Watch: “Anxious People” on Netflix
I came home one evening, exhausted after being away for a month, and turned Netflix on to watch something mindless. The first words I saw on the screen were ‘Anxious People’. I thought - “no this can’t possibly be, I haven’t heard any buzz about this, could it possibly be?, no of course not!” My heart started beating a little faster though as I clicked to open the link and there it was - “ The new Netflix series ‘Anxious People’ based on a novel by the same name written by Fredrik Backman.” I’m embarrassed to say how excited I was.
After I watched the first episode though, I felt terribly let down. I wasn’t interested in continuing to watch it. The cast at first glance wasn’t AT ALL how I had imagined the characters in the book to be. The first episode jumped all over the place. To be blunt, it was a hot mess.
A few weeks later I started seeing reviews and ratings by critics and viewers. It was a HIT! I decided to watch the whole thing. And when I finished watching all four hours, I did what I always do when I finish reading one of Backman’s books or watch one of his book’s film adaptations. I cried like a baby. In a good way.
When I really think about it, it’s remarkable that a film production that was just four hours long could so beautifully capture the essence of the book, allowing the viewers to come away with ‘all of the feels’ readers of ‘Anxious People’ experienced after finishing the story.
The book is slow-burning while the film has to move faster, but they both tell about a group of strangers who become permanently bonded when held hostage at an open house by an amateurish bank robber fleeing a botched robbery.
Each chapter of the book and each episode of the TV series reveals each character’s back story and reveals ways in which the group become emotionally connected with one another.
Anxious People is a mystery, it’s a comedy, it’s a drama, but most importantly it’s a story about ordinary people who experience fear, anxiety, awkwardness, and inhibitions in their everyday lives. Heavier themes like grief, loss, and instability come through during the captives’ interaction with one another while being held hostage. Miraculously what comes through the most strongly is feeling empathy for all and treating all people with kindness and understanding.
Readers and viewers connect with these wonderful characters. And that’s a good thing…a wonderful thing.
