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Bête Noire is the second episode of Black Mirror Series 7.
Maria (Siena Kelly – Adult Material) works at a chocolate development company, which sounds a great job, as you can get everyone to undergo taste-testing and eat choccy all day, but despite being good at her job and well-respected, things are about to change…
Old school friend – or, associate, at best – Verity (Rosy McEwen) suddenly gets a job there, but Verity thinks something looks different about her and doesn’t want her to stay, yet she gets on famously with everyone else. There’s something about Verity, only she can see it, and unlike with Cameron Diaz, it doesn’t involve funky hair gel.
Maria’s good at her job, though, and when the boss visits, he loves the food, but other things are changing from what she’s is actually doing, so it’s as if reality is distorting in some way, such as the contents of a particular email. Sounds like when I’ve edited a review, then accidentally overwritten the new edit somehow, so I no longer have the new version. I probably just need more sleep… he said while trying to write six new Black Mirror reviews in one day 😀
Plus, how her boyfriend loves Barnie’s Chicken, but everyone else seems to know it as Bernie’s Chicken… or was it the other way round and it’s just changed in this review? Ooh, spooky!
Some basics of Bête Noire, – such as how everything seems to change once Verity turns up – sounds like something out of a Channel 5 primetime drama such as The Cuckoo, but obviously, with some tech issues that are stopping everything from making sense, I kept thinking it was going to turn into Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
It didn’t, though, but as for what happens and why, when the reveal comes, it’s pretty cool.
Good to see the Happy Eater symbol return, too. They were bought out by the Little Chef I once worked at. Must’ve had a fair bit of money to do that, but we never saw any! We were paid a pittance! But enough of my grievances, and on to episode 3…
Bête Noire is now available on Netflix.
Score: 8/10
Widescreen ratio: 2.39:1
Director: Toby Haynes
Producer: Richard Webb
Writer: Charlie Brooker
Music: Daniel Pemberton
Cast:
Maria: Siena Kelly
Verity: Rosy McEwen
Kae: Michael Workéyè
Luisa: Hannah Griffiths
Nick: Ben Ashenden
Yudy: Amber Grappy
Camille: Elena Sanz
Gabe: Ben Bailey Smith
Mr. Ditta: Ravi Aujla
Group Members: Kieran Smith, Reba Ayi-Sobsa, Alice Brittain
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.