This time, I want to take a look at Big Little Lies. I'm going to assume that if you are reading this, you have seen the show, so I'm not going to talk around spoilers or given unneeded exposition.
Big Little Lies is a series that used a terrific cast and great performances all around to make up for some of the less appealing elements. The good far outweighed the bad. For me, Reese Witherspoon is what brought me to this (teaming with her Wild director, btw). Nicole Kidman, Shailene Woodley, Laura Dern, etc. are all actresses by themselves who wouldn't be enough to pull me in. Witherspoon on TV got my attention. She's never refused TV work*, but she isn't pulled into it very often. Big Little Lies is far more than a Reese Witherspoon vehicle though.
*She was on The Muppets as recently as 2015 in a guest spot. Still trying to figure that one out.
I have no idea how the Emmys are going to play out. Witherspoon, Kidman, and Woodley could all be vying for a lead actress trophy with Laura Dern making a strong argument for supporting actress. Lead actress splits in a very interesting way. Woodley is the functional lead. She the POV and entry point character, especially early on. On paper, you'd think it was her story. Witherspoon and Kidman have the flashier roles, but in much different ways. Witherspoon as Madeline is a force of personality. She takes what sounds more like a supporting role (the queen bee of Monterey and best friend/support-system for Kidman and Woodley's characters) and makes her into every bit as complex and troubled a character. She's also a lot of fun. The dinner with Nathan, Bonnie, and Ed is awkward and hilarious. Then there's Kidman as Celeste. That's a story that easily could've turned to melodrama and it didn't. She was a victim without losing her agency as a character. All three of their stories could've been the center of a mini-series or movie by itself.
And the leads have a lot to play off. The young cast was terrific. Darby Camp and Iain Armitage (Chloe and Ziggy) gave damn good performances. Children that young can often be distractions or annoyances, yet I was always happy to see them show up in a scene. Laura Dern is efficient with her scenes. Zoe Kravitz is a little under-served, to the point that her being the one who kills Perry is a little too unexpected. Speaking of Perry, the men in the cast are pretty great too. Remember when Adam Scott used to show up in things as the asshole (Step Brothers, anyone)? Well, that's not the case anymore. Ed isn't far from Ben Wayatt. He's just a super rich version who had no desire to work in the public sector. Alexander Skarsgard is a monster as Perry, but adds just enough shades to still be human. It's easy to see what about Nathan (James Tupper) makes him hard for Madeline to get over and what makes her hate him. Oh, and it doesn't seem like Bad Teacher and Paranormal Activity were all that long ago. I didn't realize Kathryn Newton was the same girl from both of those.
The murder flash forwards and townspeople as Greek chorus became a distraction quickly. That's baked into the source material, but after the first episode, it got in the way. Most shows include interview commentary and flash forwards to mask a lack of a compelling narrative in the present. Big Little Lies is the rare show that includes those things to its detriment. It hedges its bets, thinking that constant reminders of a murder will keep things lively. It turns out, the characters, writing, and direction are plenty engaging on their own. It's nice being able to call a show not confident enough rather than overconfident. In fact, the constant foreshadowing of this death almost ruined that moment for me. Perry's death ended up feeling required more than fitting and how it happened became a math problem (in the way that a big punchline in a Modern Family episode feels reverse-engineered when it happens). Bonnie is a nice-left field choice to have pushed him. I'm not sure I even needed that answer though.
Maybe I should clarify. Going into the finale, I wanted to know if Madeline and Ed get past their marital problems. I wanted to know if Celeste could rescue herself from her abusive relationship. I wanted to know if Jane could come to terms with her past. I wanted to know if this blood feud between Madeline and Renata could be resolved. If it took Perry's death to get there, great. It felt like they were teasing the death angle so much like "hang in there. It'll all be worth it in the end", when I was already enjoying what was happening.
So, if my big complaint about a series is that it was better than it gave itself credit for, that's a good thing. It ended in a good place. Even though someone is watching them now, I don't need to find out more. I'm hoping more networks can pull in big stars for brief stints like this without needing Ryan Murphy to have his name attached to it. I could go on longer and flesh out some points better, but I've already taken far too long to come out with this. That was an enjoyable show.
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