From Page to Screen: Big Little Lies

For those who have not read Big Little Lies, the miniseries adaptation will entertain you. For those who have read the book, it will leave you wanting just a little bit more of the book within the tv show. Read on to see exactly why:

Book: A

Liane Moriarty’s tale of the complex lives of mothers in a well-off Australian beach town was surprisingly good. Like gasp-out-loud-at-the-twist good. Starting off, the structure of the book was smart. Beginning the story with the outcome by using the police investigation of a murder at a school fundraiser grabs your attention immediately. Peppered throughout the book, these police interviews with parents echo like a Greek chorus. Then, the main chapters are told by each of our main characters—Celeste, Jane, and Madeline. This rotating narration really builds the intrigue. Each of the characters go beyond the stereotypes they represent: the stay-at-home mom, the abuse victim, the working mom, the single mom, etc. This makes all of them relatable, in some way, to the reader (even when the reader, like myself, is not a mother). It is, in short, a study of women—how they relate to each other, how appearances are always deceiving, and how important strong friendships are.

Miniseries: B+/A-

The HBO adaptation of Big Little Lies was an incredibly slick production. The performances, the sets, and the music (check out “Chloe’s Ipod” playlist on Spotify) were all really high caliber. But, having read the book, I must say that I preferred the book.

Initially I would have given the adaptation a B because of the casting. Like with all adaptations, the characters I imagined in my head as described int he book did not jive with the cast ultimately in the miniseries. Nicole Kidman was too old to play Celeste; Alexander Skarsgård was too young and blond to play Perry; Adam Scott was too thin, had too much hair, and too reserved to play Ed; Shailene Woodley was just totally not the Jane in my head; in short, the only casting decision I applauded was Reese Witherspoon as Madeline. However, by the end of the seven episode arc, I was more ok with the casting choices which is a testament to the acting.

The changes they made in the storyline were also a little off for me. Madline’s affair was totally new. They took the affair that Renata’s (Laura Dern) husband had with the nanny in the book and gave it to Madeline to have with her coworker. I don’t think it was necessary to show what Madeline is dealing with under the surface.

The other thing that prevented this well-done production from getting a solid “A” is that the huge revelations at the end of the story—the biggest being who the father of Jane’s child is—felt too rushed. They turned them into quick, small moments within the larger murder so they didn’t have the same emotional wallop they had in the book. (Update: this is probably because there will most likely be a second season…even though there is no book sequel.)

 

Photo Credit: HBO