Series Review: Big Little Lies. Directors: Jean Marc Vallee and Andrea Arnold.
The word 'perfect' has a lot of synonyms, textbook definitions and is over-used in relating to multifarious things. But, what is 'perfect' in real life? The Great Advocate Sir Edward William Cox in 1852 expressed that in the course of an individual's journey through the path of his life, he has to ask himself and find the answers to various philosophical questions, two very pertinent ones being:
- WHAT am I?
- WHY am I?
While the first question relates to various dimensions of a person, the second relates to a person's purpose in life. HBO miniseries, 'Big Little Lies' touches very deeply upon the first question, and incidentally explores and discovers the second.
The fates of Madeline Mackenzie, Celeste Wright, Jane Chapman, Renata Klein and Bonnie Carlson are inter-twined after the happening of a certain event at the Annual Fancy Dress for Parents event at their children's school. While Madeline, Celeste and Jane form one 'faction' of full time and young mothers with small jobs, Bonnie and Renata form another as full time professionals and part time moms with careers. In the course of the series, it feels as though Madeline and Renata are opposing forces vying for dominance, while their children are on the best of terms.
Everyone in Monterey is rich, wears good clothes (most of them work in Google) and lives a "perfect" life. But, a perfect life is a perfect lie. The HBO series is based on Liane Moriarty's book bearing the same name. However, when Executive Producers Nicole Kidman (Celeste in this series) and Reese Witherspoon (Madeline) bought the exclusive rights of the book it appears that a lot of liberties were taken in the screenplay of the miniseries. Readers of the book will find drastic differences between the movement of the storyline in the book vis a vis the series, the first difference being that while the book depicts Australian women and an Australian story, the series is essentially American so that it is more fine tuned to the taste of an American audience having American actors.
The premise of the series revolves around how on the happening of a certain event, many secrets kept by these women from their friends, families and some secrets they were ashamed to admit to even themselves come to the forefront and how these secrets change the dynamics between them and affects their relationships with themselves and with others. The subject of the story is deep and serves a dual purpose of entertainment with contemplation. The internal conflict of a person having external reverberations is very well portrayed in the series.
'Big Little Lies' is a contemporary drama miniseries that is relatable and palatable for an Indian audience as well. An Indian audience is in a better position to understand this subject because Indian women have and still endure without making a mention of their troubles and even make the best of their circumstances. Widely speaking, the show aims to address that there beneath the surface there is an unfathomable abyss we are one decision away from making things better for ourselves.
The series does not disappoint the audience in the sense that the script is peppy and suitable to the show, the children in the show are precocious but endearing. The direction is addictive, vibrant and succeeds in making a point. The fashion quotient is very uptown and the actresses can be seen wearing all kinds of outfits, be it chic, boho or classy. One big takeaway from the series is an introduction to wonderful R and B music, be it Leon Bridges or Michael Kiwanuka, the series has very tasteful and meaningful music that would play with the strings of the audience's hearts.
All the cast members are senior and experienced, but Meryl Streep as Mary Louise, Laura Dern as Renata Klein and the handsome Alexander Skarsgard as Perry Wright stand out with their compelling performances. Adam Scott's sweetness as Ed (Madeline's husband) is consistent, right from being Leslie Knope's husband in the evergreen 'Parks and Recreation' who loves his quirky wife , to 'Big Little Lies', where Ed wonders how he loves the chatty Madeline and then loves her even more.
Overall, 'Big Little Lies' is a miniseries that aims to explore depths and bring women together, and succeeds in doing so. Everything, right from the aesthetics to the acting is compelling and is a good weekend binge as it spans in two seasons and seventeen episodes, each ranging to about an hour. The show has many disturbing visuals not suitable for family viewing, even so, the individual experience is just as contemplative and entertaining.
MY TAKE: 8/10.
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Image Courtesy: Google.
Author: Ms. Radhika Sunil Vaidya.
E-mail i.d: radhika.vaidya98@gmail.com
Amazing review of such an beautiful series 😍👌👏☺️
ReplyDeleteWonderful review
ReplyDeleteAmazing ☺️❤️
ReplyDelete