The miniseries arrives on Netflix on Thursday, September 5th The Perfect Couple, based on the best seller of the same name. In six episodes, a noir unfolds all played on the psychological tension that captures the viewer in a web of suspicions, unsaid things, betrayals and unspeakable secrets. The narrator of the dark story is Amelia Sacks, played by Eve Hewson, actress and daughter of Bono Vox of U2, but the figure that stands out and dominates all the others in this disturbing family portrait, is that of the acclaimed crime writer Greer Garrison Winbury played by Nicole Kidman, who returns to work with director Susanne Bier after the success of The Undoing. The cast also includes Dakota Fenning as Abby Winbury, Amelia’s capricious sister-in-law with whom she tries in her own way to create an alliance against the oddities of the Family, and Isabelle Adjani as a family friend, while the rough detective Nikki Henry is played by Donna Lynne Champlin.

The Perfect Couple, the plot

In a wonderful estate on Nuntacket Bay, a sumptuous reception is being held on the eve of a wedding that, the following day, will see Amelia and Benji, a young scion of one of the richest and most powerful families in Massachusetts, the Winburys, who are keen to show off their wealth and power. During the party, we meet Benji’s older brother, Tom, and his capricious wife Abby, his shy younger brother William, his father Tag and his mother, the famous thriller writer Greer Garrison Winbury. And again, the groom’s best man, the charming Shooter and the bridesmaid and best friend of the bride, the much admired Merritt. Fast forward a few hours and the festive atmosphere has vanished: in the lake in front of the Winbury house, the body of a woman who was preparing to attend the wedding has been found. From that moment on, the police, led by the tenacious detective Herry, begins the hunt for the murderer, delving ever deeper into the true relationships and many secrets that bind the members of a family that, seen from the outside, seems perfect, starting with the couple of parents.

An investigation into the hidden secrets of a bourgeois (and ferocious) family

The Winburys’ glittering life seems perfect from the outside: a husband and wife team who are inseparable and have such an unshakable bond that they are the primary source of inspiration for Greer’s best-selling literary works. Three beautiful, healthy, privileged and apparently happy children: one expecting her first child, the other about to get married, the third who is living a peaceful late adolescence. An enviable picture but, as often happens, totally false. When a traumatic event breaks the necessary display of happiness on the eve of Amelia and Benji’s wedding, while the police search the apparently dream life of the Wilburys, increasingly disturbing details emerge about the relationships that bind them, even in the eyes of young Amelia who is about to enter that family but cannot find herself at ease. In particular, the friction is with Greer, the lady of the house, the queen of the family whose livelihood relies entirely on her talent as a writer. A brilliant but also cumbersome personality, which hides dark sides, like those of the other members of the family, each with his torments and his secrets, including the faithful servants. It will be the entrance into this privileged and sealed nucleus, of a stranger and his real and sincere world, which will bring tension and risk destroying balances supported by lies, while the investigation into the shocking murder that took place in front of the house, will lay bare all the unspeakable truths, laboriously protected for years.

A glossy setting, a story that is not at all sensational, but that unfolds with a sinuous rhythm that captures the viewer without letting him go for all six episodes rich in details, nuances, subtleties, different perspectives, possible truths. A labyrinth into which the audience enters, led by the hand by a very refined writing and direction, which focuses on the unsaid, on the revealing close-ups, on the silent movements of the soul, on the jolts, on the micro-expressions, building a narrative that focuses on the psychological tensions of the characters who act and suffer within the claustrophobic and ferocious family circle. A cast that holds up very well to a camera that scrutinizes every sigh, led by a cold and terrifying Nicole Kidman in her calm determination to protect the world she dominates, at all costs.

A thriller of great tension and sophistication, to be watched in one breath.

Rating: 7.5