Back off: Nicole Kidman is back in HBO for a new psychological thriller film

I miss Big Little Lies, In spite of Meryl Streep joining Reese Witherspoon And the Nicole KidmanA show about Desperate Housewives of Monterey that can’t make Season 2 strong or addictive like the first. Still crossing my fingers Season 3 will turn out to be more than just Rumors.

She approached The Undoing, HBO’s new limited series starring Kidman, hoping to fix Big Little Lies, and David E. KellyPsychological excitement did not let me down. Kelly was also responsible for conditioning BLL. Kidman is reprising her role as executive producer here. There is a murder that needs to be solved. And like BLL, The Undoing is based on a novel, in this case, by Jean Hanff Korelitz You should have known.

In the six-episode show, which premiered Sunday, Kidman swapped the coastal rigidity of northern California for the exclusive New York’s Upper East Side. The Oscar-winning actress plays Grace Fraser, a successful therapist and core of Manhattan who has a private Pilates instructor and loves to take long meditative walks around town. She is married to Jonathan (Hugh Grant), A pediatric oncologist. The couple have a teenage son, Henry (Noah Gobi from A quiet place And Honey Boy), and that kind of delicately decorated house in town only two doctors can afford.

Part of what drew me to this story, other than the fatal components, was seeing the characters in the pre-COVID-19 world. They talk to friends and acquaintances without a mask or distance. Going to the gym is a stress-free activity. Commuting to work is still a thing.

There is also the luxurious component. Grace’s father (Donald SutherlandFifth Avenue apartment overlooking Central Park. Fraser band is invited to lavish black parties. Kidman has a collection of long, colorful coats scandalOlivia Pope will be envied.

The couple’s illusion of the perfect life unravel when the mother of a schoolmate appears murdered. This is a show the less he knows, the better. Let’s just say the plot has thrilling ups and downs: paternity tests, betrayal, sexy police investigators, sly lawyers, sociopaths, JMW Turner boards, and even a hint of haunted house.

“You’re constantly guessing everyone, their behavior, and what they’re saying,” Kidman said during a hypothetical press conference about the show on October 14.

Director Susan beer He plays on Hitchcockian elements. The Danish filmmaker is behind Bird box And the Night manager He has a purposeful and personal way of framing characters and events, without any hindrance. It left its signature character throughout the show, whether that’s by photographing an entrance to a New York criminal court building from the perspective of a bird reminiscent of the north next to the northwest or a particular phone call looking out almost outside the rear window.

Kidman is ready to take many close-ups for this show. She is totally believable as a professional, complex, and independent upper-class woman who struggles with many hateful feelings and truths thrown at her constantly.

“Everything that happened in 2020 has now kind of put a different lens to the series,” the actress and producer said during the press conference. “Seeing these worlds disintegrate is a wonderful thing for people. The idea of ​​being able to buy your justice and have that privilege that they shouldn’t be getting.”

You may not be able to resist the temptation to compare the way Fraser lived in the Upper East Side with the way another family lived in East Harlem. Or how Frasers can provide the best attorney possible, Haley Fitzerald (Or praiseBut even with a hiatus in the class, you can only devour The Undoing as pure escape TV.

This is another one of those darker novels that turned into shows – like BLL, Sharp Objects, or Little Fires Everywhere – with just the right amount of gloom, shock, and strong, intelligent female leadership. It’s an adaptation that prompts you to carry on your binge-eating bouts until you discover who the killer is, a journey that comes with the right dose of unpredictability.