The Act is a series broadcast in 2019 on Hulu, but if we tell you about it on Just Focus, it's because it's now available on Canal + and Amazon Prime. A godsend, because this series is worth the detour. First of all, for the story it addresses. A story that shocked the United States. Then, for the actors, for the staging, for everything that constitutes a good series. The Act, season 1, is a moving and chilling series at the same time. The Act is an anthology series with each season focusing on a true story about a strange crime. The first season is about the murder of Dee Dee Blanchard (played by Patricia Arquette), organized by her daughter Gipsy Rose Blanchard (played by the unrecognizable Joey King). 
The Act: A True Story
The Act is first and foremost a true story. A horrible story, where a girl kills her mother to find freedom. Reading the articles on this case, this is what one might have thought. However, with the series The Act, we quickly understand that everything is more complicated. Gipsy Rose Blanchard is a disabled girl passionate about Disney princesses, and who dreams of becoming one, and finding her prince charming. Her mother, Dee Dee, is a loving mother, who would do anything for her fragile little girl. However, appearances are deceiving, and the reality is quite different. Gipsy arrives at the thankless age of adolescence. She will go in search of her prince charming, which her mother does not see with a good eye, but above all, she wants to escape the tyranny of her mother, suffering from Munchausen syndrome by proxy. According to Philippe Mazet, pediatrician and psychiatrist , gives the following definition to talk about Munchausen syndrome by proxy: " It is a factitious disorder by which a person, usually the mother, causes or simulates in the child an organic pathology, then calls on the doctor with the consequence of subjecting him to explorations, useless treatments, even dangerous. »
A fascinating morbid series
The series is gripping, so gripping that you could finish it in a few days. In any case, this is our case at Just Focus. We don't want to leave the screen, we don't want to leave this story as morbid as it is fascinating. Looking at it, we would like all this to remain a fiction, but nevertheless, this story did take place (even if the series decided to romanticize some passages). For starters, one can be horrified by Dee Dee's violence towards her daughter. She does everything so that her daughter does not grow up, inflicts physical and psychological abuse on her. Gypsy must appear sick in the eyes of the world, and her mother is ready for anything, even the greatest lies. We can also be terrified by Dee Dee's ability to lie to everyone: her neighbors, doctors, her own daughter, see to herself. It rips off hundreds of thousands of people, charities, and even the state, without ever having a single remorse. 
The Act, "The Number"
This is the real title of the first season of The Act, and it lives up to its name. Gypsy is perfectly healthy, she can walk, she does not need any medication, let alone her gastric tube that prevents her from eating like everyone else. Everything that constitutes the Blanchards' lives are smoke and mirrors and lies. The truth is terrifying: Gypsy pretends to be sick, forced by her mother, who takes on the role of "brave mother" to attract compassion and attention. The series focuses on the moment when Gypsy wants to meet Prince Charming, which his mother refuses him, because of his physical and mental health. While, remember, Gypsy Rose is in perfect health, and she has all these physical, mental and psychological abilities. The more Gypsy wants to leave, the more violent Dee becomes, and she even ties her own daughter to her bed to make sure she stays close to her, forever. All this will lead to his doom.
A heavy atmosphere
Towards the end of the series, when Dee Dee is dead, the atmosphere of the series becomes extremely heavy. It's not just the fact that there was a murder, but the music, the lights and the colors make us feel like in a horror movie. The role-playing of Joey King, and Calum Worthy (who plays Nick Godejohn, Gypsy's boyfriend and Dee Dee's murderer) is terrifying, and brings this feeling of heaviness. The series may seem colorful, while the scenario is particularly macabre. This contrast may seem absurd, but it is the representation of the Blanchards' lives. Make people believe that their life is difficult but that it always keeps smiling because mother and daughter are together, and that they support each other in all stages of their lives. The plot of the series takes place over several temporalities, ranging from the birth of Gypsy, to the death of her death, then the trial, while returning to the childhood of the little girl. All this contributes to the understanding of history. This may confuse some viewers, but these flashbacks are necessary to understand the Blanchards' history. 
An excellent cast
The headliners of the series are for a lot for the quality of it. Patricia Arquette, who plays Dee Dee, was awarded two statuettes at the 2019 Emmy Awards and the 2020 Golden Globes. At his side, Joey King, who has totally changed physically to interpret Gypsy Rose. The secondary actors are not left out. For example, we can talk about Calum Worthy. Its role is particularly central. It is he, who will kill Dee Dee, at the request of Gypsy, but it is he who will deliver the fatal blow. We can also talk about the Blanchard family's neighbors: Lacey and Mel. They opened their hearts, and their homes to the two women. When they learn that they have been betrayed and especially that Gypsy is doing very well, their world falls apart. The Act is a wonderful series that will not leave marble. She will suspect it, shock you, revolt you, emotions will be at the rendezvous. Gypsy Rose Blanchard was tried in 2015, and she is still behind bars serving a 10-year sentence, which she considers the freest period of her life.
The Act trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VLh10dJv5Q
