Susan Granger’s review of “The Perfect Couple” (Netflix)
A murder mystery really works when you have no idea whodunit until the final episode…and that’s how Netflix’s “The Perfect Couple” remains compelling.
Opening with the entire cast dancing to Meghan Trainor’s “Criminals,” the surreal story quickly focuses on extravagant preparations for the wedding of Amelia Sacks (Eve Hewson) and Benji Winbury (Billy Howle) at the magnificent $40 million Winbury oceanfront estate on picturesque Nantucket Island.
Benji is one of three sons of wealthy Tag Winbury (Liev Schreiber) and icy Greer Garrison Winbury (Nicole Kidman), a famous author, who’s about to launch her 20th novel featuring her beloved Dolly and Dash characters – with idealized Dash obviously inspired by Tag.
Unaccustomed to the sense of entitlement that comes with massive WASPy wealth, Amelia’s a naïve outsider, accompanied by her beautiful, flirtatious bestie Merritt Monaco (Meghann Fahy) and middle-class parents, cancer-stricken Karen (Dendrie Taylor) & Bruce (Michael McGrady).
Problem is: the morning after the rehearsal dinner, a body washes up on the white sandy beach.
Upon the arrival of Police Chief Dan Carter (Michael Beach) and Detective Nikki Henry (Donna Lynne Champlin), everyone in this affluent, dysfunctional family becomes a suspect. That includes smarmy eldest son Thomas Winbury (Jack Reynor), his pregnant wife Abby (Dakota Fanning), and youngest Winbury son Will (Sam Nivola).
Plus there’s best man Shooter Dival (Ishaan Khattar), family friend Isabel Nallet (Isabelle Adjani) and observant housekeeper Gosia (Irina Dubova).
Based on Elin Hilderbrand’s 2018 novel, the escapist wedding-weekend-gone-wrong plot that propels this complicated, fast-paced thriller is deftly guided by showrunner Jenna Lamia and director Susanne Bier.
Once again, Nicole Kidman embodies a brittle, bitter matriarch – not dissimilar to her pained roles in HBO’s “Big Little Lies” and Amazon’s “Expats” – as Liev Schreiber plays her philandering, pothead husband to the hilt. While Eve Hewson (U2’s Bono’s real-life daughter) scored in “Behind Her Eyes” & “Bad Sisters,” her smirking quickly becomes quite tiresome.
On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Perfect Couple” is a snarky, scandalous 7 – with all six binge-ready episodes streaming on Netflix.
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