Dark images and grueling thrills await in The Fall: Death in Belfast, when investigator Stella Gibson and serial killer Paul Spector face each other. What follows is a unstoppable psychological duel between two restless souls, which gets under your skin as a gripping thriller and a moving drama.
The Fall was produced from 2013 to 2016 for the British broadcaster BBC Two and is currently streaming on Netflix.
On Netflix: The Fall is a relentless chase with two superstars
This is what The Fall is about: Detective Superintendent Stella Gibson is called from London to Belfast to investigate an unsolved murder case. She instinctively suspects a serial killer is behind the crime and this suspicion is confirmed a short time later by another murder.
At the same time, we see family therapist Paul Spector, a seemingly happily married father. In secret, however, he repeatedly pursues young women and brutally murders them. Paul soon sees his existence threatened by Stella’s investigations and both main characters develop an almost obsessive urge to bring each other down.
BBC
The Fall: Death in Belfast
Atmospherically dense changes of perspective between the two opponents create a uniquely dark pull, while Stella slowly but inexorably follows Paul’s trail.
Two Hollywood stars in Belfast: The two are played by Hollywood stars Gillian Anderson (The X-Files, Sex Education) and Jamie Dornan (Christian Grey in 50 Shades of Grey), who outdo each other.
The cat-and-mouse game is not for the faint of heart
What unfolds next is not a playful guessing game, but an intense power struggle from two exciting perspectives. The series approaches one and the same story from opposing viewpoints: Paul’s efforts to preserve his carefully staged double life are just as gripping as Stella’s attempt to penetrate the serial killer’s psyche.
A delicate balancing act is achieved here: although the psychopath Paul is never romanticized or trivialized, as a viewer you feel the desire, like Stella, to understand his motives. The tension arises less from the question of who the serial killer Paul Spector is. It arises from the dark past that shaped him into a killer.
The intense performances of Gillian Anderson as a relentless strategist and Jamie Dornan as a two-faced man effortlessly convey the mutual attraction between their characters to the audience. The longer the game of hide-and-seek between Stella and Paul continues, the more it becomes clear that their final encounter will end tragically.
You can stream The Fall not only on Netflix
The Fall premiered in 2013 on BBC Two and ran for 3 seasons with a total of 17 episodes until 2016. The series is available as a Netflix subscription, but is also in the Flat rate from WOW and MagentaTV to stream.