"You have all come here to die. I will bring you back."
Nine stressed city dwellers visit a boutique health-and-wellness resort that promises healing and transformation. The resort's director is a woman on a mission to reinvigorate their tired minds and bodies. Nine Perfect Strangers is another limited series by David E. Kelley, creator of Big Little Lies and Sharp Objects, based on the novel by Liane Moriarty, who also wrote the novel Big Little Lies. We're greeted with what we've seen before: big cast, impressive cinematography, and an intriguing mystery. The story may not be as fleshed out as the other shows, but the show is interesting enough to go all the way through. The cast is really what carries it. As strange as the casting may be, especially Nicole Kidman, they all end up fulfilling their characters. We reach into a different level of each character every episode. It can take a while to find a liking to all characters but by the last couple episodes we can gage who they are and how much we like them. Melissa McCarthy, Michael Shannon, Bobby Cannavale, and Tiffany Boone stood out from the whole ensemble. You can see definite growth. But the real star is Regina Hall as Carmel. From the start, she's the character we can sympathize the most with, but she has so much to give and she gives it her all!
Continuing on with characters, part of the problem with the show is the characters. There's nine plus people we need to get through in a short period of time, and as you might have been able to tell, not all get the treatment needed. I feel bad for Samara Weaving and Melvin Gregg because they were so forgettable, maybe not Weaving as much. Their story is essentially thrown away by the end and they didn't do much for the story. The family that gets most of the time has an interesting arc, but it can be a little too much time when they come to a conclusion and then go back to it an episode later. Nicole Kidman's story ends up crossing paths with another and it's handle in a way that's so unsatisfying. Jonathan Levine could've raised the stakes with the way he directed it, but as a new genre for him I think he wanted to focus on other aspects. The first two episodes were very impressive and the ending didn't really nail it, but the others I liked. Episode 6 actually took my interest in how it was shown visually and written. The cinematography looks absolutely stunning, especially outside with the nature shots. You can see the inspiration taken from Midsommar. The overall aesthetic was great, and I think that's what they wanted to get at. I just wish they fleshed out the story much more. In the end, Nine Perfect Strangers is an entertaining watch, but nothing super captivating. Each episode has something interesting, but it doesn't quite lace everything together nicely.
Nine stressed city dwellers visit a boutique health-and-wellness resort that promises healing and transformation. The resort's director is a woman on a mission to reinvigorate their tired minds and bodies. Nine Perfect Strangers is another limited series by David E. Kelley, creator of Big Little Lies and Sharp Objects, based on the novel by Liane Moriarty, who also wrote the novel Big Little Lies. We're greeted with what we've seen before: big cast, impressive cinematography, and an intriguing mystery. The story may not be as fleshed out as the other shows, but the show is interesting enough to go all the way through. The cast is really what carries it. As strange as the casting may be, especially Nicole Kidman, they all end up fulfilling their characters. We reach into a different level of each character every episode. It can take a while to find a liking to all characters but by the last couple episodes we can gage who they are and how much we like them. Melissa McCarthy, Michael Shannon, Bobby Cannavale, and Tiffany Boone stood out from the whole ensemble. You can see definite growth. But the real star is Regina Hall as Carmel. From the start, she's the character we can sympathize the most with, but she has so much to give and she gives it her all!
Continuing on with characters, part of the problem with the show is the characters. There's nine plus people we need to get through in a short period of time, and as you might have been able to tell, not all get the treatment needed. I feel bad for Samara Weaving and Melvin Gregg because they were so forgettable, maybe not Weaving as much. Their story is essentially thrown away by the end and they didn't do much for the story. The family that gets most of the time has an interesting arc, but it can be a little too much time when they come to a conclusion and then go back to it an episode later. Nicole Kidman's story ends up crossing paths with another and it's handle in a way that's so unsatisfying. Jonathan Levine could've raised the stakes with the way he directed it, but as a new genre for him I think he wanted to focus on other aspects. The first two episodes were very impressive and the ending didn't really nail it, but the others I liked. Episode 6 actually took my interest in how it was shown visually and written. The cinematography looks absolutely stunning, especially outside with the nature shots. You can see the inspiration taken from Midsommar. The overall aesthetic was great, and I think that's what they wanted to get at. I just wish they fleshed out the story much more. In the end, Nine Perfect Strangers is an entertaining watch, but nothing super captivating. Each episode has something interesting, but it doesn't quite lace everything together nicely.