As we eagerly await the season premier of Big Little Lies S2, we attempt a recap of one of the most loved to watch TV shows of the past year. What made this TV show so loved? What created it's buzz? Was it the story, was it the delivery of content or was it the absolutely magnificent ensemble of beautiful actors on parade?
Based on the same-titled best-seller by Liane Moriarty, "Big Little Lies" weaves a darkly comedic tale of murder and mischief in the tranquil beachfront town of Monterey, Calif. Amidst doting moms, successful husbands, beautiful children, and stunning homes exists a community fueled by rumors and divided into haves and have-nots, exposing fractured relationships between husbands and wives, parents and children, and friends and neighbors. Told through the eyes of three mothers -- Madeline, Celeste and Jane -- the series' narrative explores society's myths regarding perfection and its romanticization of marriage, sex, parenting and friendship.
The series Premier Of Big Little Lies offered viewers a rivetting and captivating drama, that was bound to be both homely and wholesome. It began with a scene of the aftermath of a death, be it a murder or an accident, and from there the story was told from the past evento that led to the present passing away of a character ( assuming we could take it that was the present).
The form of narrative chosen is not uncommon, and in most instances it is used in TV shows involving criminal investigations or legal battles, by introducing the end result of a conflict situation while allowing the viewers to go through the entire season trying to figure out which, amongst the "perfect" characters could be culpable. In this show, it was the exact same procedure, with a little bit of contributory narrative from other seemingly less prominent characters in the present, thereby throwing a little bit of insight on the occurrences of the past, while obviously not knowing enough as to reveal details that could derail the attention requested of viewers. It has always been a successful narrative strategy, partly because it takes guts to pull off, and only the most complex of stories are allowed to be told this way.
Now, having paid much attention to the narrative choices, let's take a little stroll down the other aspects of telling the tale.
The plot theme element was borderline plain, it had no twists and no turns, it was told without much deviations other than the occasional family chaos of all families involved. The plot revolved around the families of Monterey, and told through the eyes of Madeline, Celeste and Jane. One thing that was however curious was the part-introduction of the problem( I find it hard to tag it a conflict), while the series unravelled at a totally different pace and line. What it means in essence is that, the series never headed in the direction of the murder/ accident until the very last episode. HBO however had a seemingly infallible strategy to keep the audience hooked throughout the season, by creating a conflict far removed from the problematic situations created in the very first scenes.
While I may want to criticise the company for their line or direction, I am however forced to admit that creating a conflict around a bunch of 6 year old kids worked magic. We were very much interested In the kids, and how the families of the children handled the conflict. So whereas there was only one conflict( around the children) there was however a bigger problem which was presented at the beginning and, it would seem, abandoned for the entire duration of the season, at least till the very end. This may perhaps have set the stage for the raucous anticipation and call for the second season to premier a whole year after the first. Can people get any more impatient?
One thing the show does however have going for it is the cast. The ensemble is elite. Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Shailene Woodley, Zoe Kravitz were all absolutely brilliant with their roles. Shailene definitely looked like having upped her game for this one, while Nicole Kidman was her usual magnificent self, as Reese Witherspoon shows once again why many feel she was born for the big screen. Zoe Kravitz on the other hand totally eliminated every trace of an accent everyone always had something to say about. They absolutely made this show happen and saved it from the clutches of mediocrity.
This therefore brings me to the critical point, the point at which HBO almost lost it; Telling the story, presentation of ideas and overall narration. We are very much at war with HBO's creative team here, and we will loop in the script writer ( s). We have always maintained that the presentation of a good tvshow does not end at having a good story, but also on having a good story teller tell the tale in the best way possible. We did feel that the story was not told well enough, we didn't find it funny that the imperious conflict was relegated to a mere problem that was treated as an after thought till the very end, and we just didn't feel comfortable with a woman being okay with being the subject of violence. The story could have been told from the present and occasional contributory narrative from the past. That would seemingly have put the series in better perspective, with regards to the singular most important conflict element.
Overall, it was a good series with a good story, but lacking a very exceptional story teller. We do however applaud how the series took into perspective the everyday societal ills, myths and social values and how the haves and then have-nots choose to deal with the same type of problems. At least this turned out to be a series with very good moral values, societal ills and family secrets. We low-key loved them subtle message passed to wife-beaters on the repercussions of such actions, not only the physical effects on the object of their violence, but it emotional and psychological effect on the young and Innocent observer.
Whereas I really think it's a series deserving of the mantra; "much ado about nothing" I will however recommend this to everyone of our readers preparatory to a very huge season 2 premier.
Please please and please do take your time to watch this, it's intellectual and captivating and homely.
Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman and Shailene Woodley , Zoe Kravitz , Laura Dern, Alexander Skarsgard.
Created and Written by David E Kelley
Directed by Jean-Marc Vallee
Producers: Liane Moriarty, Nicole Kidman, etc
The opening theme song; "Cold Little Heart" by Michael Kiwanuka was also a clincher and a killer. It perfectly captured what the series was all about. Brilliant number Michael!
16 Emma Award Nominations, 8 wins, plus several Golden Globe awards and screenwriters guild awards to booth, this little show billed as a mini series effectively brought home 18 Awards, yes Eighteen awards from just 7 episodes from the first season. What can we expect from a second season?
FCA'S AppR ; 8.5/10 !
A potential 9.5/10 had it not been for story telling failures.
FCA will bring you more hot gists when and if the second season does premier.
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