THE PERFECT COUPLE details the lavish lifestyle of a wealthy family in the spectacular Nantucket Bay area. The mansion is stunning, as well as the amount of stellar stars in this soapy murder mystery that engages local law enforcement to solve. It all occurs the day before a huge wedding and book launch. The entire plot is the brainchild of New York’s best-selling author Elin Hilderbrand. It should have been a perfect ‘ten’ series, but alas, it was not.
Nicole Kidman and Liev Schreiber lead this cast of three terrible, ungrateful, spoiled adult children who did not make good choices. Each child has a subplot along with the help who lives with the family. More characters are just as crucial to this tale of woe. All the specific details had to be perfect, according to Greer (Kidman), and dark secrets must be pushed under the rug with signed disclaimers. Nicole and Liev are incredibly talented actors who never seem to hit that extraordinary level of entertainment. The intense moments were not enough to invoke any sense of real urgency. It felt like a waste, and as a side note, Nicole was still as beautiful and ageless as ever in her attempts.
The ensemble featured several amazing actors who felt stiff and miscast. I wanted more from Amelia (Eve Hewson) and Benji (Billy Howle). My favorites were the police detective and the local cop. They were the most interesting to watch as they tried to piece this puzzle together. Dakota Fanning played the pregnant sister-in-law, Abby. She was great as a bitchy, entitled woman who knew how to play the victim well, but in the end, the action and volume needed to her raised for such supposed high stakes.
THE PERFECT COUPLE introduced each episode with a choreographed dance on the beach for the rehearsal dinner. This was the most energy expelled during the series. Some books should never be created for the screen without clear intentions. This was one of them.
It is available on Netflix.
