Abigail Whitehurst is an entertainment professional and writer for Hollywood Insider based in Los Angeles, CA. Having lived all over the world as part of a military family and having pursued a bachelors of music, she brings a unique outlook to the entertainment industry. A life-long learner and researcher, Abigail is pursuing her masters in entertainment management. She strives to write through the lenses of context, analysis, and Hollywood Insider’s values to bring a fresh perspective to industry trends, entertainment business, and new film and TV releases. Her favorite place is a movie theater, and she’s always hunting for the deeper meaning and studying media as it pertains to culture. Film, TV, and interactive media are some of the most impactful artforms of our day, and they are worth digging into and analyzing. Everything is connected, whether it’s through Bacon numbers or history. When she’s not writing or at the movies, you can find Abbie crocheting or playing video games with her partner.
Sep 12, 2024
Table of Contents
Based on the book by best-selling author Elin Hilderbrand, ‘The Perfect Couple’ hit Netflix’s homepage this week to mixed responses from audiences and critics. It’s a beautiful production with a glitzy cast, a murder mystery set at an old money mansion in the hands of a new(er) money family where an unprepared woman is marrying into a secretive, cultish, filthy-rich family, but it starts a bit sluggishly. It feels like something we’ve seen before, until it morphs into a different beast part-way through the series. While the slow start and misdirection work against the first couple of episodes, ‘The Perfect Couple’ is well-worth a watch for the murder mystery lovers out there who are down to play along and guess who the killer is (and the body for most of the first episode), as well as anyone who loves a good performance from an incredible ensemble, especially one led by Nicole Kidman. If you stick around for the finale, it’ll be worth the wait.
Beyond the misdirection for the sake of keeping the mystery alive, there were some interesting editing choices that diminished some otherwise great scenes from the show. Kidman’s Greer Garrison Winbury, the matriarch novelist of the family and her son Benji (Billy Howle), the son getting married, are having an argument in the first episode about how he wants Greer to be nicer to his fiancee Amelia Sacks (Eve Hewson), which should have been our first glimpse into the economic divide between the Winburys and Amelia. Instead, the camera is trained on Benji as Greer makes some pretty scathing comments, but not actually getting to see Kidman deliver those lines distracts from the actual point of their conversation. That doesn’t feel like intentional misdirection, it feels like a mistake. In general, though, director Susanne Bier steers the show in a unique way, straying from the linearity of the book in constructive ways. There’s some padding to stretch the material into a six hour limited series rather than a 2 hour feature, but it’s nothing a weekly release couldn’t fix. Netflix’s tradition of releasing entire seasons ripe for binging reigns supreme, though, and I couldn’t help but wish I were in a movie theater watching this adaptation rather than in front of a small screen. This cast and story could have held its own in a theatrical release, but might as well explore more of the material and characters while we have the luxury of time in a TV show.
There is pretty obvious tension between Amelia’s family and the Winburys along economic lines, as well as between Detective Nikki Henry (Donna Lynne Champlin) from out of town and the officers from the Nantucket police department who are much better funded than her home base, but the way the characters and the writers seem to be dancing around the issue can be frustrating at times (it’s also debatable whether or not commentary on class divide is effective from the perspective of law enforcement). Part of the draw of the show is the glamor and intrigue of how the other half lives, to be fair, but the societal critique could have been handled more tactfully.
Fortunately, these moments didn’t undermine the show or characters completely. Kidman is in familiar territory in her role, as is Howle, and they deliver exactly what audiences love and have come to expect. Meghann Fahy as Amelia’s maid of honor is scarily believable as an influencer with secrets of her own; Liev Schreiber as Tag Winbury, Greer’s husband, plays his role with great intrigue; and Hewson does a great job as Amelia at the center of the family conflict. Dakota Fanning’s portrayal of Abby, who has already married into the Winbury family, is incredibly entertaining. Abby might not be likable all the time, but Fanning is having a riot. Easily, she gets some of the best diegetic moments. Each pair of characters has their own unique dynamic, and it’s easy to get into everyone’s relationships, even the ones between unlikable characters. As a viewer, you want to root for Amelia in this impossible situation, all while a murder is being solved out on the beach. The cutaways to the interrogation room fetch quite a few laughs, while still serving their purpose of developing different characters from various in-universe perspectives.
It must be said that the costuming by Signe Sejlund is beautiful, cohesive across the whole cast and each episode, and tapping into each character’s unique role in the story. Roberto De Angelis and Shane Hurlbut’s cinematography captures the too-perfect perfection of a coastal home of the northeastern elite, inviting viewers in but simultaneously warning them that maybe not everything is as it seems. Even something as seemingly simple as the lighting was so well considered. I felt like I was in that sunset on the porch. So many elements need to come together to execute a project as beautiful as this, and it’s obvious just how much time and effort went into that execution. ‘The Perfect Couple’ is a great example of all the less-obvious creative decisions’ impact on a series, how to enhance a story rather than distract from it.
What makes this show such a fun watch is that it manages not to take itself too seriously, eventually. Much like ‘Knives Out’ or ‘Only Murders in the Building’, it’s not just about some heinous crime. There is plenty else going on that gets you vested in the story, and everything is taking place in a brightly lit, candy-colored fantasy world. ‘The Perfect Couple’ has a unique tone and approach, but the stakes remain high. Who committed this crime? Why would they do it? What will the collateral damage be in the pursuit of those answers? Every ten minutes, my hypothesis changes, as it should while watching a good murder mystery show.
And the build up is worth it. As tempers snap and puzzle pieces come together, the payoff for the hours of sealed lips and emotional conflict just barely rising above the surface is juicy and satisfying. Truthfully, it’s exactly what it says on the tin. There’s no reason to reinvent the wheel of an unserious murder mystery, and ‘The Perfect Couple’ trucks right along. All the audience needs to do is enjoy the ride.
Click here to read The Hollywood Insider’s CEO Pritan Ambroase’s love letter to Cinema, TV and Media. An excerpt from the love letter: The Hollywood Insider’s CEO/editor-in-chief Pritan Ambroase affirms, “We have the space and time for all your stories, no matter who/what/where you are. Media/Cinema/TV have a responsibility to better the world and The Hollywood Insider will continue to do so. Talent, diversity and authenticity matter in Cinema/TV, media and storytelling. In fact, I reckon that we should announce “talent-diversity-authenticity-storytelling-Cinema-Oscars-Academy-Awards” as synonyms of each other. We show respect to talent and stories regardless of their skin color, race, gender, sexuality, religion, nationality, etc., thus allowing authenticity into this system just by something as simple as accepting and showing respect to the human species’ factual diversity. We become greater just by respecting and appreciating talent in all its shapes, sizes, and forms. Award winners, which includes nominees, must be chosen on the greatness of their talent ALONE.
I am sure I am speaking for a multitude of Cinema lovers all over the world when I speak of the following sentiments that this medium of art has blessed me with. Cinema taught me about our world, at times in English and at times through the beautiful one-inch bar of subtitles. I learned from the stories in the global movies that we are all alike across all borders. Remember that one of the best symbols of many great civilizations and their prosperity has been the art they have left behind. This art can be in the form of paintings, sculptures, architecture, writings, inventions, etc. For our modern society, Cinema happens to be one of them. Cinema is more than just a form of entertainment, it is an integral part of society. I love the world uniting, be it for Cinema, TV, media, art, fashion, sport, etc. Please keep this going full speed.”
Abigail Whitehurst is an entertainment professional and writer for Hollywood Insider based in Los Angeles, CA. Having lived all over the world as part of a military family and having pursued a bachelors of music, she brings a unique outlook to the entertainment industry. A life-long learner and researcher, Abigail is pursuing her masters in entertainment management. She strives to write through the lenses of context, analysis, and Hollywood Insider’s values to bring a fresh perspective to industry trends, entertainment business, and new film and TV releases. Her favorite place is a movie theater, and she’s always hunting for the deeper meaning and studying media as it pertains to culture. Film, TV, and interactive media are some of the most impactful artforms of our day, and they are worth digging into and analyzing. Everything is connected, whether it’s through Bacon numbers or history. When she’s not writing or at the movies, you can find Abbie crocheting or playing video games with her partner.
Abigail Whitehurst is an entertainment professional and writer for Hollywood Insider based in Los Angeles, CA. Having lived all over the world as part of a military family and having pursued a bachelors of music, she brings a unique outlook to the entertainment industry. A life-long learner and researcher, Abigail is pursuing her masters in entertainment management. She strives to write through the lenses of context, analysis, and Hollywood Insider’s values to bring a fresh perspective to industry trends, entertainment business, and new film and TV releases. Her favorite place is a movie theater, and she’s always hunting for the deeper meaning and studying media as it pertains to culture. Film, TV, and interactive media are some of the most impactful artforms of our day, and they are worth digging into and analyzing. Everything is connected, whether it’s through Bacon numbers or history. When she’s not writing or at the movies, you can find Abbie crocheting or playing video games with her partner.
Abigail Whitehurst is an entertainment professional and writer for Hollywood Insider based in Los Angeles, CA. Having lived all over the world as part of a military family and having pursued a bachelors of music, she brings a unique outlook to the entertainment industry. A life-long learner and researcher, Abigail is pursuing her masters in entertainment management. She strives to write through the lenses of context, analysis, and Hollywood Insider’s values to bring a fresh perspective to industry trends, entertainment business, and new film and TV releases. Her favorite place is a movie theater, and she’s always hunting for the deeper meaning and studying media as it pertains to culture. Film, TV, and interactive media are some of the most impactful artforms of our day, and they are worth digging into and analyzing. Everything is connected, whether it’s through Bacon numbers or history. When she’s not writing or at the movies, you can find Abbie crocheting or playing video games with her partner.
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