NINE PERFECT STRANGERS
Even in this golden age of television, in which A-listers are flocking to appear on the small screen, Nicole Kidman has brought the lustre of Hollywood to TV like no one else.
First she starred in the addictive Big Little Lies, lifting the lid on the West Coast lifestyle to beguiling effect, following up last year with the enthralling whodunnit The Undoing alongside Hugh Grant.
Now prepare to become obsessed with a Kidman saga once more as she rejoins the maker of those two shows, David E. Kelley, for an adaptation of the 2018 bestseller by the Big Little Lies author, Australian Liane Moriarty.
Kidman is captivating in the role of Masha Dmitrichenko, the Russian boss of a health and wellness resort, Tranquillum House, who demands a lot more of her guests than just going on a diet during their stay. Her face framed by icy-blonde tresses, charismatic Kidman’s eyes gleam with unnerving intensity as she conjures up a Rasputin figure for the wellbeing era.
In a set-up that calls to mind the classic Agatha Christie country-house thriller but updated to the 21st Century, nine guests arrive at the resort, each carrying their own secrets.
There’s Frances Welty (Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids), a best-selling romantic novelist who’s seen very little love in her own life, her default mode bitter, hostile sarcasm towards anyone who crosses her path. Teacher Napoleon Marconi (Michael Shannon, The Shape Of Water) can’t believe his luck at being offered a cut-rate stay with his wife Heather and their daughter Zoe (Grace Van Patten, left with Kidman) at the exclusive resort – but what tragedy are they hiding?
A top-notch roster of talent also includes British star Luke Evans (The Pembrokeshire Murders) as cynical and duplicitous divorce lawyer Lars, and Regina Hall as a put-upon single mother, while Bobby Cannavale (Boardwalk Empire) plays the painridden, pill-popping Tony.
The truth about all these characters and why they’ve been drawn together is revealed as they’re subjected to Masha’s uncompromising and shocking methods – but the health guru has secrets of her own that will surely be forced out too.
Engrossing, beautifully shot and with all the luxury and glamorous lifestyle of Kidman’s previous two shows, Nine Perfect Strangers is addictive – and the only cure is to watch right to the end.