Critic’s Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
4.5
My god, there are not enough words in the English language to adequately describe the experience of Lady in the Lake.
I say “experience” because watching the series’ first two episodes felt more like being pulled into an acid trip or lucid dream.
Based on the 2019 Laura Lippman novel of the same name, Lady in the Lake is proving to be as sensational as its source material.
It certainly helps that Natalie Portman and Moses Ingram bring their exceptional acting, and helps them portray their characters with fiery sincerity.
As Cleo mentioned in the opening, “Until the lion tells its story, the hunter will always be the hero,” and we’re ready to hear, see, and feel the entire incredible story.
Lady in the Lake is a Drug of Visualized Drama That Leaves Viewers In a State of Awe
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The premiere felt like a fever dream as we watched these two very different women deal with similar situations at a time when women barely had a voice.
Let alone ethnic women and women of color who were wholly and entirely under the rule of one man or another, whether it was their husbands or their bosses.
Typically, writers will use the first two or so episodes of a new series to build the world around the introduction of the lead characters.
In this case, however, it feels like the worlds that viewers should be paying to are the ones inside Maddie and Cleo’s minds.
The first few minutes of Lady in the Lake Season 1 Episode 1, “Did you know Seahorses are fish?” felt like The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel if it was a drama thriller instead of a comedy.
But as the episode went on, it became clear that the series would set itself apart from any other show because of its heavily character-driven plot.
From a visual standpoint, few shows are willing to present the surreal style of artistry in a series that strongly leans toward historical accuracy.
From racism to misogyny, Lady in the Lake is not holding back or trying to paint a bright, happy picture of the sixties but instead shines a light on the power dynamics of the time.
Hell Hath No Fury Like a Woman Trapped in Monotony
Natalie Portman is channeling the anger and rage of a whole generation of women through her character, Maddie Schwartz, in a way that leaves viewers buzzing.
The way she brings her raw emotions to the surface is almost intoxicating, leaving audiences drunk off her performance.
Maddie is no doubt a force to be reckoned with, but after such an intense start with Lady of the Lake, a question still lingers.
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What could’ve happened to Maddie in the past that she reached her breaking point after so many years of pushing her dreams down for the sake of a happy home?
Is it just that she finally reached the breaking point with her misogynistic husband and absolute turd of a son?
I know therapists say it always goes back to the mother, but considering the era, Seth’s apple definitely didn’t fall far from his awful father’s tree.
Apple TV+ really hit the jackpot when they landed Natalie Portman for Maddie since the actress has never taken a lead role in any scripted series.
Audiences are in good hands with the movie Maven because when Maddie is on the screen, viewers now know to buckle up for anything and everything.
Though Fate Calls For Cleo, the Lady in the Lake Will Continue to Live On
On the flip side, there is the incredible Moses Ingram’s Cleo, who feels like the voice of an entire movement just in the way the character tries to get her footing in an unjust society.
In Cleo’s world, the rules only apply to women, as the men who make them can’t be bothered to live with any restrictions.
Sadly, as the premise of Lady in the Lake makes clear, Cleo is not long for this world, but we doubt the actress will be going anywhere.
The series will likely use flashbacks, dream sequences, and visually stylized hallucinatory states to keep the actress front and center throughout the season.
Audiences might recognize Moses Ingram from her work on the hit series The Queen’s Gambit, in which she played the very memorable Jolene.
The Netflix show was Ingram’s first scripted television project of her career after beginning with theater in 2017.
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Since then, she’s made big waves on shows like Obi-Wan Kenobi and The Big Cigar, and now she’s stirring up even more talent as Cleo Sherwood.
The only thing we can hope for as the story progresses is that Cleo’s death will bring some kind of good, even just a little, to an unforgiving world that didn’t give her a break.
Lady in the Lake Reminds Audiences that Big Stories Can Come to Small Screens
Though the series itself is based on a novel, what viewers might not realize is that the book was based on actual murders in the Baltimore area that the author learned about.
Obviously, the book and show have been dramatized for entertainment purposes, but that doesn’t diminish the message.
At the story’s center are two women who have had enough of just accepting the pitfalls and crapshoots that society continuously uses to beat these women down.
Maddie had plenty of privilege with a lawyer husband, played by Brett Gelman of Stranger Things, in Pikesville, but in the end, she realized she had no more freedom than a beautiful bird in a cage.
Cleo’s situation was almost the opposite.
She had the freedom to decide for herself, but the more she tried to pave her own path, the more she realized she was digging in the same spot until that hole became her grave.
Far more is coming to audiences, and we would all do well to brace for the visually astounding and surreal experience of each episode following such an intense premiere.
It’s going to be a wild ride of fantastic acting, incredible dialogue, and the kind of writing that reminds audiences why we love to lose ourselves in a good story.
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What did you think of the Lady in the Lake premiere?
Which part stuck with you after watching the first two episodes?
Drop a comment below to let us know, and join us again when we review the next episode of Lady in the Lake!