Wilderness Review: Created by Marnie Dickens and directed by So Yong Kim, this thriller-drama Series stars Jenna Coleman and Oliver Jackson-Cohen in the lead roles of Liv and Will Taylor, respectively, as well as Ashley Benson, Claire Rushbrook, Talia Balsam, Morgana Van Peebles, Natalie Sharp, Eric Balfour and others. Based on B.E. Jones’ novel of the same name, the series has 6 episodes, each with a runtime of around 50 minutes.

Wilderness Plot

Liv and Will have it all – a beautiful marriage, a glamorous new life and their entire lives ahead of them. However, things go downhill when she finds out about his affair. She is heartbroken at first, and furious right after; all she eventually wants is revenge for the betrayal and hurt that her husband caused her. Thus, when her husband proposes some time away to start their relationship and life afresh around America’s National Parks, she gets the perfect setting to exact a terrible revenge.

– Wilderness Review Does Not Contain Spoilers –

Wilderness Review

A woman scorned is never a good thing, especially when it is the husband who scorns her for whom she left everything and everyone with stars in her eyes. Wilderness is probably every woman’s fear and a rule book as to why you shouldn’t make hasty and emotional decisions while drunk out of your mind. The series is reminiscent of Gone Girl and, at first, gives us this inkling of the insanity that was Amy Dunne. Unfortunately, Liv Taylor is no Amy Dunne, but she makes us feel like she is in the first episode with her nifty little monologues.

Wilderness, based on a novel of the same name, is more whiny than Gone Girl. Not that you’d always want to see a conniving woman out to ruin her cheating husband’s life, but still, we all like a revenge story. Liv is a normal woman who is scorned after her husband repeatedly lies to her about his unfaithful ways. Now, would we have loved her getting her revenge with cold, calculated precision? You betcha. But normal, somewhat rational people aren’t murderers or master manipulators, and maybe this saga is a testament to that.

I feel like most of these stories wouldn’t go as far as they normally do if alcohol wasn’t involved in the midst of emotional turmoil. Alas, there’s a great chance of alcohol being involved in such scenarios, and it makes everything 10x worse. Of course, alcohol isn’t the point here – it’s how vile human nature can be. I guess it’s a story about how twisted and greedy some people are during a good episode. The series has its moments of discomfort, especially in the last two episodes.

However, for a thriller series, Wilderness can be very slow, that too with only 6 episodes. Most of its thriller aspects are delivered more or less towards the end of the series, wherein things start to unravel, and truths start to come out. I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to be thrilled about – Liv isn’t much of an interesting protagonist, and neither was she particularly scary. Sure, there are several complicated human emotions and psychological issues that we are privy to that will make you think, but I never felt particularly scared or thrilled by the show.

Also Read: Freestyle Review: Dull and Confusing Polish Thriller

There was never a moment wherein I was unsure whether or not Liv would make it out of the other side. If anything, I was mostly confused about why she was making certain decisions. And, sure; one might think that it’s because of her past and whatnot – which is fair. But, like, she showcases herself as this strong independent woman who has feministic thought processes and stuff, but she never really stands up to those notions. If anything, most of the time, she keeps deluding herself and wondering whether or not things might get better.

Of course, it’s discussed later on why she has such thoughts and all, but for most of the series’ runtime, her really confusing behaviour makes her an equally confusing protagonist who never makes us feel scared of her as “the woman scorned”. If anything, you feel sympathy for her. As I mentioned previously, most of the action takes place later on in the series, with episode 6 doing the bulk of the work, and since the runtime is more about Liv and her denials, you wonder about the sudden change in behaviour in the last episode which ends up feeling rather convenient a plot twist.

That being said, Wilderness is based on a novel, and if book adaptations over the years have taught us anything, it’s that it is really tough to bring forth onscreen what you read in the pages of a book. I am sure some of it might have been lost in translation, and I must say that the actors have given it their all to bring their characters’ various issues to the screen. But in saying that, the storyline itself isn’t as thrilling as you’d expect, considering Gone Girl and even The Invisible Man left you reeling with their very short runtimes.

Also Read: The Other Black Girl Review: Sinclair Daniel-Ashleigh Murray Series Is Filled With Satirical Thrills

Coming to Liv’s backstory with her parents – I want to mention here that the series wants to convey that most of what she does is governed by what she has been through, and even though we spend an ungodly amount of time picking that wound apart, it still feels weirdly half-baked and uninteresting. Sure, you sympathise with Liv, but during certain moments, her decisions feel very weird and confusing, considering the general air of “crazy” that she started the show off with and what Taylor Swift’s Look What You Made Me Do might have you believe.

Whenever I see Oliver Jackson-Cohen in the role of the horrible husband, I always wonder why he is always the manipulative and abusive man who is trying to control his wife and cheating on her one way or another! Jokes aside, Jackson-Cohen is great as Will Taylor; he has the charisma to sell the role of the suave, rich guy who can get into anyone’s good side while playing with everyone’s emotions. On the other hand, Jenna Coleman sells her role as Liv Taylor and has the cuteness to pull off her crazy side, although we don’t really get to see it much.

Wilderness Review: Final Thoughts

Wilderness reminds one of Gone Girl in more ways than one, but unfortunately, in spite of its longer runtime, the Amazon series is not able to sell the thrill and mayhem of a dysfunctional love story that was doomed from the start. You don’t feel threatened by Coleman’s Liv and mostly feel pity for her, while Will is just another bigshot and charming guy who has his way with people. Either way, the thriller doesn’t end up thrilling us much, but it has its moments of intrigue, and the cast looks gorgeous but mostly forgettable.

Wilderness will stream on Amazon Prime Video on September 15.

Also Read: Bambai Meri Jaan Review: Power-packed Performances and Character-Driven Narrative Elevate this Familiar but Riveting Gangster Saga