In the opening minutes of this miniseries produced for the USA Network, Cora (Jessica Biel), a suburban wife and overly-protective mother of a young child, stabs a medical student to death on a lakeside beach with no warning or apparent motivation. Unable to explain or understand her own actions and filled with horror and remorse, Cora confesses to the crime and pleads guilty. But Detective Harry Ambrose (Bill Pullman)--the local police investigator--is convinced there is something bigger behind the crime and he keeps investigating. Based on the 1999 novel by Petra Hammesfahr, this compelling show is a murder mystery by way of a psychological drama that delves into Cora’s upbringing by an oppressively religious and judgmental mother, as well as her relationship with her terminally-ill younger sister, her past romance with a shady drug dealer, and the terrible truth behind a missing two months of her life. At the same time, The Sinner explores the self-destructive desires of Harry that destroy his marriage, secrets that perhaps make him sympathetic to Cora’s torment. This is an adult series in the best sense, one that deals with complicated emotions and acknowledges bad decisions and guilty feelings tormenting otherwise good people. Compiling all eight episodes from 2017, extras include deleted scenes. Highly recommended. (S. Axmaker)
The Sinner: Season One
Universal, 2 discs, 339 min., not rated, DVD: $29.98 Volume 33, Issue 3
The Sinner: Season One
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
Order From Your Favorite Distributor Today: