The Girl from Plainville is similar to many other true crime series that have been dramatized in recent years, but the performances from Fanning and Ryan make it shine.
The Michelle Carter “texting-suicide” case shook the nation in the 2010s when the young woman was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the death of her then-boyfriend Conrad Roy III. The young man, 18, died by suicide on July 13, 2014, and it was later discovered through text messages that Carter, 17, encouraged him to end his life. How could a young person do such a thing to someone they allegedly loved and knew was struggling? Liz Hannah and Patrick MacManus’ “The Girl from Plainville,” a new limited series coming to Hulu on March 29, tries to give viewers some insight.
Rather than making Michelle, played by the incredible Elle Fanning, seem like the ultimate villain, Hannah and MacManus show the struggles both Michelle and Conrad (Colton Ryan), nicknamed Coco, faced in their day-to-day lives. Conrad battled depression and anxiety for years and attempted suicide in the past, while Michelle struggled with an eating disorder and making friends. While they don’t let Michelle off the hook for her crimes, the eight-episode series ultimately becomes a devastating and compassionate portrayal of their lives.
At the core of it all are two powerhouse performances from Fanning and Ryan. Both add so much depth to these two people who most of us only know by headlines. Michelle and Coco met while on vacation with their families in Florida. Though their relationship was mainly through text messages (they lived about an hour from each other), a strong bond formed between the two. The show makes these texting moments look like they’re playing out in real time, with Michele and Coco in the same room as each other. Their conversations were often focused on addressing their insecurities and stressors in life, and this let’s us see that they were two complicated and troubled kids trying to find their way in this world. The chemistry between Fanning and Ryan is undeniable, and any time they get to spend together on screen is a delight to watch.
The series grounds itself in the reality of the situation for the most part, although there are some dream-like flourishes occasionally. The first episode opens up on that July day when the Roy family’s life was changed forever. Chloe Sevigny as Coco’s mother, Lynn, delivers a heart wrenching performance as a mother trying to make sense of everything that’s happened, while Michelle tries to comfort her as best as she can. Up until that point, neither Coco nor Michelle’s parents knew about their child’s significant other, so Lynn is quite surprised to learn about this young love story. If viewers were viewing this series without any prior knowledge, they would probably not think much of Michelle at first, and only view her as a grieving girlfriend. But a
pivotal scene at the end of the episode, where Michelle is reciting Rachel Berry’s (Lea Michele) eulogy of Finn Hudson (Cory Monteith) from an episode of “Glee,” shows us there might be more to the story here. Everything changes once police start uncovering disturbing text messages that Michelle sent to Coco in the days leading up to his death. Hearing many of them read out loud only drives home the main question so many still have: how could anyone possibly encourage another to take their own life and not do anything to get them the help they needed?
As the series later jumps ahead a few years to focus on Carter’s trial in 2017, it doesn’t solely rely on courtroom scenes and attorney fights. Yes, there are those moments, but we still get to see the progression of Michelle and Coco’s relationship, specifically when Coco became adamant about wanting to end his life again. A chilling scene in the series finale plays out his death – he poisoned himself with carbon monoxide fumes in his truck – and Michelle, in a dream-like sequence, watches several feet back. Coco gets out of the truck at one point and calls Michelle, and she tells him to get back in to finish what he started, a key moment that led to her conviction. As she watches it all happen, Michelle, collapsing with tears streaming down her face, wishes he didn’t listen to her. Fanning shows Michelle through a number of emotional journeys throughout the show, but this remorse hits you in a number of ways. You also can’t help but wonder what kind of ending this story would have had if events didn’t unfold the way they did.
“The Girl from Plainville” is similar to many other true crime series that have been dramatized in recent years, but the performances from Fanning and Ryan make it shine. By the end of the show, we still don’t really have an answer for why Michelle did the things she did, and most likely there isn’t an easy answer. In reality, there’s nothing to be said that would ever make sense of what happened, and the show chooses not to dwell on it. Instead, Hannah and MacManus are more interested in showing us the people that Michelle and Coco were before they became headlines. That allows us to walk away with a better understanding of their respective struggles, which is a far more powerful and meaningful feat.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
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About The Girl from Plainville
Hulu’s “The Girl From Plainville” is inspired by the true story of Michelle Carter’s unprecedented “texting-suicide” case. Based on the Esquire article of the same name by Jesse Barron, the limited series explores Carter’s relationship with Conrad Roy III and the events that led to his death and, later, her conviction of involuntary manslaughter.
