A Murder at the End of the World (2023) miniseries review

A modern, techno-whodunnit in Agatha Christie style, A Murder at the End of the World is a Hulu thriller drama miniseries written and directed by Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij that came out in 2023. Emma Corrin stars as Darby Hart, an amateur detective and author who receives an ambiguous invitation to attend a retreat in Iceland by the tech billionaire, Andy Ronson (Clive Owen).

With 8 other guests, Darby finds herself in a high-tech resort with impeccable security and lavish facilities surrounded by the icy nothingness of the secluded spot. She is in the presence of people with power and influence, each attached to the tech world in one way or another. It makes sense for her to feel unaccomplished in that gathering but she is also younger than the others. The closest to her age is Ronson’s 5-year-old son and Bill Farrah (Harris Dickinson), a young man with an enigmatic charm who also happens to be her ex-boyfriend. 

The show presents two stories parallelly- the present-day murder mystery and flashbacks to Darby’s past relationship with Bill while they are tracking down a serial killer, both of which showcase her investigative skills. In the flashbacks, the serial killer may not even exist outside the imagination of an amateur online detective group on Reddit. Bill and Darby club their resources to identify the killer while they slowly fall for each other. Darby is young but she isn’t inexperienced since her father was a coroner who would bring his daughter along to unmarked graves pertaining to active police investigations regularly. Seeing the dead in their final resting places and her father at work, she developed a sharp sense for studying murders.

At the retreat, when one of the guests gets murdered, Darby’s senses are activated. The resort turns into a crime scene with the killer being among the gathered party. Darby has little social standing with the group (Ronson doesn’t even register her presence the first night) so she privately begins her own investigation. The only person willing to help her is Ronson’s wife Lee, played by Brit Marling.

The killer is a tech-savvy individual but that doesn’t narrow the list of suspects as everyone including Darby has some technical background. Lee used to be a hacker in her life before she met Ronson whereas Ronson has created an AI technology so advanced that it can operate an entire city. Danger lurks at every corner as the guests get attacked one by one, as Darby continues her dogged investigation.

Marling and Batmanglij have written a fine sci-fi thriller whose eerie plausibility will keep you pondering long after you’ve watched the show. The location adds to the isolated nature while the music sets the mood. The two stories don’t weave together well enough, leaving you wanting more, on occasion. But, the comfortable 7 episode count keeps the story moving forward at a reasonable pace.

Clive Owen classes up every joint he is in and he does that here too. But Corrin balances the show on their shoulders efficiently. Darby is an interesting character who has this amalgamated vulnerability and intelligence that’s rare and difficult to portray. Their performance also reminds us how Darby’s interests are far dangerous for someone so young and yet, her persistence is unwavering. Give this one a shot for its genuinely smart mystery and amazing lead performance.