The "Mindhunter" is near perfection for its acting, its human interest, and its scriptwriting. The story is very loosely based on the book "Mind Hunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit" written by former FBI member, John E Douglas with author and film maker, Mark Olshaker. John E Douglas and his former partner, Robert Ressler (deceased 2013) were pioneers in Criminal Profiling in the early 1970's.
'Mindhunter' is a fascinating look into criminal minds
Joe Penhall is the creator of this series and it has been put together with almost perfect attention to detail. By the 1970's crime in America was no longer easily solved with the old-fashioned "Who" did "What" system of analysis. Society had changed dramatically between the late 1950's and early 1970's and criminal behavior changed along with it. This left police with a growing problem as crimes became more bizarre and much harder to understand. People were no longer being murdered for reasons of passion or caught in the crossfire of violent robbery, a new criminal was emerging, one that selected victims specifically in order to indulge in personal deviancies.
Exactly what triggered these changes is unclear but behavioral scientists realized that deeper investigation and understanding was required in order to even begin to uncover the motivations of a new kind of predator. "Mindhunter" follows that story and the first four episodes have been faultless in execution.
Based on truth with room for dramatic maneuverability
The actor Jonathan Groff plays the role of Holden Ford, a loosely based version of the author of the book "Mind Hunter", John E Douglas. Alongside Groff, Holt McCallany takes on the character of Bill Tench who reflects Douglas's original partner, Robert Ressler in the pioneering research. The producers have been careful not to rely too heavily on the original FBI agents for characterization, leaving themselves room to allow for the development of the characters Ford and Trench.
The book details numerous criminals and their nefarious activities so the producers of the series have plenty of raw material to work with and adapt. With producers such as David Fincher, Charlize Theron as well as Donen and Chaffin, the series will undoubtedly hold audience attention for some time to come.
Finally, we have a series that is not just blood and gore. It is a mind game. This time the audience and the main characters are looking past the actions and into the motivations. It's more about what creates crazy rather than what crazy does, and it is fascinating.