You Don’t Know Me Review: A Slow Burning Drama With Truth on Trial

You Don’t Know Me is a British courtroom drama series released on Netflix on 17 June 2022. It is based on the 2017 crime novel of the same name by Imran Mahmood and the first episode has already premiered on BBC One on 5 December 2021. The screenplay is adapted by Tom Edge and directed by Sarmad Masud. There are 4 episodes in the series with a runtime of about 55-58 minutes respectively.

The cast features Samuel Adewunmi as Hero, Badria Timimi as Prosecution Barrister, Yetunde Oduwale as Adebi, Bukky Bukray as Bless, Sophie Wilde as Kyra, Roger Jean Nsengiyumva as Jamil Issa, Michael Gould as Judge, Duayne Boachie as Binks, Habeeb Ipaye as Shilo, Winnie Wong as Jury, Nicolas Khan as showroom Sam, Tuwaine Barrett as Curt, David Isiguzo as Guilty, Josef Altin as Pimp and Michael Balogun as Face.

-You Don’t Know Me Review Does Not Contain Any Spoilers-

Plot: Do You Believe Him?

Hero is a young man who stands in the dock accused of the murder of one of his cursed acquaintances, Jamil Issa. But Hero has fired his barrister and is now representing himself. The prosecutor has put up a strong case against him where all the evidence points toward him. It looks like a simple case that can be resolved easily. But is it really?

Before the verdict is given, the judge gives Hero a chance to put up a closing argument before the jury could vote. The defendant starts to tell us his side of the story. A love story where he falls in love with a girl named Kyra at the first sight but soon shatters when she disappears. He searches for her everywhen but when he actually finds her it ends up embroiling him in London’s underworld.

Hero must protect her and his family from the local gangsters. But now that he is standing in the court as a convict, we wonder where did things go wrong? Did Hero kill someone to protect Kyra or is it something else at play here? Why did he fire his lawyer and represent himself in court? Is he really innocent or lying to hide another big secret? Whatever the case, the only question on which his fate lies is – Do you believe his story?

A Man in Love Can Go To Any Length

That’s the simplest way to summarise this four-part drama series. According to him, everything started 2 years ago when he met a girl named Kyra on the bus while on way to his workplace. He fell in love with her and took the same bus every day to meet her again and he does, that’s the start of their relationship. But little did he know that she would disappear one day, and he would roam around searching for her in every nook and corner.

The search leads him to even take the help of a local drug dealer/gangster from whom Hero had always stayed away. That’s the first step that lands him in even bigger trouble with underworld gangs when he went to rescue Kyra. From then on he is embroiled in the world of drugs, guns and murder even though he doesn’t want to. But to keep himself and his loved ones alive that’s the price he has to pay.

The best part about the series is the acting by its cast that captivates the audience from the get-go. Adewunmi as Hero is brilliant and believable. Also to talk about the story, the dialogue in the series are well written which helps the characters build the fictional world around them. So does the cinematography which completes the dialogues by giving us full imagery of their world and London.

The only thing I am wary of is how legal proceedings are done in the show. I am not aware of how things are done in British courts but do they let someone give a speech for 2 consecutive days as a closing argument? Not sure about that, but it certainly helps in telling the story in a narrative style instead of the usual flashbacks and haunting dreams.

Final Verdict: Stream It or Skip It?

My verdict about You Don’t Know Me on Netflix is to definitely stream it. It is a slow-paced drama that unravels the plot at the right time which makes it all worthwhile. The series will make you question and be suspicious of what is being told to you by Hero. Sometimes you feel like he is telling the truth and sometimes you have already marked him guilty when you see him preparing his lines like he is about to play a character on stage.

Hero is not your essential ‘hero’ who only does the right things. This Hero has his share of good and bad but the main question is if he killed Jamil Issa or not. We only get to know the complete truth in the last 20-30 minutes and believe me it’s bigger than we can imagine. Although I have some qualms about the ending, I will leave that for another day/post.

You Don’t Know Me is streaming on Netflix.

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