'Suspicion' Review: Apple TV+ thriller's a slow-burner, but under-uses Uma Thurman

Despite a classy and gripping start, only time will tell whether the series will grow on the audience

PUBLISHED FEB 4, 2022

Uma Thurman stars as Katherine Newman in 'Suspicion'(Apple TV+)

Contains spoilers for 'Suspicion' Episodes 1 and 2

Carefully constructed, 'Suspicion' relies more on building suspense by the act rather than making it a straightforward, regular thriller. Although it doesn't waste time in setting context, what follows later is some meticulous world-building. Uma Thurman is an American media baron whose son is kidnapped by four unknown strangers wearing the masks bearing the faces of the Royal family. It's a sour kidnapping as they're all caught on camera and the footage quickly goes viral.

In the meantime, a string of suspects, Aadesh Chopra (Kunal Nayyar), Tara McAllister (Elizabeth Henstridge), and Natalie (Georgina Campbell), are being rounded up disrupting their innocuous day-to-day life. Taking over the case are law enforcement agents, Scott Anderson (Noah Emmerich) and Vanessa Okoye (Angel Coulby), a mismatched pair under the pump to solve the case. The eight-part series then moves into that territory that appears a tad sloppy, but somehow doesn't fall off the track.

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Based on the Israeli series 'False Flag', the series has its moments that the audience will notice in the first two episodes dropping on February 4. There is a fourth assailant on the loose with the authorities hot on his trail, However, Elyes Gabel's Sean Tilson manages to evade everyone. 'Suspicion' consciously makes sure that Gabel's character gets as minimal screen presence in the pilot. What's rather befuddling is the under-use of Thurman. Ideally, she's supposed to be the star of the show, but her character, barring the odd pop-up stays in the shadows

The bigger question that 'Suspicion' raises is about the urgency of the task at hand. A kidnapping comes with a heavy dose of ransom and more importantly precious time being lost. However, the series tends to focus more on the suspects that makes it feel like the series just hinges on one major twist that may or may not be successfully pulled off. In all, the impression is that the behind-the-camera unit knows what they're doing and the tone is a blend of slick, and colors splashed around generously. It does enough to grip viewers considering the final plotline is fairly simple. Despite the classy start, only time will tell whether it can grow on the audience.

'Suspicion' releases on February 4, 2022, on Apple TV+ with two episodes followed by a new episode every Friday.