A bit Big Little Lies, a bit White Lotus and yet very much itself, The Perfect Couple has a gripping plot. Photo / Seacia Pavao, Netflix
A bit Big Little Lies, a bit White Lotus and yet very much itself, The Perfect Couple has a gripping plot. Photo / Seacia Pavao, Netflix
Two limited series dramas streaming on Netflix
Reviewed by Jen Shieff
The Perfect Couple (6 episodes)
Top Danish director Susanne Bier follows her Birdbox (Netflix, Sandra Bullock) and The Undoing (HBO, Niocole Kidman and Hugh Grant) with a completely engrossing new detective drama set on extraordinarily beautiful Nantucket Island.
Thestory focuses on an extremely privileged family whose matriarch, famous writer and mother of three, Greer Garrison Winbury (Nicole Kidman, central to the series, acing her role), has a very hard time keeping her husband Tag (Liev Schreiber) on the porch of their palatial mansion with rooms too numerous to count.
A bit Big Little Lies, a bit White Lotus and yet very much itself, there’s a gripping plot and well-drawn characters including Greer, Tag and their three sons – arrogant self-indulgent Thomas (Jack Reynor), Benji, groom in waiting (Billy Howle), and their youngest, Will (Sam Nivola).
Detective Nikki Henry (Donna Lynne Champlin) is hilarious, channelling Frances McDormand in her role as wacky policewoman Marge Gunderson in Fargo (Coen Brothers, 1996).
Amelia, bride-to-be (Eve Hewson), comes from the wrong side of the tracks, according to snobbish Greer, who savages Amelia behind her back.
The plot hinges partly on a murder, a mystery man called Broderick Graham who bothers Greer, and partly on pills, pot, a bloodstained shirt and a very sexy Isabelle Adjani as long-time family friend Isabel, who knows both Tom and Tag extra well.
All very binge-worthy, especially when Abby (Dakota Fanning) grudgingly married to Tom, befriends Amelia’s best friend, party girl Merritt Monaco (Meghann Fahy).
For a moment, it looks as if something genuine might be going on, but really nothing and nobody is genuine in The Perfect Couple, except perhaps Amelia.
It’s huge fun seeing below the surface. One of the best from Netflix for some time.
★★★★★
A Man In Full (6 episodes)
Created by David E. Kelley (Ally McBeal and Boston Legal) with experienced actor and director Regina King at the helm, there are good reasons to expect A Man In Full to deliver.
And indeed, it bursts into over-the-top life at the 60th birthday party of big full-on Charlie Croker (Lee Daniels), where Atlanta’s rich and influential and Shania Twain crooning “You’re Still the One” give us no doubt as to Charlie’s Trump-like status and influence.
A Man in Full's origins are in a bitingly satirical novel by Tom Wolfe. Photo / Daniel Delgado Jr, Netflix
The series’ origins are in a bitingly satirical novel by Tom Wolfe, but there’s nothing really biting here, nothing as vicious or smart as Succession, although there are some plot similarities when it comes to political and business intrigue.
Charlie’s character doesn’t have the depth of Logan Roy, he’s a bit of a buffoon by comparison, and while Lee Daniels is an award winner, his Charlie probably won’t add any trophies to his cabinet.
Dramatic tension rises when bank executive Harry Zale (Bill Camp) demands Charlie repays his $800 million loan, now, but Charlie’s preference is to use blackmail as a means to wiping his debt.
Meanwhile, Harry’s weird off-sider Raymond Peepgrass (Tom Pelphrey) hatches a curious plan with Charlie’s ex-wife Martha (the talented Diane Lane), aimed at ruining Charlie.
Overall, the series is enjoyably light-weight, with some laugh-out-loud moments.
