In season two, on the surface, everything seems the same in the seaside town of Monterey, CA: mothers continue to dote, husbands support, children are adorable, houses are beautiful. But the night of the school fundraiser changed all that, leaving the community reeling as the “Monterey Five” bond together to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives. Meanwhile, Perry’s grieving mother Mary Louise Wright (Streep) comes to town in search of answers after son’s death.
Based on the novel by Liane Moriarty, “Big Little Lies” was a smash hit for HBO. Although the first season covered the source material, it was renewed for a second season. I was cautiously optimistic for its return to the small screen since its ending felt appropriately wrapped up, all five women victoriously convening on the beach.
Andrea Arnold takes over directing duties from Jean-Marc Valèe. During her remarkable career, she’s made some gorgeously intimate character studies focused on young women with the recent “American Honey” and “Fish Tank.” She masterfully handles the subject matter centered on the predominantly female-led characters with fluidly composed scenes gorgeously soaked in natural light. Just like season one the editing is sharp crisscrossing memories with the present.
We return to the Big Sur Coastline with that summer feeling now long gone. Madeline (Reese Witherspoon), Celeste (Nicole Kidman), Jane (Shailene Woodley), Bonnie (Zoё Kravitz), and Renata (Laura Dern) are dealing with the aftermath of Perry’s (Alexander Skarsgård) necessary murder. The five women are under investigation and now known as the “Monterrey Five.” Instead of the in-group fighting of last season, the women have clandestine meetings on beaches and cafes remaining united. A deeply depressed Bonnie is keeping the murder to herself, unable to share the painful secret with her husband or her overbearing parents. While it’s accurate for a person to remain wooden in such a difficult state, her performance does suffer from the flatness of the role. This season has themes of parental influence and unresolved generational trauma in a privileged community. Bonnie’s parents Elizabeth (Crystal Fox) and Martin (the always superb Martin Donovan) come to visit with invasive questions and emotional torment.
Renata has more than just the looming investigation. In a comically frustrating story-line, her embezzling man-baby of a husband Gordon (Jeffrey Nordling) confesses their potential bankruptcy. Upon hearing this shocking news, Renata delivers the line of the season, “I will not, NOT be rich.” To top things off, her seven-year-old daughter is justifiably concerned with the climate change disaster facing our planet.
But the real meat and potatoes are the antagonistic relationship between Celeste and her suspicious mother-in-law Mary Louise (Meryl Streep). Streep’s role as Mary Louise is perfect, full of contempt and strategic maneuvering in an attempt to punish Celeste for her son’s untimely death. The pair’s domestic issues become a legal battle that unfortunately plays out in a typical David E. Kelly-produced courtroom drama. My other major grievance is the kids are much too precocious and engage with their parents in such unrealistic discussions. I know California families can be more progressive than the average American household but I found myself rolling my eyes at most of the children’s dialogue.
I enjoyed the second season’s story even with its occasional retreads into the formulaic territory. The cast is great, but Dern, Kidman, and Streep, unsurprisingly, steal the show. Once again, there’s solid music supervision playing over photogenic locations and characters’ homes along the rugged coastline. The finale ends on a cliffhanger with a potential forced third season. I wouldn’t be surprised if they return for a third outing but I’m thinking maybe they shouldn’t.
Available on Blu-ray & DVD January 7th from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
