TV-MA | 6 episodes | Drama, Comedy, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller | 2024
Based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Elin Hilderbrand, the six-part Netflix series “The Perfect Couple” suggests Agatha Christie by way of Jackie Collins. Lent a certain degree of élan and gravitas because of the participation of Danish director Susanne Bier (“Things We Lost in the Fire”), the series has several peaks and a few narrative valleys, but never fails to keep the viewer guessing and entertained.
Set on Nantucket Island, the story uses the night before and the day of a high society July Fourth weekend wedding as its springboard. The groom (Billy Howle as Benji) is the second of three sons of Tag (Liev Schreiber) and Greer Garrison Winbury (Nicole Kidman). Tag is a fifth-generation “old money” rich boy, who has never worked a day in his life, and Greer is an acclaimed British writer of mystery novels. It’s pretty clear from the onset that Greer wears the pants in the family.
The U2 Connection
The bride-to-be is Amelia (Eve Hewson, daughter of U2 front man Paul “Bono” Hewson), a New York-based zoologist with middle-class Pennsylvania roots. Greer isn’t thrilled that Benji is marrying “below” him class-wise, but the soft-spoken, borderline milquetoast Benji is certain and correct Amelia is way out of his league on every other level. Never far from Amelia’s side is Merritt Monaco (Meghann Fahy), her best friend and maid of honor.Before the opening credits for the first episode end, a loud nighttime splash is heard, a woman screams, and it is determined early the next morning a murder has been committed. The identity of the victim isn’t revealed until the end of the episode, which does nothing to help in getting close to identifying any possible culprits.
So Far so Good
Episode two keeps the momentum going strong. Bier and showrunner principal writer Jenna Lamia stick to Hilderbrand’s lead by including numerous out-of-sequence flashback scenes of events going back hours, days, weeks, months, and, possibly, years.
This is where the personalities of the immediate and extended Winbury family are brought to the fore. There are no angels here, but no apparent devils either; there’s just a lot of attitude and misguided privilege. As is often the case with the obscenely rich, dysfunction runs rampant and everyone has an agenda.
Chief among the most obvious of these is eldest son Thomas (Jack Reynor) and his pregnant wife Abby (Dakota Fanning). Thomas relishes in mercilessly tormenting Benji and the awkward youngest son Will (Sam Nivola) to the point of cruel embarrassment. A supposed oil heiress, flush in her own right, Abby’s favorite pastime is dishing out family dirt to anyone and everyone willing to listen to her.
Four Plus Four
Before the second episode ends, there are no less than four viable suspects, which, by typical mystery adaptation standards, means there will likely be four more arriving in short order.After a slight bump in the road in the third episode that spends too much time blathering on and on about nondisclosure agreements, Bier and Lamia right the boat and steadily ratchet up the tension for the remainder.
The Wild Cards
There are also three wild card characters not yet mentioned that dart in and out of a few episodes, each adding nuanced layers to the narrative. Getting the most screen time of these is Shooter Dival (Ishaan Khattar), Benji’s best man. Identified early on as a prime suspect, Shooter makes the unforced mistake of trying to leave the island after being specifically ordered to remain.
Getting all of the show’s laughs, French veteran and former ingénue Isabelle Adjani appears as Isabel Nallet, a mysterious family friend and legendary man-eater. Her chief joy in life is to mess with people’s perceptions of themselves and others.
Not showing up in earnest until the final episode is Broderick Graham (Tommy Flanagan), an even more mysterious figure who appears to be stalking Greer. He has a huge connection to the biggest plot reveal in the entire series.
Credit to all involved for waiting until this same episode to begin eliminating suspects—which, by now, is everyone except law enforcement personnel—and then the last 10 minutes to reveal the identity of the killer.
“The Perfect Couple” doesn’t do anything to reinvent the whodunit wheel but manages to make it all the way through without cheating the audience by tossing in any red herrings or false endings. That, in itself, is a major accomplishment.
