I never intended to watch Big Little Lies on HBO Now. My friends, however, thought it differently. They recommended Big Little Lies over and over again, and thus I ended up watching it. Did I regret?
Before watching the first episode of Big Little Lies I had no clue what it was going to be about. All I knew was that it had some fantastic actors (Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Shailene Woodley, Alexander Skarsgard, Laura Dern, Adam Scott) and that everyone told me that the end was so great.
Big Little Lies is more complicated than Desperate Housewives
From the first second of Big Little Lies, you understand that this is not as easy to digest as Desperate Housewives. A crime has happened, someone is dead, but we know nothing about the victim, nor the murderer. Then we go back to what happened before the murder and follow the story all the way till the brutal final night.
David E. Kelley has done a fantastic job producing Big Little Lies. He has managed to keep a nerve throughout the TV series, and he has created a particular atmosphere that can be breathed in with every single episode. I must admit that Big Little Lies is not a series for those faint of heart. I give credit to David E. Kelley for his job, but it doesn’t mean that I enjoyed it. A horror movie can be brilliantly made, but it doesn’t mean that I have to like it.
The brutal truth about life in Monterey
Seen from the outside, life in Monterey must be the dream. People live in beautiful houses, the children look good, and the marriages seem to be perfect. But, as you get to take a closer look throughout Big Little Lies, something else is quickly discovered. The marriages are made up of big little lies. We also see friendships that stand stable, even in the middle of struggles and challenges.
Celeste, played by Nicole Kidman, lives in a marriage full of struggles. Her husband doesn’t always treat her well, and for people with a faint heart like me, it was at times simply too much. The violence described and shown in their marriage, especially connected to their sexual life, made me feel almost sick. How can it be that people behave like that? I know it is a sick reality in many homes, but watching it on the TV was just terrible. It doesn’t make Big Little Lies bad; it just made it uncomfortable for me to watch.
Children harassing one another in school
In Big Little Lies, we also meet a boy named Ziggy. He is the son of Jane (Shailene Woodley), and they have just moved to Monterey. A man raped Jane in the past, and Ziggy is the fruit of that awful evening. Now they have come to Monterey for a new start, but it couldn’t have had a worse start.
On the first school-day, Ziggy is accused of harassing another girl. He claims to be innocent, but nobody believes him, except his mum, and mom’s new friend Madeline (Reese Witherspoon) who also has a daughter in the same class. The two mums develop their friendship throughout the series, and later we also see Celeste as a part of this friendship triangle.
Watching the challenges at school, not only for Ziggy but also for his mum Jane, made me feel truly sorry for kids and parents experiencing similar problems at schools all around the world.
Should I watch Big Little Lies?
The question remains whether or not you should watch Big Little Lies. I do not hide the fact that I consider Big Little Lies to be a great TV series, but I would not at all consider it a television show that I liked.
What made me watch the seven episodes was the fact that I knew it would end after seven episodes. If this had lasted for an unknown amount of time, I would have stopped at once. The violence and brutality of the show were too much for me, and only my curiosity made me stay in it for the long run (seven episodes).
I should, however, mention that Big Secret Lies has a 94% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. That is an incredibly high score, meaning that the average viewer loved the TV series.
I have warned you… you might love Big Little Lies, but it might just as much make you feel sick.
- You can watch Big Little Lies on HBO Now. For more information on how to watch HBO Now overseas, check this article.
What do you think? Are you going to watch Big Little Lies? Have you seen it already? Write a comment beneath and let me know what you think.
