‘The Rising’ Review: In This Sky Drama, the Victim Investigates Her Own Murder
Cool mystery shows are on the rise. The amount of content available to audiences can be overwhelming at times, and you must be selective about what you watch because there simply isn’t enough time to watch everything. So, how are these new mystery shows going to stand out enough so that you decide to invest your precious time in them? A gimmick. It is always important to have something that makes your show special.
For example, why just watch a show about war and political intrigue when you can watch a show about war and political intrigue that also has magic and dragons? The answer is a clear one, and so many new shows are ready to jump on the fantastical bandwagon in order to attract people’s attention. The Rising is doing just that by creating a compelling, but a standard murder mystery and giving it a supernatural twist. In this case, the fact that the person who has been murdered is going to investigate her own death.
This trope has been used countless times before. For example, in video games like Shadow of Destiny, and Murdered: Soul Suspect, or in other TV shows like episodes of CSI or Torchwood, and of course, in the legendary film Ghost. However, it is strange for a whole show to take the concept and run with it throughout its entire runtime.
This decision makes The Rising different from all the others. It also gets the writers in a state where they need to find ways to keep the concept fresh for more than a couple of episodes. It can be hard to accept that your main character is already dead, and trying to take them on an adventure with a satisfying ending can be hard.
The Rising manages to keep things exciting thanks to giving the main character, Neve, a set of tools that take her out of being completely useless. She is able to communicate to some extent with some people and other creatures, and this creates really good tension and clever scenes. Some of the best moments happen when Neve is able to come across someone in the real world. It is intense and very emotional.
Of course, that type of emotion can only come across thanks to the great actors that are playing the scenes. The show stars Clara Rugaard as Neve, Nenda Neururer, Solly McLeod, Matthew McNulty, Emily Taaffe and many others. Each one of the actors knows how to play their roles in the best possible way, and from the first episode to the last, they keep the story flowing and engaging.
Ruggard is, of course, the standout. This is a breakthrough role for the young actress, and she kills it at every second. Neve ends up being a very unique and interesting young woman, who even when trapped in such a weird situation manages to keep her wits and approach the problem with a cold head. She is strong but never could be, and it is easy to get behind her when trying to piece together the events that ended up causing her death.
This is a show where the themes of responsibility, and how to perform as a person in today’s society are at the forefront. Maybe, some of those themes are worked in a heavy-handed way at times, but they still come off as sincere. Some scenes will really make you think about how precious life is and if we are doing the best we can with the time we have.
There is very little humor in the show. Some more moments of levity would have been welcome, but it doesn’t really detract from the story. Death is always going to be treated in a very serious way, most of the time, and The Rising is no different.
In terms of visuals, the show looks amazing, taking advantage of the beautiful scenery located in the British countryside. The gorgeous natural environments make for some wonderful shots, and the composition helps to create some truly wonderful images that can resonate deeply with the viewers. However, the show can occasionally become trapped in the more generic visual palette of British film and television, but this is a minor complaint. The show could be more dynamic and experiment a lot more with its visuals. It looks good, but we cannot say that it has its own visual palette.
Streaming services are throwing these types of mystery shows left and right. But The Rising manages to feel unique among them, delivering a gripping storyline with many twists and turns, while also delivering powerful performances that will make you feel a rollercoaster of emotions throughout all 8 episodes of the show.
At the end of the day, The Rising might not become a classic or a very memorable show, but for what it is worth, it is way up there when it comes to the entertainment factor.
