This review of Netflix’s Lies and Deceit season 1 does not contain spoilers.
If you have watched Netflix’s Unbelievable, then you’ll be familiar with a story like Lies and Deceit. The mentioned series became popular on the streaming service for its pursuit of the truth. While fictional stories are not capsules of reality, the truth behind them can be hard-hitting. Lies and Deceit is hard-hitting in its own right.
The story follows Laura, who, after a seemingly successful date with Xavier, wakes up confused the following day. Her recollection of the night before appears blurry and hard to fathom. After consulting with her sister, she comes to the realization that Xavier raped her. However, when Xavier claims she’s misremembering the night, the series becomes a voyage for truth, with Laura having to navigate an investigation herself while the police remain hesitant on the sidelines, not knowing what statement to believe.
Lies and Deceit represents the problem in the modern-day judicial system when it’s related to sexual assault crimes. The case of proving a sexual assault does not sit lightly within the justice system. Believability becomes a harrowing factor, and the pressure is often on the woman, rather than the man. She has to be examined, she has to make detailed statements, and she has to maneuver through the undesirable and unwarranted shame that comes with going to the police about such a heinous crime.
It cannot be a coincidence that Lies and Deceit frames the story in a way where it’s difficult to understand the truth. The series wants audiences to understand how the process usually works. But this is the stigma to the problem. We require sexual assault victims to be heard, yet we down ourselves into the small details rather than hear their story. The Netflix series encapsulates the problems well, and with a brilliant cast behind it, the story is certainly a dark horse.
With six chapters, Lies and Deceit is an interesting case study and a story that brings a sobering truth.
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