‘Big Little Lies’ haunts and satisfies in equal measure
‘Lies’, essentially a miniseries, acts as a stunning case study for each of its central protagonists; Kidman’s character is a stunning addition to her repertoire, right up there with ‘The Hours’
Based on Liane Moriarty’s darkly delicious bestseller, ‘Big Little Lies’ is a deeply moving study of the privileged class, helicopter parenting and, most of all, midlife crises. The transcendence of this miniseries lies in the fact that it just tells the truth and lays bare the dynamics of female relationships, domestic violence and children’s cognitive development.
Written and created by David E. Kelley and co-executive-produced by Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman, ‘Big Little Lies’ brims with…show more content… The drama is mostly uplifted by Vallée’s acutely astute direction, and by the extraordinary ensemble, including Reese Witherspoon as Madeline Martha Mackenzie, Nicole Kidman as Celeste Wright, Shailene Woodley as Jane Chapman, Alexander Skarsgård as Perry Wright, Adam Scott as Ed Mackenzie, Zoë Kravitz as Bonnie Carlson, James Tupper as Nathan Carlson, Jeffrey Nordling as Gordon Klein, and Laura Dern as Renata Klein.
With such a stalwart ensemble on board, ‘Big Little Lies’ enters into a ‘category’ of its own. Men play significant roles here, especially Skarsgård and Scott, but women are the real heroes.
Witherspoon’s Madeline is a part-time theatre enthusiast and a full-time mom who lords her status of a full-time mommy over career moms. She also comes across as a cheesy woman who says lines like, “I love my grudges. I tend to them like little pets.” She is a mother of two beautiful girls—a teenager Abigail (Kathryn Newton) from her former husband Nathan and a six-year-old Chloe (Darby Camp) from her present husband…show more content… She is happily married to Gordon and has a daughter called Amabella (Ivy George). Amabella gets physically assaulted on the first day of her school where she accuses Ziggy for trying to choke her.
Renata escalates the issue in no time, which strengthens Madeline and Jane’s bond. Madeline is encouraged by the fact that Jane was being bullied by Renata.
Amabella’s accusation is followed by a chain of further accusations, however, the following accusations are not levelled by Amabella, but are exhaustingly exaggerated by Renata against six-year-old Ziggy. Following this thread, ‘Big Little Lies’ explores various themes in its thoughtfully-titled seven episodes.
‘Lies’ serves up a startlingly superlative mix of women who continuously get involved in petty power plays with chalices of wine in their hands, sometimes cappuccino. However, their problems are fundamentally the same as everyone else: acute loneliness and domestic abuse.
With these recurring themes, the show serves up an exhilarating social satire sandwiched between a murder mystery and an emotional drama.
The results are unusually satisfying.