AMY ADAMS STARS IN SHARP OBJECTS
SKY ATLANTIC/NOW TV, MON 9 JULY, 2AM/9PM
Lavish, cinematic and epic crime mystery sagas have become a key staple of HBO/SKY Atlantic in recent years. Season one of True Detective pushed back the boundaries of the genre in 2014, with its multilayered story taking place across different time periods. In 2016, we had the stunning The Night Of, starring Brit Riz Ahmed as a student accused of murder, which turned out to be the drama serial of the year (and is back on Sky Box Sets now). Then, last year’s Big Little Lies with Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon proved to be every bit as good, and won the Emmy for best drama series. Now, we have this eight-parter, adapted from the best-selling novel by Gillian Flynn, of Gone Girl fame, directed by Big Little Lies’ Jean-marc Vallée, and starring Amy Adams as a reporter investigating the darkest of crimes taking place in the southern town where she grew up. MOMMY DEAREST Adams’ character Camille Preaker is sent by her boss to write about the small town of Wind Gap, Missouri, pretty much against her will. The place is the root of deeply disturbing memories for her, which we see glimpses of in flashback, from the death of her sister, to her own mental breakdown and subsequent time in a psychiatric hospital. There’s also the matter of her sociopathic mother, the wealthiest citizen of the town, who seems to take a visceral dislike to everything Camille says and does, while doting on her other daughter, a spoilt teen who’s Camille’s half sister.
SICK AND TWISTED
As Camille probes the locals for her story and comes up with her own theories as to who might be the killer of two young girls, she develops a spiky friendship with the handsome detective sent to solve the crimes. They’re both distrusted outsiders, and bond over their mutual suspicion of the locals. This is a world where everyone drinks too much, and where sick and twisted behavior is the norm. It makes for truly gripping viewing, with a sustained atmosphere of woozy dread. It’s undoubtedly another HBO triumph and the drama of the summer. HHHHH Boyd Hilton