An even-paced and deliciously twisted whodunit
A slick, even-paced and deliciously twisted whodunit that takes a whole host of complex themes on board – severe family dysfunction, class snobbery, dangerous liaisons, long-buried secrets that sow deep mistrust and complexity in a city where the rich wield unusual power – Perfect coupleStarring Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber and Ishaan Khattar (in a pivotal role that he does full justice to), it’s an almost perfect blend of intrigue, suspense and red herrings.
Unveiled from the word go, showrunner and writer Jenna Lamiere’s adaptation of Elin Hilderbrand’s bestselling novel of the same name doesn’t let up as it zigzags through a series of twists and turns in the wake of the discovery of a lifeless body on a beach. The morning of a high-society wedding on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts.
It’s the Fourth of July weekend and the family is ready to be stopped in their tracks when Nantucket police suspect it’s a murder and not just an accident, as some would have the world believe.
The core of the Netflix series is reminiscent of Big Little Lies, Nine Perfect Strangers (both starring Nicole Kidman and set in a California town) and The White Lotus but Perfect couple is, firmly and definitively, its own beast.
Apart from not being a boilerplate subject, it’s not enough to be weighed down or slowed down by an exceptionally busy plot that slowly becomes complicated by the time the longest episode of the lot, 63 minutes, kicks in. .
Director Suzanne Beer has a proven track record of dissecting the actions of flawed individuals in an imperfect world and uncovering the many psychological inadequacies of human behavior. He brings all his wits to bear on the inhabitants of a seaside summer palace, their lovers, friends and enemies, and their individual and collective shenanigans and fixations.
perfect couple The title is anything other than a pair that anyone should emulate. Super-successful murder mystery author Greer Garrison Winbury (Kidman) has 28 bestsellers and 29 years of marriage under her belt. He is a cruel control freak with a lot to hide. And so does her husband, Tag Winbury (Liev Schreiber), who never misses an opportunity to claim that he still loves his wife more than anyone in the world.
Their glamorous lifestyle is funded by the family wealth that Greer’s books have created over generations of Winburys. This allows Greer’s spouse and three sons the luxury of not having to worry about where their next million dollars will come from.
The series premiere begins with a pre-wedding party for Greer’s son Benji (Billy Howle) and Amelia Sacks (Eve Hewson), a zookeeper in Easton, Pennsylvania, a less wealthy zookeeper who would rather be without an interloper Winbury, an eye at the wedding of a snooty novelist.
The best man and friend of the groom, Shooter Deval (Khattar), arrives just in time for the event, but the maid of honor, Merit Monaco (Meghan Fahy, also in The White Lotus), a woman of infectious enthusiasm who instantly makes her presence felt at the gathering, is a little late. is
Both guests — the shooter has a special bond with Greer — influence how things turn out in the next few days for Winbury and Nantucket law enforcement.
A body was found on the beach a few hours after the wedding ceremony. Marriage is called off. The local police, led by Chief Dan Carter (Michael Beach) and Detective Nicky Henry (played brilliantly by Donna Lynn Champlin, who steals everyone’s thunder through the six-episode drama series), begin their investigation. All in and around the family are suspects and potential witnesses.
This is, in short, familiar territory – Greer told a television interviewer that he once had an “Agatha Christie obsession” – but Perfect couple There are characters and situations that take the story in directions that seem perfectly believable in the context of the world
Greer gets great mileage out of the fictional universe inhabited by the Winburys.
Greer is fiercely protective of the image of family, marriage, and lifestyle he wants to project as a public persona. No Winbury, especially one marrying into a girl’s family, has any choice but to disobey the rules he sets. Abby learns to live with that reality but reverts to confusion at Amelia’s suggestion of not being able to speak her mind and do her heart’s bidding.
Some twists in Perfect couple Might seem a little fanciful and arbitrary, but Perfect couple Surprises never stop springing. It doesn’t fall into a predictable pattern, although the rapid succession of events and revelations – mostly through the answers that suspects and witnesses ask during police interrogations – prepares viewers not to take anything at face value.
Everyone is inside Perfect couple They have problems with each other and not so much with the rest of the world, which they have a way of getting out of their view when they want to. Greer’s eldest son Thomas (Jack Raynor), his pregnant wife Abby (Dakota Fanning), who understands the animosity Amelia incites in the class-conscious Greer, and the youngest Winbury brother Will (Sam Nivola), struggle with the constant tension, if Not completely harmless, there are forces working around them.
The Winburys’ opulent cottage on Nantucket is called Summerland. But there’s a permanent winter with chilly shivers around and dark and dirty secrets lurking in every corner of a house that’s more prison than shelter.
The actors, led by Kidman, are all in their element, the screenplay and directorial intervention setting the right stage for them to bring the characters and their failings to life. Schreiber is great as one half of the “perfect couple.” Hewson captures him as the reluctant interloper who sets the cat among the pigeons of the Winbury household. The plot allows Ishaan Khattar to stand out in the crowd. He makes the most of it.
All the way bingeworthy.
