The idea is as old as film noir. A man wants to break with his murderous past, moves to a small town, finds a job, a nice girl and then the past catches up with him again. So in the newer strip “A History of Violence” (2005 with Viggo Mortensen) or the dark classics “The Killers” (1946 with Burt Lancaster) or “Out of the Past” (1947 with Robert Mitchum).
The mini-series “Who is Erin Carter” takes the idea and gives it a female protagonist. British Erin Carter lives in sunny Spain and makes a living as a substitute teacher at an expat school. The job is uncertain, but her house is big, her husband is nice and quite attractive. The only problems are her young daughter’s somewhat aloof demeanor and a snooty neighbor who makes Erin feel like she doesn’t belong in her circle.
The suburban idyll is suddenly interrupted when Erin and daughter get mugged while shopping. In just a blink of an eye, the nice suburban woman transforms and kills one of the robbers with two precisely placed stabs. Reports of the mother’s heroic deed also reach distant London and so the past – “Out of the Past” – spills over into the present. Then cop Emilio Martin (Pep Ambròs) – Erin’s husband’s best friend – deletes the revealing surveillance video that shows her as the perfect killing machine. But Emilio is in dire straits and desperately needs Erin’s new talents.
Without giving too much away, as always in this genre, all of Erin’s attempts to contain the crisis only result in more and more violence creeping into her life. Why you should watch the series: “Who is Erin Carter” offers top-notch action scenes. Not with the big budget, but the lack of animation is a good thing. Chases, muggings, car crashes and lots of wounds and bruises.
Evin Ahmad as Erin Carter is always right in the middle. Erin is an evolution of the role that made Ahmad famous. In the Swedish crime series “Fast Money” she played the young entrepreneur Leya – who has to navigate back and forth between her start-up, her child and her past in a drug gang in the ghetto. And despite all the good plans for the future, Leya always chooses violence to protect her “clean” business. Until her lover and her old friends all bled to death.
As Erin Carter, you immediately relieve her of the balancing act between a murderous fighting machine and a loving, caring woman. This is ensured by the setting with her cute husband Jordi Collantes (Sean Teale). The nurse is so nice to his wife and so worried about his patchwork daughter that you can hardly stand the romantic heart idyll. Erin’s doing just too well, so sinister figures keep emerging from her past. So does her dangerous friend Lena Campbell (Denise Gough).
Gough, known from the series “Andor” and “Witcher”, among others, is also developing a role further. In the miniseries Too Close, she played a psychopathic criminal who skillfully manipulates her psychiatrist. “Aunt” Lena has more in common with Erin than just a criminal past – something Lena can never forgive. Perhaps Erin isn’t all that wrong with a thoughtful admission: “What if I’m just a bad person?”
Netflix: Who is Erin Carter?
