In the Netflix limited series The Beast in Me, Aggie (Claire Danes) is still struggling to return to some sense of normalcy after the death of her young son and having trouble finding motivation to write her latest book. When Nile (Matthew Rhys), a powerful figure in real estate who many believe killed his first wife, moves in next door, Aggie knows this is a story she has to investigate.
Awards Buzz spoke with writer and executive producer Daniel Pearle about reuniting with Danes after working together on his film A Kid Like Jake, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2018. He discussed how that project related to this one and how both media and his relationship with Danes inform this show:
“It was very different. That’s obviously a domestic drama with characters who are basically well-intentioned. No sociopaths in that movie. Obviously, we all have our darker moments. That movie was based on a play that I had written. I started out in theater, and the kinds of scenes I love to write are usually heavy, beefy, talky two-hander scenes where there’s sometimes a false distinction in film between action and dialogue, because I think, when it’s really working, dialogue is action. Obviously, it’s a challenge on film to make sure it doesn’t feel static. But I think when a scene is well-written, even if it’s an eight-page scene, that can be quite active and compelling if you have good actors and the scene is working. Tonally, this other play that I had written that Claire saw was more in that psychological thriller headspace, that was more the connection for her. It’s funny, when I met her on that movie, I noticed in conversation that we tend to have some of the same verbal tics and mannerisms. We both interrupt ourselves and edit as we talk.”
Watch the video above to hear more about this series and also another past project of Pearle’s, the film Minyan.
The Beast in Me is streaming on Netflix.
