Mindhunter: Extasy in talking.

What would you do if you were given the opportunity to sit across some of the worst serial killers in history? Would you take that opportunity in an attempt to understand their mindset or would you simply ignore it? As someone who often enjoys studying the field of psychology, I find it quite hard to decide between the two. Curiosity tells me that it's an opportunity worth taking, but fear tells me otherwise. Luckily, David Fincher takes that decision for us and decides to show us both sides at the same time in his magnificent show, Mindhunter. 

Mindhunter is a tense show that follows the story of 3 very interesting characters; Holden Ford, Bill Tench, and Wendy Carr. The show's premise is simple and straightforward, FBI agents Holden Ford and Bill Tench are tasked with teaching criminal psychology throughout various police stations in the US, in order to capacitate the police forces. However, after doing this job for a while and seeing how violent crimes were happening more frequently, Dr. Wendy Carr suggests to Holden Ford to push for the idea of interviewing serial killers, as these studies could offer some revolutionary results. After interviewing Ed Kemper and finding a certain amount of success, Ford, Tench, and Carr begin to work in a new task; interviewing the most infamous serial killers across the country. 

As the show is lead by 3 characters, there are certain dynamics to be offered, e.g. Ford is the intrepid detective who seems to be thirsty for knowledge, Tench is the experienced detective who keeps Ford in check, and Carr is the consultant who offers a more objective perspective on each case. Out of the three characters, Ford is the one who receives more screen time but without leaving the other 2 behind. Each character will have to deal with their own "demons", and the show will give each character enough time to flesh those struggles. In the case of Ford, his recklessness will eventually haunt him, Tench will have to balance his workload with a family slowly crumbling, and Carr will have to deal with often being left aside by the FBI higher ups, despite her capabilities. These struggles, just like the show itself, are very grounded in realism and the reactions of the characters will feel very genuine, which offers a highly interesting dilemma; they might be successful at reading criminals, but not necessarily at reading their own life. 

Since the show is mostly focused on the psychology of criminals rather than the actual crimes, there's little to no violence shown in the entire series. This is one of the aspects that really makes Mindhunter stand out when it comes to the standard of crime shows, where a certain amount of action or violence is often required to keep viewers invested. In the case of Mindhunter, talking IS the action and that's where the most important moments of the show are found. By having the authors of the crimes describe the situations, you can evoke a mental image in the minds of the viewers, which can surprisingly keep the viewers more invested in the situation than simply showing the crimes. You are actually making the viewers imagine what happened, almost as if they were witnesses of the crimes. Nonetheless, narrating the crimes will not necessarily create tension, so in order to replace the violence with talking in an effective way, you need to put a lot of thought into how dialogues are articulated, and how the show is crafted as well. The framing of each shot, the editing and the pace can be extremely important tools when it comes to creating tension. For example, there's a moment in the show where Ed Kemper is talking to Holden Ford, and he's describing how you can behead someone. In this moment, Kemper stands up and approaches Ford, but when he is describing the situation, you can see Ford looking up and Kemper's hand moving in front of Ford's neck. The camera shots are not fast by any means because Kemper's mood is calm. However, this isn't the case when Dr. Carr and agent Smith are interviewing Wayne Williams. In this interview the editing of each shot is fast and abrupt because Williams is angry, so the camera has to reflect the tension that the characters are feeling. All of these elements work in harmony, they always show on the screen what's important, and they can make simple moments as someone abruptly standing up a bone-chilling situation. 

Another strikingly well-thought aspect of the show is the casting accuracy. When it comes to the detectives, Dr. Carr, and the killers, the casting is absolutely great. The lead characters are very charismatic and the acting clearly reflects the unique personalities that each one of them offers. In my opinion, Holt McCallany does an amazing job at portraying Bill Tench. His character is very conflicted with what's going with his family and the complexity of his cases, and he absolutely nails that performance. His acting is very nuanced and his character shows a lot of emotions often covered by frustration. He is also not a stranger to Fincher's work, as he previously acted as "The Mechanic" in Fight Club. However, the incredible acting doesn't end there, the serial killers are amazing in their role and they really draw you in when they appear on screen. Their resemblance to the real killers is astounding as well, which really helps to convey the sense of realism in the interviews. In fact, you can actually compare some of the interviews with the real ones and you will see how much attention to detail there is in every single of them. Either the calm, the aggressiveness or the simple costume details will all be there. 

Even though Mindhunter is an incredibly well-crafted show, it can be said that it belongs to a niche audience. The increasing trend of shows based on fantastic stories has left those grounded in realism a little bit left behind. Nevertheless, when it comes to creating drama and tension, Mindhunter shows that there's no need for 10 seasons or unrelenting action to keep viewers into the story. You can have only two guys talking in a room and you can create the same dread as a sequence of ten people being murdered. By creating a show that works like a well-oiled machine, you can make any topic be interesting and any story be dramatic. David Fincher and Joe Penhall's work truly represent what excellence in execution means, so if you want to delve into the psychology of some of the worst criminals in history, I highly encourage you to watch this show and support it as well. The third season of the show is still hanging in the air, so your support will mean a lot to keep this story afloat.