it’s run by ex-con Alexander Gator (Wade Allain-Marcus) formerly involved in trafficking underage boys. While the focus on Ledroit’s personal life occasionally slows the show’s pace, it helps establish a deeper emotional connection between his character and the viewers. At work, Ledroit feels discriminated against as a black, closeted cop and is accused of perpetuating the same bias by targeting black suspects and ignoring black victims.
Adepero Oduye is poignant in her cameo as grieving mother Cecile, whose son Marlon Rochelle went missing in the same area as Edgar over a year ago. She calls out the system for the blatant devaluation of black lives, as Marlon’s case didn’t receive the same media attention as Edgar’s. Ledroit continues his investigation into Marlon’s case, eventually uncovering the tragedy that befell the boy. It’s a shame that one crucial supporting character however is completely forgotten towards the end.
The climax delivers a triumphantly cinematic poetic justice, with Vincent Anderson perhaps getting a “too good to be true” redemptive arc. But all’s well that ends well? For some viewers, “Eric” might feel fragmented due to the multiple themes tackled in just six episodes. However, for those who enjoy shows with flawed, twisted protagonists, the series is entirely binge-worthy.
Rating: 7.5 on 10. Stream “Eric” on Netflix.
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