“Under the Bridge” on Hulu explores the dark side of human nature, as depicted in Rebecca Godfrey’s gripping true-crime novel from 2005. The story delves into a world where innocence is shattered by violence, deceit, and heart-wrenching tragedy.
This is the tragic tale of Reena Virk, a 14-year-old Canadian girl who fell victim to a horrifying act of violence in 1997. It serves as a stark reminder of the distressing reality of children inflicting harm upon one another for no obvious reason.
An emotionally unstable adolescent named Reena (Vritika Gupta) despises her mother Suman (Archie Panjabi), a Jehovah’s Witness, and feels out of place in her little village in British Columbia. Reena finds herself entangled with a gang of street-gang-obsessed girls in Los Angeles.
She finds herself at an unwelcoming party, where she is brutally attacked by a gang of youths beneath a bridge. Even though she manages to escape the battering, her body is not discovered until days after the incident.
Cam Bentland, a local cop, is tasked with unraveling the case. She quickly becomes suspicious of Reena’s friends Josephine, Dusty, and Kelly. Rebecca, a writer, is conducting her own investigation and attempts to befriend the teenagers in order to uncover their secrets. Along the way, she becomes particularly intrigued by Warren, a homeless teenager whose connection to Reena’s death remains uncertain.
“Bridge” presents a multi-faceted narrative of a murder. There’s Cam and Rebecca, long-time friends who frequently find themselves on opposing sides as they advocate for different individuals involved in the case. The teenagers, following Reena’s tragic demise, come together and struggle with their own feelings of denial and guilt. In flashbacks, we see Reena, who endures prejudice due to factors such as her race or body type, or perhaps both.
The show’s message about adolescence, violence, or race remains a mystery, even though the subject of why 15-year-olds would perpetrate such a horrific crime remains tempting.