Chloe review: Erin Doherty delivers an enthralling performance in the Prime Video psychological thriller

The six-part British psychological thriller Chloe was released on Prime Video on June 24, 2022. Created by Alice Seabright, the series stars Erin Doherty in the lead role.

Playing a multifaceted character in the thriller, Doherty manages to pull off every aspect of the character with finesse. Prior to this, Doherty had gained renown through her role as Princess Anne in Netflix's The Crown.

The show is centered around a twenty-something woman living with her ailing mother. She has no friends, works a temp job, and spends her days scrolling through the social media feed of a certain Chloe Fairbourne, and envying her posh and perfect life. Her obsession finds her in deeper waters than she could have imagined after Chloe mysteriously dies, thus beginning a whodunnit adventure.

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Doherty's multifaceted character keeps pace with Chloe's engaging mystery

Becky Green (Erin Doherty) was a nobody until the subject of her social media obsession died under mysterious circumstances and left her two missed calls just before her death. Until then, Becky had been spicing up her miserable and humdrum life by deceiving her way into the elite social scene. Thereafter, she used the same skill-set to adopt the identity of Sasha Miles and infiltrate Chloe Fairbourne's friend circle.

Doherty efficiently switches between her two identities: The bourgeois Bristol low-life Becky and the flamboyantly dressed, well-connected, confident Sasha. In doing so, she delivers a breathtakingly layered performance that adds splendidly to the intrigue and enigma generated by the well-paced script.

The Prime Video series has a very The Talented Mr. Ripley meets You or Ingrid Goes West meets The Girl on the Train feel to it. What makes Doherty's performance all the more captivating is that she manages to channel the well-known cloak-and-dagger persona with her own fresh spin to it.

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Chloe is a story with many layers and each layer peels away to reveal a riveting twist

While the series may not qualify as a proper murder mystery, it does combine elements of superficiality of social media identities with a sort of murder mystery and in the process creates many layers to the story. As the series progresses, new information is revealed about Becky and Chloe's relationship as childhood best friends.

As Becky falls further down the rabbit hole of Chloe's life by digging online and infiltrating her social circle, in addition to the good, old-fashioned stalking, she uncovers shocking details about her uncurated life.

The vacuousness of her friends, the aggressive tendencies of her husband, and the suffocating life she led, all come to light one by one. The thriller manages to keep the intrigue intact and has viewers glued to the screen in the first five episodes. The finale finally provides a head and tail to all the threads that came undone throughout the series and provides some, if not all the answers to the mystery.

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The kaleidoscopic themes explored in Chloe go beyond the ills of social media and extend to friendships, identity, grief, and loss

It is not exactly news anymore that people on social media present socially desirable and enviable lives. There are filters not just for pictures but also for the stories that every picture tells. As Becky comes to realize in the series, that was the case with her eponymous obsession too.

However, Becky's search for answers and the truth surrounding her Chloe's untimely death led her to learn more about the social circle and the loving husband she envied so much: Her friends only cared about their social status and resources while her husband was manipulative and kept her medicated and confined in their unhappy marriage.

Watching Becky juggle lies, deceit, and different identities, viewers can't help but wonder what is wrong with her. The answer comes when the series provides insights into her own life.

She was plagued with the trauma of losing her sister at a young age, followed by the loss of her former best friend. Every time she discovered a new twist, Becky was shown imagining how she could have answered Chloe's calls on that ill-fated night and saved her.

Prime Video's Chloe may not be a murder mystery tied neatly with a bow, but it is a refreshing take on the genre with a focus on several contemporary issues. The series premiered in the UK on BBC One earlier this year and is now available to watch on Amazon's streaming platform.