'Under the Bridge' is a chilling, engrossing look at banal evil. Lily Gladstone is wasted

Any movie or show about good and evil — or at least about evil — needs a good villain.

Think Heath Ledger’s Joker in “The Dark Knight,” or who Bryan Cranston’s Walter White becomes in “Breaking Bad.” Actors often say the villain is the best part to play, because it’s more fun, and a lot more interesting.

But what if the performance is so committed and expertly executed that the villain is too bad? So mean, so cruel, so thoughtlessly (and stupidly) evil that you can barely stand to watch?

“Under the Bridge,” an eight-episode series on Hulu, faces that dilemma, if you can call it that, twice over. It’s not a bad problem to have.

Lily Gladstone and Riley Keough star in 'Under the Bridge'

On its face the series, based on the non-fiction book of the same name by Rebecca Godfrey, who helped adapt it but died before the show began shooting, is a big-name project, with Lily Gladstone, Riley Keough and Archie Panjabi starring. In actual practice, Chloe Guidry and Izzy G. steal the show, along with other stuff, in performances that range from uncomfortable bad-girl posing to chilling, casual cruelty — Izzy G.’s character in particular.

Like so many series, it takes more episodes than it needs to tell its story, and struggles occasionally to settle on a point of view. But it’s gripping, a retelling of a true-life story that is heartbreaking and frustrating.

(And like “The Batman,” it gets bonus points for using “Something in the Way,” the dirge-like Nirvana classic. It’s even better here, if a little on the nose; the first line begins, “Underneath the bridge,” after all. It certainly sets a tone, and that tone is dismal.)

Is 'Under the Bridge' a true story?

The story is based on a real-life crime. Reena (Vritika Gupta, also excellent) is a 14-year-old girl living in Canada in 1997 who is alternately befriended and bullied by a group of girls. Their leader is Josephine (Guidry), whose hero is the mobster John Gotti, and whose life she seems determined to emulate. She’s bad, but she’s also a familiar type, like Regina George from “Mean Girls” with crueler intentions.

Scarier still is Kelly (Izzy G.), Josephine’s toady. She seems like just a sycophant at first, but she proves far more dangerous than that.

Keough plays Rebecca Godfrey, or at least a version of her, back in her hometown to write about what happens to the girls there. (She’s also a producer.) She’s struggling with events from her past (Hulu provided a comically detailed list of spoilers not to reveal, so leave it at that), and she can’t get the book done in New York. Gladstone plays Cam, a police officer who has a past with Rebecca.

The focus shifts from character to character, from past to present. Cam wants to solve the case and get out, move beyond working for her adoptive father (Matt Craven), the chief of police, but also, like Reena, she knows what it is to be an outsider in this community. Reena’s family are immigrants from India, and Jehovah’s Witnesses.

After an argument, Josephine invites Reena to a party, which in this case is a bunch of kids drinking and smoking. A fight ensues and Reena goes missing. Given that this is one of the highest-profile crimes in recent Canadian history, it’s probably no secret to reveal more, but it’s also more dramatic if you don’t know.

Watching movies is my job. Here are 10 I can't wait to see in 2024 - and why

When it’s at its best, “Under the Bridge” is more than a mystery thriller. It’s also an examination of how the unthinkable becomes thinkable, and is then put into action. It’s less interesting when it delves into the lives of Rebecca and Cam. Keough is effective playing someone who has gotten far too involved in what she’s looking into, though her motives and her actions are odd at best.

Gladstone doesn’t have nearly enough to do as a character conflicted in all sorts of ways — she’s really good when she’s trying to break through the lies and boasting and crime-lord playacting, until it isn’t acting anymore. She just doesn’t get to do enough of it.

How to watch 'Under the Bridge'

First two episodes stream Wednesday, April 17 on Hulu with new episodes available weekly.

'Civil War' review: The best movie of the year (so far)

Reach Goodykoontz at bill.goodykoontz@arizonarepublic.com. Facebook: facebook.com/GoodyOnFilm. X: @goodyk. Subscribe to the weekly movies newsletter.

Subscribe to azcentral.com today. What are you waiting for?

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 'Under the Bridge' TV review: Can a villain be too evil to watch?