The Madness review: Colman Domingo's thriller has so much potential, but loses steam fast

We follow his character, Muncie Daniels, a political commentator who was once personally invested in his community and worked as a teacher and activist. But now, he's turned his sights to a more glitzy role as a writer, and regularly features on TV as a pundit.

You know the kind – always appearing to engage in social and political conversations, but ultimately seeming a little removed from it all. His regular stint on CNN makes him a recognisable face for many, but he wants to shake that off for a little bit, choosing to spend a sabbatical in the woods of the Poconos mountains.

He rents out a cabin to devote some time to writing his book, and while there, he meets his neighbour, a seemingly friendly man who recognises Muncie from TV and offers to be of any assistance should Muncie need it.

Spending his days smoking, drinking and putting pen to paper, Muncie's writing is stopped short when the electricity goes out, and so he ventures next door to ask his neighbour about it. But when he approaches his neighbour's outhouse sauna, he finds his dismembered body and quickly sees some hitmen circling the property.

What entails is the stuff of very random nightmares as Muncie runs for his life from these masked men, tells the local police, goes back to discover no trace of a body and then finds himself caught up in everything as both another target and a suspect.

If that doesn't sound exhausting enough, he quickly finds out that the murdered man in the woods, Mark Simon, is a member of the prolific far-right group The Forge. Not only that, but Mark is also a bit of a 'celebrity' in those circles because of his widely-read (and racist) newsletter. What is it they say about never trusting your neighbours?

Due to the sheer nature of bombshell after bombshell being dropped on Muncie in quick succession, the first few episodes of The Madness really feel as though they have proper meat on their bones. Well-paced and full of great storytelling, we slowly start to absorb the same level of paranoia as Muncie as he goes on the run for both his own safety and to avoid going to prison for a crime he didn't commit.

You can't help but root for him, but also remain vaguely suspicious of everyone and everything, not quite knowing why Mark was killed and how Muncie slots into everything. Domingo delivers quite the performance in The Madness, clearly comfortable at the helm of the drama, and manages to bring in just enough resolve, enigma and pain for Muncie to keep us engaged with his story.

Domingo is certainly at home in such a major role, even if the Netflix series doesn't exactly give him too much to do aside from run, look confused or angry.

But with recent talked-about appearances in Rustin, Sing Sing and The Color Purple, you'll certainly want to dive into Domingo's filmography after watching this – a credit to his undoubtable on-screen aura.

Sadly, though, Domingo's performance isn't quite enough to prop up the remaining episodes of The Madness, which feel both like a whirlwind and a slow trudge through the mud.

As the web of conspiracy starts to unfurl, we get an idea of the wider powers at play within this story, and start to piece together just who is after Muncie.

There's no real point in asking 'Why?' throughout The Madness, you simply have to go along with it all, much like in the style of the show's title. It's a reference to the madness that envelops many people in this day and age – including online forums, far-right groups and the like who continue to perpetuate the cycle of disinformation.

It's an especially relevant show in the bitter aftermath of the recent US election, and will certainly strike a chord for many as discussions around election interference, corruption, domestic terror groups and more are all dug into in this series, in only in slightly half-hearted measures at times.

The Madness does take a random turn, as part of its plethora of storylines also centres on Mark Simon's estranged wife Lucie (Tamsin Topolski) and her endeavours to find out what happened to him. Maybe it's just me, but frankly, I don't care for any plotline that seeks to humanise a white nationalist, or similarly, the wife that was part of the same group and supported her husband's decisions.

Sure, Lucie's trying to turn a corner and stare her racist past in the face – should we applaud a character for being an unbigoted human being? Some may even find her nighttime chat to Muncie about basketball endearing, but personally, it was a random direction for The Madness to take, and one that could've been spared to afford more time on the otherwise convoluted wider storyline.

Domingo is supported in the cast by emotional performances from Marsha Stephanie Blake, John Ortiz and Stephen McKinley Henderson, who all give us insight into Muncie's past and his own memories of having a politically-engaged father.

The windows into Muncie's past – as well as the desire to find out what on earth is actually happening – should be enough to keep you engaged through all eight episodes. But with clunky dialogue and some unconvincing plot twists, The Madness really does lose its steam in a big way.

Making it to the end episode is something that you sort of do out of obligation here, and while that finale does throw up some great moments, you can't help but feel that The Madness would've been the perfect thriller had it been condensed to five or six episodes.

The Madness is now streaming on Netflix – sign up for Netflix from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.

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