Not sinceBig Little Lieshave I been this intrigued by a murder mystery. Netflix’sThe Perfect Couple, which creator Jenna Lamia adapted from the novel by Elin Hilderbrand, has a slew of memorable characters and while it’s dark, it’s also funny. When it comes to peeling back the layers of a rich family who is the exact opposite of their facade,The Perfect Coupleexcels and leans into the typical murder mystery trappings while building an intriguing web of character connections. I enjoyed guessing whodunit the whole time without losing sight of the bigger picture.
Cast
On the eve of their wedding,Amelia (Eve Hewson) and Benji (Billy Howle)are seemingly so happy and in love. Benji’s mother, Greer Winbury (Nicole Kidman), a best-selling author 20 times over, dotes on him and her two other sons, Thomas (Jack Reynor) and Will (Sam Nivola). Greer’s husband, Tag (Liev Schreiber), openly shows his love for her while offering well wishes to the wedding videographer. Amelia’s best friend, Merritt (Meghann Fahy), is the picture of support and adulation, while Abby (Dakota Fanning), Thomas’ pregnant wife, smiles forcefully at her husband’s loud and obnoxious shenanigans.
This scene of overindulgent opulence and niceties doesn’t last very long.The PerfectCouplecleverly and subtly highlights the strained relationships between the characters before diving headfirst into the murder mystery that cuts the serene-looking ties to shreds. Lamia and Co. wait until the end of the first episode to even reveal who died, which keeps us on our toes. Certain characters are interviewed by the local police chief Dan Carter (Michael Beach) and surly detective Nikki Henry (Donna Lynne Champlin) immediately after the body is found, offering further insight into the layered dynamics.
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The Perfect Couple Doesn’t Take Itself Too Seriously
It’s this need to keep us entertained through the characters that makes it watchable
Nearly everyone has a motive for the murder, and soThe Perfect Coupleswings back and forth between its characters as it explores the details of what happened the night before the wedding. To keep us entertained beyond that, the series has a sense of humor and a lightness about it. It’s trying to poke fun at its own characters sometimes, as though it’s saying, “See how absurd everyone is?” The Winbury’s maid, Gosia (Irina Dubova), their French family friend Isabella (Isabelle Adjani), who freely speaks her mind, and Thomas are especially funny.
The Perfect Coupleholds our attention with quippy dialogue and memorable, and sometimes outrageous, characters.
They’re unhinged in a way the rest of the characters don’t get to be, accentuating the uptight masks and perfect personas the family upholds. That is particularly true of Greer and Tag, whose relationship is fraught with dismissive affection, annoyance, and plastered smiles that fade away. They have a love-hate (mostly hate) relationship that isn’t entirely what it seems, and it’s something I was quite surprised by because the series doesn’t portray their interactions as being based solely on an unhappy marriage.
While the series occasionally dips, especially as it zigs and zags its way throughthe whodunit mystery, it never loses its sense of engagement and fun. Tonally, it’s not entirely consistent, caught between the dramatic elements and the zany entertaining ones, but it doesn’t completely falter, either.The Perfect Coupleis, for the most part, just trying to have a good time, and it’s content to take us along for the ride. By the series’ end, I was more than satisfied with the story and the way it played out. One major twist involving Greer even had me chuckling.
The Perfect Couple’s Themes Go Hand-In-Hand With The Central Mystery
From the beginning, Greer has a problem with Amelia. A big part of it is because she senses she’s not entirely enamored with her son; another is Amelia, who comes from a working-class family and whose mother has cancer, doesn’t pretend the way Greer and her family do. Unlike everyone around her, Amelia wears her heart on her sleeve, even if that means not fitting into the mold carved out by the Winbury’s wealth. Amelia is real and honest in a way Greer feels she can’t be. It makes for a variety of intriguing conversations and tension between them.
The series is too preoccupied with over-the-top wealth and the way it makes the Winburys behave to properly examine the class differences it presents and how it shapes the dynamics.
If anything, I would’ve liked forthe Netflix miniseriesto explore their dynamic further over some others, like Amelia’s relationship with Shooter Dival (Ishaan Khattar), whose history with Amelia is treated as its own, somewhat unnecessary mystery. Amelia pines a bit for Shooter, but theirs is an underdeveloped relationship, and Shooter, a fascinating character in his own right, functions as more of a red herring.The Perfect Couple’s themes of class are a little more shaky.
The series is too preoccupied with over-the-top wealth and the way it makes the Winburys behave to properly examine the class differences it presents and how it shapes the dynamics. But the story is fun enough that it didn’t bother me as much. The series knows what it’s at least trying to be and that’s enough for such a short series.
In only six episodes, it manages to set the stage and give most of the characters enough dimension for the plot to be believable. And though certain questions go unanswered — minor, in the grand scheme of things —The Perfect Coupleholds our attention with quippy dialogue and memorable, and sometimes outrageous, characters.
The Perfect Couple
In the idyllic setting of Nantucket, a lavish wedding turns sinister when a body is discovered in the harbor just before the ceremony. As the investigation unfolds, every member of the wedding party becomes a suspect, unraveling secrets and lies. Starring Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, and Dakota Fanning, the series promises intense drama and mystery.
