The Perfect Couple Movie Review – An Intriguing Premise, Hindered by Predictability and an Inconsistent Tone

A 2018 novel by Elin Hilderbrand. The perfect couple marks the first adaptation of her work to be broadcast. Hilderbrand, once dubbed by New York magazine “the queen of beach reads” has carved out a niche for herself over the past 20 years. Since 2000, she has published 30 novels and four short stories. Considering that her books take advantage of Nantucket’s idyllic setting and explore the lives and scandals of the island’s residents and visitors, it’s surprising it’s taken this long.

About a death that occurs just before a wedding at an opulent Nantucket estate, the series seems like the perfect show for the last days of summer and seems particularly suited to Netflix. Unfortunately, flat characters and an inconsistent tone make it impossible to The perfect couple from achieving the status of a mandatory item.

The perfect couple Plot

Amelia Sacks (Eve Hewson) is about to marry Benji Winbury (Billy Howle), a member of the famous—and incredibly wealthy—Nantucket Winbury family. All of this is happening under the watchful eye of her disgruntled future mother-in-law, Greer Garrison Winbury (Nicole Kidman), a famous novelist. Add to that a host of other expected oddities of a wealthy East Coast family, and it’s safe to say there’s a certain tension surrounding the nuptials.

All of this tension comes to a head when a body is discovered on the beach the morning of the wedding. The ceremony is postponed while the police investigate, trying to determine whether it was an accident or murder. And if it was murder, they have a lot of work ahead of them – everyone who stayed at the Winbury estate had a reasonable motive, so everyone is a suspect.

The perfect couple Review

Any good murder mystery will introduce several characters as possible – and probable – culprits. Everyone likes to try to solve a mystery as they go; they don’t want it to be given to them or made blatantly obvious. And on that front The perfect couple is a success. From family and friends, even the wedding planner, everyone has secrets they would like to keep under wraps for fear of being targeted by the police. The series uses extensive flashbacks to reveal each character’s backstory, establishing potential motives for each.

The perfect couple it does a good job of portraying each of these characters. I don’t want to confirm whether the death was murder or an accident, but if it was murder, there are a few options that would make sense. And that’s all fine and dandy. But the characters are, for the most part, just uninteresting.

Benji’s brother, Thomas (Jack Reynor), is one of the few exceptions. He seems to have a bit more darkness to him than the others. For a show about devastating death — and potential murder — there could have been a lot more of that. Thomas also provides most of the laughs, which the show could have used more of. He’s the closest thing the show has to a three-dimensional character.

Right behind Thomas is Meghann Fahy as maid of honor Merritt Monaco. While Thomas brings some darker themes, Merritt has an infectious, energetic personality that the rest of the show lacks. As in Season 2 White Lotuswhere she quickly became a fan favorite, Fahy clearly stands out here as well.

The rest of the cast is pretty generic. The performances are good, though, which helps soften the blow. Dakota Fanning is particularly noteworthy as Thomas’ wife, Abby. At least she tries to do something interesting with her take on the character. Greer Kidman has a few moments that stand out, but her character is mostly elevated by the simple fact that she’s played by Nicole Kidman.

One thing The perfect couple It really has its own pace. It doesn’t reveal too much too early, nor does it hold back too much for the big finale. There’s a good sense of when to reveal something new or change things up. And with only six episodes — and only an hour-long finale — it’s not a packed, drawn-out season. If the show gets you hooked, it’s an easy watch.

As a program whose success seems to hinge on surprising, mind-boggling discoveries, The perfect couple falls short in that regard. With the exception of a few later moments, none of the character reveals are surprising. You might not be able to match them to any specific character, but generally speaking, you can guess who they’re going to be. It’s a collection of tropes you’ve seen a thousand times before, with no interesting attempt to flesh them out.

But the biggest problem that bothers us is The perfect couple is the lack of a consistent tone. At times it wants to be a serious procedural. Other times it wants to be a social commentary. At times it acts like a family comedy-drama. And still other times it tries to play like a dark comedy. Unfortunately, it doesn’t do either of those things particularly well. If they had focused on just one or two of them, they might have had something here.

There’s a scene in the finale that may not be the “best” moment of the series, but it’s definitely the most absurd and hilarious. And that’s exactly what this series should have been. If director Susanne Bier and writer/showrunner Jenna Lamia had gone in that direction, The perfect couple could be a breakthrough hit.

Is The perfect couple worth watching?

A little? If it hooks you after the first episode and you plan on watching the entire season, then it deserves a mild recommendation. Still, you’ll find it to be an average show at best, with occasional glimpses of what could have been a better show. But if you’re going to wait even a few days between episodes, then you might want to give it a miss The perfect couple from the watchlist.

The whole season The perfect couple is now available on Netflix. All six episodes were screened for this review.

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