HBO premiered its newest mini-series, “Big Little Lies” on Sunday. Based on the popular novel by Liane Moriarty, many fans of the book, and new viewers, like me, had high hopes for the series. From beachside drama to a stunning soundtrack and A-list actors, “Big Little Lies” delivers murder mystery excellence with a minimum of actual murder.
The episode opens on a mysterious homicide that takes place in picturesque Monterey, California. Here, the perfectly-coiffed families and their spacious homes are just as beautiful as the surrounding beaches. The show follows a group of mothers and their families, and both the town and the show seem to revolve around Madeline MacKenzie, played by Reese Witherspoon. In her first major television appearance, Witherspoon embodies the friendly town gossip perfectly, with an effortless Valley-girl twang.
In a roadside encounter, Madeline meets young single mom Jane Chapman, played by a brooding Shailene Woodley. Jane is new to town, and she has a somewhat mysterious reason for moving to town. When Jane’s son is accused of bullying another child on the first day of kindergarten, Madeline immediately comes to her defense, drawing battle lines against other mothers at the school.
Also on their side is Celeste Wright, played by Nicole Kidman, who is trying desperately, yet unsuccessfully, to pull off an American accent. Despite having a seemingly happy marriage to a younger man, played by Alexander Skarsgård, and two adorable blond twins, Celeste has some secrets of her own. But on this show, so does everyone else.
Both husbands of the primary characters, Perry (Skarsgård) and Ed (Adam Scott) both seem to have complicated personalities that need to be examined before we can really understand their role in the series. The women are clearly the stars of “Big Little Lies,” but just how deep a role do these men play? There are no one-note characters here, and odds are good those layers will be peeled away in subsequent episodes.
These layers are what make the pilot of “Big Little Lies” so successful. It doesn’t feel the need to lay bare all of the drama in the first episode. The series is happy to unfold at a steady pace, and viewers who stick with the show will likely reap the benefits.
Each character earns the show’s focus in a different way. While Madeline was shown to have surprising emotional depth near the end of the pilot, it may take a few more episodes to truly understand Jane’s dark backstory. We’ve seen hints of issues in Celeste’s home life, but just how fractured is her relationship with Perry?
Aside from each woman’s storyline, the show skips forward in time to feature a variety of police-conducted interviews with other members of the town, following the eventual murder. These side characters act as narrators of sorts, sharing their own opinions about each of the main characters and the gossip that surrounds them. These interviews were a bit jarring to get used to, but ultimately entertaining.
“Big Little Lies” will only run for seven episodes, which gives it a short time in which to shake up the television world. The pilot has proven it can hook audiences without giving away too much information. Let’s just hope there is some truth mixed in with all these lies.
