‘Eric’ series review: Benedict Cumberbatch makes his mark in this thrilling exploration of redemption and despair

Since playing Sherlock Holmes on the BBC show, Benedict Cumberbatch has played different versions of the socially awkward genius. In each iteration, his eccentricities were glamorous and endearing rather than toxic. Abby Morgan’s EricHowever, there is another side to Cumberbatch’s Vincent’s brilliance. Despite his extraordinary creativity and intellect, Vincent is impossible to live or work with.

Although the driving force behind the success of the children’s puppet show, Vincent’s sharp tongue drives the team, including his co-producer Lenny Wilson (Dan Fogler), away from him. He’s no better at home, bringing his arrogance and infidelity to the fore in his dealings with his wife Cassie (Gaby Hoffmann) and his artistic and introverted nine-year-old son Edgar (Evan Morris Howe).

Matters come to a head one morning when Edgar disappears on his way to school. Vincent’s personal and professional lives fall apart. Cassie wants out, and Vincent is consumed by alcohol and drugs, leading to a chase by men in suits who try to capture him. In the midst of all this, Vincent becomes convinced that if he can find Eric, the puppet Edgar pulled on the show, Edgar will return home. As Vincent becomes more and more isolated, Eric becomes a symbol of his hopes and failures.

It’s the 1980s in New York – the Big Apple shines on the outside, but is rotten on the inside. Vincent’s journey to the lowest level is reminiscent of the homeless people living in the subway tunnels. The rich and powerful build shiny new condos while depriving people living on the streets of living space in the name of gentrification. The 1980s was also the time of AIDS and people were no longer able to explore their sexuality safely.

The policeman tasked with finding Edgar, Michael Ledroit (McKinley Belcher III), is gay and black, and he’s as much of an outsider as the talented graffiti artist Joseph (Balmer Kane). Although another boy, Marlon Rochelle, has been missing for nearly a year, his mother Cecile (Adepero Oduye) accuses the NYPD of not searching hard enough for him because Marlon is poor and black while Edgar is cute, white, and has wealthy parents.

A scene from ‘Eric’ | Photo credit: Spencer Patzer/Netflix

A nightclub called The Lux, run by Ali Geter (Wade Allen-Marcus), seems to be the center of the action. Before moving on to missing persons, Ledroit was on the vice squad and there is mention of a raid on an underage sex ring. There are all sorts of leeches and parasites on the city’s giant stinking carcass, from crooked cops to junkies and perverted pimps.

Vincent has a lot of privilege, as he is a successful professional and the son of a real estate mogul, Robert Anderson (John Doman) and society woman Anne (Phoebe Nichols). However, this does not prevent him from getting hit on by a junkie on the subway. His privilege is in stark contrast with that of Cecil and his (Vincent’s) apartment superintendent, George (Clarke Peters), who was previously wrongly imprisoned and taken in for questioning over Edgar’s disappearance.

The love between Ledroit and the cellist William (Mark Gillies), who is dying of AIDS, has tragic and practical consequences that cannot be named. Eric It’s a dazzling look at the birth of a town from the ruins of earlier settlers (as Vincent’s father coolly explains), the desperate measures taken by troubled people, love and grief, hope and despair. And if none of that appeals to you, there’s a beautiful mystery at the dark heart of the mini-series, extraordinary period detail and a stunning performance from Cumberbatch as Vincent that gets into your veins like a nail.

And that’s one more reason to be grateful for Eric – Rediscovering The Velvet Underground’s blistering ‘Heroin’.

Eric is currently streaming on Netflix