New Jersey recently got hit with two big snowstorms, which kept this little granny housebound and gave me time to watch a few awesome foreign gems on Netflix. When is a death not a death? Lisa McGee’s limited series takes us on a magical mystery ride to get to the truth.
How to Get to Heaven from Belfast
How to Get to Heaven from Belfast is a British/Irish comedy thriller series on Netflix. Created by Lisa McGee of Derry Girls fame, and produced by Hat Trick Productions, the series stars Roisin Gallagher, Sinead Keenan, Caoilfhionn Dunn, Bronagh Gallagher, Darragh Hand, Natasha O’Keeffe, Selin Hizli, and Michelle Fairley. When watching foreign films and series, I always have my closed captions on because of different dialects, I don’t want to miss what they are saying…plus I’m old and can’t hear, lol. How to Get to Heaven from Belfast hits the ground running, and you really need to pay attention to all the clues.
The series begins when three close friends receive news that a friend, Greta (Natasha O’Keeffe), from high school has passed away. They are hesitant to go back to County Donegal because of a long-held secret from years ago, but eventually they do, to make sure that secret stays buried. In the first of eight episodes we meet Saoirse (Roisin Gallagher), a writer for a popular crime series, Robyn (Sinead Keenan) a harried wife and mother of three small boys, and Dara (Caoilfhionn Dunne) a gay computer nerd. When the ladies arrive in County Donegal to pay their respects to the family, the folks they encounter include Greta’s mother, Margo (Michelle Fairley), Greta’s husband, Owen (Emmett J. Scanlan), and Greta’s daughter.
At the private wake, the ladies are told that Greta died from a fall down the steps, but they become suspicious after Saoirse discovers that the body inside the closed casket is not Greta. Who is the woman in the casket? And why is Greta’s family lying? After mysterious letters are sent to them, and after they find an old notebook of Greta’s, Saoirse, Robyn and Dara decide to solve the mystery while keeping their dark secret hidden from their families and Liam (Darragh Hand), the handsome police officer who has taken an interest in Saoirse.
Conclusion
I truly enjoyed How to Get to Heaven from Belfast, and although it is a dark comedy, it is also a good crime thriller, which has you guessing why Greta’s family pretended that she died. We are introduced to a lot of scary characters like Feeney (Saoirse-Monica Jackson) and Booker (Bronagh Gallagher), two female versions of John Wick, and we learn about a dangerous cult and a horrible fire. Sometimes secrets can kill, and sometimes secrets should remain buried.
