by Mike Hilty, Contributing Writer
Welcome to Cross-Platform Partners! In honor of a new movie release, I have selected a TV show to watch to pair with the movie. Think of it as a way to get hyped for the new movie, a preview of things to come, a means to tide you over if the movie won’t be released where you live for a little while, or a change of pace if you’ve run out of related movies or sequels.
For January, I picked Big Little Lies to pair with You’re Cordially Invited!
Reese Witherspoon has undoubtedly been through many different eras in her career. I first saw her in Pleasantville, which would soon give way to her romantic comedy era. Movies like Legally Blond and Sweet Home Alabama were the norm for her career. Then, as she shifted her career towards more dramatic roles, movies like Walk the Line and Wild showed a different side of her abilities, and she even won an Oscar. It seems like Witherspoon’s latest era has involved more work in TV, with shows such as Big Little Lies and The Morning Show. But although Witherspoon is starring in more comedies and straight-to-streaming movies like Sing and You’re Cordially Invited and Sing, her talent is still undeniable, and Big Little Lies showcases everything she can do.
Based on the novel of the same name by Liane Moriarty, the show tells the story of the death of a man, which shakes the quiet beachside town of Monterey, California. The series mainly revolves around a group of three friends: Madeline (Witherspoon), Celeste (Nicole Kidman), and Jane (Shailene Woodley). It explores their lives as mothers of first-grade kids, and as residents of a competitive, sometimes toxic, town. When the investigation of the death takes a turn, the toll of their secrets starts to weigh on their families and friendships.
With writing credits on 13 episodes, as well as the novel, Moriarty does a phenomenal job of painting the picture of a quiet town brimming with tension. I commend her involvement with the show, because it sticks true to her vision. Even as the story ran out of actual source material, her involvement signals confidence in the series, which I appreciate. The town she created has all the charm you’d expect from one its size, but like a high school, there are a ton of cliques and rivalries where anger mounts under the surface.
Two reasons why there’s so much anger within Monterey are the presence of domestic violence and sexual assault. Although Big Little Lies doesn’t shy away from these topics, they are used to explore their effects on people’s lives. These particular scenes are graphic, but provide the context for how people can suffer silently, and how these topics can affect their personal, professional, and family life. Big Little Lies showcases various levels of these events, too, whether it’s physical, emotional, or mental abuse.
The show explores these issues through Celeste and Perry (Alexander Skarsgård), a husband and wife caught in a cycle of domestic violence. Kidman and Skarsgård toe the line between the love that two people have for one another and reconciling that love with the abuse that is going on. I appreciate that Big Little Lies even goes down this path, because in the media, it’s incredibly black and white. The grey area is that Big Little Lies does an admirable job of showcasing how hard of a decision it is for someone to report an abusive relationship. To complicate matters, they have two kids, and are worried about the effect their potential knowledge of the abuse will have on their lives and development. It’s a challenging storyline to get through, but more nuanced than many shows are willing to get into.
Part of the reason it’s hard for Kidman’s character to come forward is that she’s worried about the way people will think of her as a mother. Big Little Lies’ main cast is comprised of mothers, and the town of Monterey is particularly hard on them at any stage of their journey, as they’re always balancing their personal and professional life with the responsibilities of parenthood. Gossip and drama come up quite frequently among the parents, and the pressures of motherhood get to all the cast members at some point. As a parent, I found a lot of what Big Little Lies is saying about parenthood spot on. It’s compounded by all these people’s lives being intertwined and exacerbating issues that are already hard to deal with.
I usually don’t praise child performers, but the those in Big Little Lies do outstanding work. All the kids bring a flair to their performances that helps convey some of the challenges they have faced. Throughout the series, they deal with some heavy, grown-up topics involving death, bullying, and trauma.
In fact, this series has one of the strongest core casts I’ve seen in a long time, and everyone is on their A game. Witherspoon, Kidman, and Woodley are fantastic as the primary cast. They each have different pieces of this puzzle that make this story unique and flow. Laura Dern and Zoë Kravitz also bring fantastic work to life by making you empathize with characters you might not initially connect with. Add in strong performances from guest star Meryl Streep in Season Two, and it’s almost embarrassing how excellent this cast is.
Trauma is a significant theme of Big Little Lies, and I enjoyed how each season explores trauma differently. During Season One, the series explores its downstream effects, and how many of these individuals try to forget their traumas in hopes they will go away. What we ultimately get is things spiraling out of control in catastrophic ways. Season Two explores the root causes of trauma. It would make sense to have it the other way around, but Big Little Lies goes down a different path by showing the consequences of trauma being ignored. It feels therapeutic, allowing the audience to explore how these characters start to think by carrying certain burdens around for two seasons.
Big Little Lies is a unique case of a show that outlives its source material, while continuing to tell a compelling story. The author’s involvement helps keep the continuity together, and the cast staying together for both seasons makes the story flow well. Big Little Lies has a lot to say, and those themes make the show equal parts compelling and entertaining.
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