Margaret Atwood's Best Adaptation Isn't 'The Handmaid's Tale' – It's This 99%-Rated Gem

When it comes to Margaret Atwood's screen adaptations, most viewers immediately think of The Handmaid's Tale, the epic, long-running series that became a cultural phenomenon.

However, the writer has another adaptation that is perhaps even better: the Netflix miniseries Alias Grace, which has gone largely unnoticed.

What Is 'Alias Grace' About?

This is the story of Grace Marks, an Irish immigrant and maid who was convicted of murdering her employer, Thomas Kinnear, in 1843. She claims to have no memory of the crime, but the facts are irrefutable.

Ten years later, Dr. Simon Jordan attempts to help her recall the events of that fateful day. The story begins fifteen years after the murder when Grace, serving a life sentence, has become a local celebrity.

Due to her exemplary behavior, she is released to work in the governor's house. A committee advocating for her release invites a young American psychiatrist to evaluate her and declare her insane.

'Alias Grace' Masterfully Uses the Unreliable Narrator Technique

We know everything about Grace from her own words: some are spoken off-camera, some on-camera, and some are internal monologues, and they all regularly contradict each other.

The series immediately makes it clear that we're dealing with an unreliable narrator. In the opening shots, the lead actress, Sarah Gadon, tries on a dozen grimaces in front of a mirror, transforming from an innocent fool to a demon and back again in a split second.

The central metaphor is the patchwork quilt that the heroine stitches while narrating. Woven from flashbacks and contradictory evidence, Grace is a doomed attempt to recreate human life as a sum of interpretations, cliches, symbols, and imposed notions.

'Alias Grace' Is an Almost Interactive TV Series

Atwood's point is that, in a patriarchal society, women are forced to constantly adapt to men's expectations: some men dream of punishing women, some of exploiting them, and some of saving them. Even the most sympathetic ones may find a source of excitement, whether intellectual or physical, in women's suffering.

The author invites viewers to choose their preferred version of events and genre themselves: a gothic ghost story, a Victorian detective story, or a social melodrama.

The finale reflects this choice and makes the series practically interactive television. As for the real Grace, she simply doesn't exist because no one needs her as an individual.

What Did Critics & Viewers Think of 'Alias Grace'?

• Alias Grace has 99% from critics and 88% from viewers on Rotten Tomatoes.

• On IMDb, the series has a score of 7.6/10.

Where to Watch 'Alias Grace'?

Alias Grace is available to stream on Netflix.