Connelly is great to watch as always, with her performance as the prime universe’s Daniela more intriguing than her parallel universe counterpart, managing that tricky balance of being initially oblivious to the grand deception taking place in her own home and being the strong woman that she is. But the real standout from the supporting cast is Jimmi Simpson, who serves as a great foil to Edgerton’s characters, no matter which universe we find ourselves in or version of Ryan that Simpson plays.
In watching Dark Matter, it was hard not to draw comparisons with Apple TV+’s recent thriller series The Changeling and Constellation. The latter series, in particular, focused on a couple affected by parallel universes converging, with variations of characters displaying different dynamics despite their physical similarities. Whereas Constellation poised this premise as an overarching mystery on what exactly was going on, Dark Matter is relatively upfront with the audience in the kind of story it’s telling. This really works to its advantage, both in terms of accessibility and pacing rather than needlessly trying to prolong its telegraphed twist as Constellation had.
The cinematography always echoes closer to a lot of prestige television thrillers these days, with washed out colors in the daylight and interior sequences and constant shadow and warm light during its many nighttime scenes. Visually, Dark Matter is reliable though not especially distinct from many of its contemporaries, staying grounded even with its science fiction premise and core concept of parallel universes. This extends to the sound design, something that had crucially elevated Constellation, with Dark Matter keeping things relatively low-key in its aural presentation.
Apart from the more antagonistic side of Edgerton’s performance, the thing that’ll keep audiences coming back for more with Dark Matter is its sense of pace and well-crafted cliffhangers to most of its eight episodes. Crouch, along with the other writers and directors he’s working with to adapt his novel, fit a lot of story in each episode and know just how to bring each installment to a tantalizing close, daring viewers to tune back in to see how things unfold. It’s here where the narrative sensibilities of the story shine the strongest and, fortunately, it never feels like an episode of Dark Matter overstays its welcome.
Dark Matter is very smartly made and buoyed by its strong ensemble cast, using its sci-fi premise as a springboard into solid thriller territory that Edgerton plays to the hilt. Anyone aware and appreciative of Apple TV+’s growing library of original thrillers will find Dark Matter right in the streaming service’s wheelhouse, albeit with a slight sci-fi twist befitting its best-selling source material. Looking at Apple TV+’s catalogue, Dark Matter stands about on par or slightly above many of its contemporaries, well-executed and well-cast though perhaps overly familiar for those looking for something a bit more thematically distinct.
