This is a series based on an award-winning one-actor theater performance. It tells the story of comedian Donny Dunn’s (Richard Gadd) twisted relationship with his stalker, Martha, and how that relationship affects him as he has to face his deeply hidden trauma. Although in the series the characters are called differently and the story has been changed, among others: so that the identity of the stalker cannot be identified, it tells the story of what really happened to Gadd.
Netflix’s “Reindeer” is based on a true story. Warning: spoilers
A cup of free tea. This is where it started. Martha came to the pub where Gadd was working as a bartender in 2015 while trying to break into the London scene. The comedian recalls that at first his friends joked that he had an admirer, and the whole thing looked quite innocent. However, the report quickly turned into disturbing areas. The woman became more and more persistent, she sent countless messages, followed him, showed up at his performances, told others that she was his girlfriend, and stood outside his house. She also harassed his relatives, including his parents and ex-girlfriend.
All emails and text messages that appear in “Reindeer” are authentic texts received from Gadd’s stalker. As the actor says, over four and a half years he received 41,071 emails from Marta, 350 hours of voice messages, 744 tweets, 46 Facebook messages, 106 pages of letters and many strange gifts. And although he felt threatened, the police for a long time claimed that they could not do much on this basis, until, for example, he received a threatening message, even though Martha had been previously convicted for similar acts. Gadd says that although he has also encountered compassionate police officers, the entire system associated with reporting stalking does not adequately protect its victims.
As depicted in the seven-episode series, the stalking began after Gadd had already survived an encounter with a sexual predator. He was in poor mental health after this, having been repeatedly sexually assaulted and raped by an older mentor in the television industry (his name is Darrien in the series and he is played by Tom Goodman-Hill). – It would be unfair to say she was a terrible person and I was a victim. It wasn’t quite like that, he said in an interview with The Guardian in 2019. – I made a lot of mistakes and made the situation worse. I wasn’t a perfect person back then, so there’s no point in saying I was,” Gadd explained. In connection with the promotion of the Netflix production, he said via “Time”:
Stupid flirting. Cowardly excuses why we can’t be together. Not to mention the themes of internalized prejudice and sexual shame that underpinned it all. Dramatic details of the drugging, seduction and sexual violence I had experienced just a few years earlier… But at the same time, I couldn’t run away from the truth of what had happened to me. It was a chaotic and complicated situation that still needed to be talked about.
The series is currently the fifth most watched English-language Netflix series in the world. There are only nine reviews on Rotten Tomatoes so far, but they are all positive. Viewers also rate the production positively – it has a rating of 87%. positive opinions.
What happened to the real Martha?
– Stalking is a mental dysfunction, it is a disease, and I have never dealt with someone who was calculating or deceitful. I felt that I was dealing with someone defenseless, mentally ill, someone who couldn’t stop because he believed what was in his head – Gadd in an interview with “GQ”. He borrowed the title “Reindeer” from his story. This is one of the nicknames the stalker gave him.
He admits that the series is faithful to real events, but he did not want viewers to identify his persecutor. – We went to great lengths to disguise her to the point where I don’t think she would recognize herself. What has been borrowed is emotional truth, not someone’s fact-by-fact profile, he said. She is played by Jessica Gunning in the series. Martha, for example, is several years older than Donny, in fact they are two decades apart.
Although in the series, the stalker receives a prison sentence, Gadd’s rather general words on this subject show that in reality it was different. In an interview with The Times that he did not want to put “someone who was mentally ill to that extent” in prison, but that the situation had been “resolved.”
If you need help
If you need to talk to a psychologist, you can call 800 70 2222. ITAKA Foundation psychologists are available by phone, e-mail or chat, providing advice and directing callers to the appropriate help facility in their region. Relatives of people who require help can also contact the Center. Specialists will advise you on what to do to encourage your loved one to contact a specialist.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
