Film on Friday #54 - Big Little Lies from HBO

A work colleague kept telling me I needed to read Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty. I never got around to it - until now. She also raved about the newly released HBO mini series of Big Little Lies. (available on DVD and Bluray) So I thought I would read the book first - and she was right - it was addicting and so very good! After the last page, I couldn't wait to see what HBO had done with this tale.

Well, I have to say, they did very, very good things. I ended up binge watching over two days - and being exhausted was so very worth it! Now, in case you have no idea what it's about......

"Big Little Lies is based in the tranquil seaside town of Monterey, California, where nothing is quite as it seems. Doting moms, successful husbands, adorable children, beautiful homes: What lies will be told to keep their perfect worlds from unraveling? Told through the eyes of three mothers – Madeline (Reese Witherspoon), Celeste (Nicole Kidman) and Jane (Shailene Woodley) – Big Little Lies paints a picture of a town fueled by rumors and divided into the haves and have-nots, exposing the conflicts, secrets and betrayals that compromise relationships between husbands and wives, parents and children, and friends and neighbors."

Wow! The casting could not have been better. These three stars perfectly suited each role. Witherspoon's manic portrayal of Madeline seemed effortless. Kidman's embodiment of Celeste completely captured this private character. Woodley was a great choice for the younger Jane. Fantastic acting. The male supporting cast isn't mentioned, but I have to say they were just as good. Particularly Alexander Skarsgard - he was downright chilling.

The show unfolds in past and present scenes. We know from the first episode that something happens at the school talent show amongst the adults....but what? Police interviews, flashback scenes and memories start to fill in what we don't know - even as the present hurtles towards an inevitable conclusion. Twists, turns, secrets and reveals. Having read the book, I knew that there were darker turns along the way. I thought the way the mini series revealed things was really well paced and so suspensful. The music selections were great, the scenery breath taking, the cinematography was so effective and so much more.

Now, there are always changes when a book is adapted for the screen. The locale has changed from Australia to California. I have to say, I think it was very effective. The lives of the rich and privileged played out better in the US for this viewer. And of course there are affairs - who changes from book to movie. A few characters are missing or their roles reduced. The whodunit for the death on Trivia Night stays the same, but the reasons are not as defined. And things are of course more tided up in the final pages of the book.

I have to say that even though the book was good, the mini series was even better for me.  A definite five stars. Check out the trailer below.  "Big Little Lies garnered 16 Emmy nominations including best limited series, Witherspoon and Kidman as lead limited series actress, Laura Dern and Shailene Woodley as best supporting actress limited series and Alexander Skarsgard as best supporting actor in the category." Uh huh, that good. Talks are happening with Lianne Moriarty about writing a second season for HBO. Fingers crossed!

The Deepest Secret - Carla Buckley - Review AND Giveaway

Carla Buckley is a new to me author. The Deepest Secret is her third novel.

A rainy night...a deserted road....a quick flash of something in the headlights....a distracted driver....and lives are changed forever.

From the beginning we know that Eve has struck her best friend's daughter Amy - and that she chooses to not report it. Why? Her son. Tyler has a rare disease called Xeroderma Pigmentosum. His life is a tightly controlled orchestration of avoiding UV rays from not just the sun, but from headlights, light bulbs and more. And Eve is the conductor. "What will happen to Tyler?" And so, she makes the fateful decision to drive away.

Buckley has come up with an excellent premise. How far would you go to protect the ones you love? At what cost? Could you live with yourself?

The mystery takes a backseat to Buckley's deft exploration of family dynamics and relationships of all types. Three main characters are given a voice and a narrative. There are many secrets - both within Eve's family and in every house on their quiet cul-de-sac. Each character is somewhat flawed - or perhaps I should say they are just realistically portrayed. The one character I was drawn to was Tyler. He too makes errors in judgment, but a lot of that comes down to Eve. I was torn on how I felt about her, but ultimately landed on the other side of the fence. I applauded her love for her son, but deplored her actions, duplicity and machinations.

The neighbours' secrets begin to be exposed through Tyler's nighttime ramblings with his camera. Some of them seem a bit contrived and only there to help muddy the waters. The small glimpses of their lives are never really fully explored. And I wanted to know more. There is one scene where the entire street starts slinging insults that I thought was well done. I felt slightly cheated by the resolution of The Deepest Secret - it seemed to wrap up quickly after 400 pages getting there. The neighbourhood's loose ends are also tied up in quick fashion.

The Deepest Secret would be a good choice for book clubs - there's lots of discussion material within the story. The publisher has suggested that fans of Jodi Picoult would enjoy this latest book by Carla Buckley. I think that's a good recommendation. See for yourself - read an excerpt of The Deepest Secret.

  

Carla Buckley was born in Washington, D.C. She has worked as an assistant press secretary for a U.S. senator, an analyst with the Smithsonian Institution, and a technical writer for a defense contractor. She lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, with her husband, an environmental scientist, and their three children. She is the author of The Deepest Secret, Invisible, and The Things That Keep Us Here, which was nominated for a Thriller Award as a Best First novel and the Ohioana Book Award for fiction. She is currently at work on her next novel. You can find Carla Buckley on Facebook and on Twitter.

See what others on the TLC Book Tour thought - full schedule can be found here.

And I have a copy to giveaway to one lucky reader. Simply leave a comment to be entered. Open to US only, ends April 19/14.  

Film on Friday #6 - Broken

The sixth entry in the Film on Friday series is Broken - starring Tim Roth and Cillian Murphy, directed by Rufus Norris. This film has won a large number of awards - amongst them, Best Film at the British Independent Film Awards and it was also an opening night film at Cannes Critics Week.

Eleven year old Skunk lives with her brother, father and housekeeper in a cul-de-sac populated by only a few families. Hers is not the only family touched by tragedy (Mom has run away). Neighbour Bob Oswald's wife has died, leaving him to raise his three hellion daughters. Mr and Mrs Buckley live with their brain damaged adult son Rick across the street.

Skunk witnesses a violent attack on Rick by neighbour Bob who is convinced that Rick has sexually assaulted one of his daughters. That attack seems to be a catalyst, triggering a chain of events that impacts every resident of the cul-de-sac. But none more than Skunk. Her naivete is slowly eroded by the anger she witnesses both outside of her home and within - the housekeeper and her boyfriend have a tumultuous relationship.  Skunk makes tentative overtures into exploring her own burgeoning sexuality, but is exposed to more than an eleven year old needs to see. The violence continues to escalate, following her to school and eventually erupting on that dead end street.

Each and every character in Broken is, well, broken. Norris explores the human condition through the dysfunctional relationships portrayed. But also through the good and positive as well. Themes of love, hate, forgiveness, loss, hope, friendship, bullying, mental illness and more are explored.

You could draw many parallels between To Kill a Mockingbird and Broken - Scout/Skunk, fathers who are lawyers, a minority being persecuted and a loss of innocence. But Norris puts his own stamp on things in Broken. I started out feeling one way about a number of the characters and found my reactions and thoughts turned around by the end.

Eloise Laurence is new to acting, but I predict she has a future in the biz. She was wonderfully unaffected and realistic. Each and every actor involved was excellent. Norris effectively uses single, isolated shots of the principles, underlining their isolation.

I thought Broken was truly an excellent film. Not easy to watch by any means - I did stop it two or three times to get up and come back in a few minutes, but one that was absolutely riveting. Five stars.

United Kingdom. 2012. 90 min. Drama. English

As always, Film Movement includes a short with their main feature. The Way the World Ends again manipulates our perception, starting off with what seems to be a light premise and turning into something altogether different. And it paired well with Broken.