The controversial 13 Reasons Why on Netflix is a show created by Brian Yorkey, a new face to the TV production and writing platform, and is based on a novel written by Jay Asher. It is about a girl, Hannah Baker, who commits suicide and sends out 13 taped detailing why she decided to take her own life. The story revolves around a good friend of hers named Clay Jensen and his experience listening to the tapes. The show stars Dylan Minnette as Clay Jensen, who has been featured in well regarded films such as Don't Breath and Prisoners as well as critically acclaimed TV shows such as Lost. Katherine Langford stars as Hannah Baker. She has far less experience in the Hollywood scene then Dylan. 13 Reasons Why is her debut performance in television. That being said, both lead actors give strong leading performances. They are very intense, disturbing, and dark at times. And other times they can be very tongue and cheek and joyful. The Australian Katherine Langford does a very good job of disguising her accent to portray Hannah Baker. Watching her performance it is very hard to believe that she hasn't starred in any noteworthy television shows or movies in the past. The whole cast gives remarkable performances. Considering that most of the actors in this show are in there early twenties or younger, it is remarkable that the performances in this show are so professional. I did not get a sense of any amateur acting or too little experience among any of the cast members, which usually happens when a movie or show featuring too many young actors gets made. This show is also different from most high school dramas in the sense that it tries to push away clichés as much as possible and portray the high school experience as accurately as possible. It treats the characters as adults who happen to be in high school rather than the stereotypical high school kid you see in shows such as Saved by the Bell. It fails in some senses. There are still the stereotypical jocks who go around bullying people. Also the creepy nerds and the emo kids, so on and so forth. The characters are also far more one dimensional than I would like them to be. There were many opportunities for the writers of this show to really flesh out he characters and most of them were no taken. For example, one of the characters who is an in- the-closet homosexual could have really been given a rich backstory but we are left knowing very little about her other than she's a highly regarded straight A student and both her parents are gay. Even Hannah could have been fleshed out more. We are left not knowing anything about the school she moved from or her mental state prior to her experiences. That is my main problem with this show. It tries to focus too much on the moral of the story rather than the characters and plot development. But this show does do a better job of accurately portraying the dark side of the high school experience better than most shows. There are so many dark, stomach turning subjects covered that I can't even began to get into how depressing this show is. I highly don't recommend watching this so if you are easily triggered. There is a reason that there is so much controversy surrounding this show. If you can get past that, you will find that this show is beautifully directed, seamlessly edited, filled with beautiful shot compositions and cinematography. It feels atmospheric at times, being accompanied by an angst-filled soundtrack. Hannah's narration is so poetic. There are fantastic performances all throughout the show. The fact that it was made so well makes the show even more disturbing. This show gets right in your face with issues of sexual harassment, slut shaming, familial abuse, rape and suicide. It is supposed to make you feel disturbed and uncomfortable. TRW lets you grasp on to Hannah's experience and shows you her justification for taking her own life. This is one of those pieces of art that is necessary and not easy to watch. It will very likely stick with you for a long time. TRW has an important message behind it that holds the intent of showing the viewer the pressures of young life that can push someone to commit suicide. It brings up the point that no one is disqualified from being a bully, whether it is a popular athlete or an honor student. Anyone's child be could suicidal or could push someone to commit suicide, whether or not they know that they are doing it. Some people will feel that the show is a vital portrayal of teenage suicide and helps those who are or have been suicidal, and to others it will feel like a glorification or fantasization of suicide. There is really no wrong way to watch this series. You can make the argument that it may hurt some people more than it helps them but you can also argue that the opposite is true. What is important is that this show is starting a conversation that needs to be had. Which is actually the purpose of most of these 'social awareness' pieces. Know that the writers of show tried to accurately portray all of these character's experiences by consulting with psychologists and other professionals who have experiences dealing with victims of rape and suicide. They tried to make the experiences of Hannah Baker as three dimensional as they could possibly be. It is in no way easy to watch but this is art mimicking reality.
Review of 13 Reasons Why
