This eight part series tell of the hunt for serial killer Charles Sobhraj and his girlfriend Marie-Andrée Leclerc during the mid-seventies. The pair met on the 'Hippie Trail' and hade their home in Bangkok; here Sobhraj, along with associate Ajay, targets travellers. Robbing and murdering them for their possessions and just as importantly their passports. Nobody seems to care if a few long-haired hippies vanish until Dutch diplomat Herman Knippenberg learns of a missing Dutch couple. Against ambassadorial orders he investigates and finds they were murdered. The trail leads to Sobhraj but he has insufficient evidence. Few people want to help him but Belgian diplomat Siemons does and later two French tourists staying at Sobhraj's hotel also help... putting themselves in grave danger in the process.
I hadn't heard of this case and don't usually watch 'true crime' stories but for some reason thought this might be good... it is. In many ways the story plays out like a fictional thriller but knowing it is based on facts make details that would seem unlikely in fiction acceptable. There are many flashbacks to key incidents but they don't get confusing. The story is tense from start to finish and as we know it is based on real events one really worries about the safety of characters. The cast does a fine job; Tahar Rahim is chilling as Sobhraj; Jenna Coleman is solid as Marie-Andrée, a woman who has difficulty accepting that the man she loves could be a killer (at least for a while) but knows he is a criminal; Billy Howle and Ellie Bamber impress as Herman and his wife Angela. There are also fine performances from Tim McInnerny as Siemons and Amesh Edireweera as Ajay. The locations are impressive and each is introduced in a way that gives us a taste of the era. Overall I'd certainly recommend this even if it isn't your preferred genre.
I hadn't heard of this case and don't usually watch 'true crime' stories but for some reason thought this might be good... it is. In many ways the story plays out like a fictional thriller but knowing it is based on facts make details that would seem unlikely in fiction acceptable. There are many flashbacks to key incidents but they don't get confusing. The story is tense from start to finish and as we know it is based on real events one really worries about the safety of characters. The cast does a fine job; Tahar Rahim is chilling as Sobhraj; Jenna Coleman is solid as Marie-Andrée, a woman who has difficulty accepting that the man she loves could be a killer (at least for a while) but knows he is a criminal; Billy Howle and Ellie Bamber impress as Herman and his wife Angela. There are also fine performances from Tim McInnerny as Siemons and Amesh Edireweera as Ajay. The locations are impressive and each is introduced in a way that gives us a taste of the era. Overall I'd certainly recommend this even if it isn't your preferred genre.