‘A Nearly Normal Family’ Netflix Series Review - Not A Who Done It

Being a 15-year-old, Stella was very excited for her school trip. While boarding the bus, she spots a young assistant coach, Robin, and develops an instant liking for him. Her best friend, Amina, too was on that trip and they had a lot of fun. When Stella went alone to the beach with Robin, things took a darker turn.

She just wanted to get romantically involved with him, but he took advantage and raped her. The girl told her father and he communicated the same to Urkila, the mother. Being a lawyer, Urkila got Stella medically examined, but they found no signs of force. So, the matter was dismissed as Urkila thought that the evidence wouldn’t be enough to penalize Robin.

Stella was never able to recover from this incident and the story of the series then leaps over four years. Now Stella is 19 years old and she has dropped out of school. It was that school incident that zeroes her interest in studies and dispatched her. Only her friend Amina was her last contact who also now has joined a law school.

By the end of the first episode, we are briefed on the situation of the family. While Urkila was a workaholic with limited interaction with her husband, she was also cheating on Adam (the husband) with her co-worker. After the incident, the parents too had very little communication.

Mikael (the one with whom Urkila had an affair) was appointed as Stella’s lawyer. The daughter was accused of killing Christopher with whom her relationship is disclosed in the second episode. The story runs deep, and it wasn’t a recent incident. Look at the irony of the situation, the mother hid the clothes wore at the crime scene and Mikael took the responsibility of defending Stella.

The parents are aloof and almost have no idea what went on with their daughter’s life. The title of the series seems to be derived from the relationship this family shared which in reality is none at all.

In my opinion, the makers of A Nearly Normal Family failed at maintaining the suspense of the plot. They had a good murder in mind whose key points were given away by the second or third episode. The audience doesn’t need to run their brains about who is behind the murder. Stella’s mom has given hints as did her father. For the final confirmation, you’ll have to wait for the sixth episode.

I think if the clues weren’t given so easily, it would be a good mystery and crime thriller. In that manner, the audience would have felt more intrigued in finding and thinking about the possible suspects. Why the filmmakers are approaching a story in this manner doesn’t seem to have a justifiable reason. This series is an average watch with just six episodes with a duration of approximately 45 minutes each.

The cats have put in their efforts, and past the half of the fourth episode, the audience will feel detached from the story. This is the maximum that one can put up with it. From the fourth episode, things became clearer and this is not how I would want my mystery series to end.

Final Score – [5/10]
Reviewed by - Riya Singh
Follow @_riyasinghhh_ on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times
Note: The first 4 episodes are screened for this review.
Premiere Date: November 24, 2023, on Netflix with all the six episodes.