Big Little Lies HBO

[Anonymous]

So did Jane move to Monterey knowing that Perry, her rapist, was there? It seems way too big of a coincidence otherwise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So did Jane move to Monterey knowing that Perry, her rapist, was there? It seems way too big of a coincidence otherwise.

Yes. In book she moved there to find rapist.

She also had a paid and Madeline got her work doing the books for coffee shop and other small business. My mom wondered what she was surviving on since she hadn't read book.

[Anonymous]

I didn't like the Bonnie intervention in the series--too random and out of the blue. Didn't like the Perry-was-the-rapist twist either. His abuse of Celeste was more than enough, thank you. And also don't get why they would lie when it was clearly accidental/ self-defense.

[Anonymous]

I thought they might have lied to protect the kids. Not sure what they are telling them but daddy had an accident is easier than the truth in this case.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think they gave Madeline the affair so Reese could have more dramatic acting opportunities. i don't think they had to though. Her daughter's project and feelings about her ex could have done it.

+1
Though I liked the way she and her older daughter became closer after she confided in her about the affair. Their relationship took on a whole new dimension, more like two adults/friends. I liked Madeline's character. She felt very real to me.

With respect to your take, I did not like this. I don't like moms confiding in their kids, even teenagers.

I understand, and normally I don't either. I just felt that in the context of the show, it made Abigail respect her mother more to see that she really wasn't perfect at all, and had made major mistakes like most people. It humanized her to Abigail.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did anybody see the quick interaction between Abigail and Ed at the funeral? It was sort of creepy again.

There's zero creepy going on between Ed and Abigail. Rather they share one strong commonality: Madeline. It was just Madeline and Abigail on their own for years. Then Ed comes along and soon Abigail is becoming teen through and through. In they end they can acknowledge that commonality again: love Madeline.

I agree. I just didn't see the "creepy" factor that some PPs were talking about between Ed and Abigail. Maybe the one time he was looking at her out on the deck, but even then - it was ambiguous. I think he was a decent guy and agree that the commonality they shared was the high-maintenance Madeline.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So was that view thru binoculars at the end supposed to imply that the theater guy's wife was still stalking Madeline??

I think it was supposed to be the detective watching them, no? They don't go into it (on the show) what happens so the detectives still know they're lying.

Yes, I think it was supposed to be the detective watching. There was the same sound she always made, the sound of a lighter or something being opened and closed. I figured that's why they made sure we could hear that sound in her earlier scene, when she was watching Nicole Kidman being interviewed by the cops and the detective was watching through the window .

The sound you hear is the sound those "viewers" make that they set up in scenic pull-off areas. I'm not sure what they're called - but you look through them and click (put a quarter in?) and it allows you to see like you would with binoculars. Someone is watching them from a distance, maybe the detective. But I think what a PP said about it not being anyone in particular watching is more likely. The casual onlooker only sees these beautiful, happy people, with no sign of the trauma that lies beneath the façade.

[Anonymous]

It has been a long time since Nicole Kidman divorced Tom Cruise....I know it's just acting, but watching her in the role of Celeste deepened my interest in and respect for her as a person. That role required a great deal of emotional depth. She went through a lot with Tom Cruise, her kids, and that religion. It certainly didn't impact her ability to put on a stellar performance in this series. I haven't seen her in anything else that comes to mind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think they gave Madeline the affair so Reese could have more dramatic acting opportunities. i don't think they had to though. Her daughter's project and feelings about her ex could have done it.

+1
Though I liked the way she and her older daughter became closer after she confided in her about the affair. Their relationship took on a whole new dimension, more like two adults/friends. I liked Madeline's character. She felt very real to me.

With respect to your take, I did not like this. I don't like moms confiding in their kids, even teenagers.

I agree. I didn't like that she confided in Abigail. This was an adult issue and not one to involve a teenager. Also I liked the way the secret project was handled and shut down in the book much better than in the show.

Madeline's only secret in the book was that she was still out of her mind about what a dolt her ex-husband was and continued to be. I think the show did a good job portraying Nathan as a special kind of destructive stupid, but it didn't put Madeline in the same league with the other women as far as secrets go.

She was in a jam with Abigail because she worked hard to make sure her daughter didn't make the same or similar mistakes, but her effort just drove the girl further into the weeds.

And one thing I liked about the show that the book didn't do, was the way the women didn't confide in each other but found trust when it mattered most. To me, there's something poignant in the way Madeline opened up to her daughter in order to save their relationship, while it was too difficult to do the same with her husband.

This is exactly what I got from that scene too. Madeline needed to show her daughter just how human she actually was, and what a horrible mistake she had made. She wanted to protect Abigail from making a terrible mistake of her own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So did Jane move to Monterey knowing that Perry, her rapist, was there? It seems way too big of a coincidence otherwise.

Yes. In book she moved there to find rapist.

She also had a paid and Madeline got her work doing the books for coffee shop and other small business. My mom wondered what she was surviving on since she hadn't read book.

No, she didn't. The rape happened in another city and she moved there for a fresh start.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good for Bonnie for kicking his ass. It was really annoying to see all those women swatting at him while he beat the shit of Celeste. They should have been able to do some damage to him. Did Perry realize who Ziggy's mom was or did just react because he thought Celeste was telling everyone about the abuse?

I was wondering this too. I really doubt he would have recognized Jane in that split second, and in the partial darkness. After all, she was probably less than an afterthought to him to begin with, and I'm sure he'd probably been with/raped many other women on his travels, not just Jane. So I imagine he was enraged that it appeared Celeste was telling all of them about what his abuse of her. I actually wish there had been time for more recognition of Jane, and perhaps the knowledge that Perry had fathered another child through his rape of her. I think he got off too easily.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did anyone notice Nicole Kidman's Australian accent creeping in during the argument in the car?

It didn't bother me, she was so excellent all the way through. The scene where they're walking out of the house after Perry returned her phone was so chilling.

I also like the way they showed the abuse in flashbacks. In the book, Celeste is a distracted and forgetful person and the reasons were portrayed well here.

Yes! Absolutely chilling. I was so frightened for her to get in the car with him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It has been a long time since Nicole Kidman divorced Tom Cruise....I know it's just acting, but watching her in the role of Celeste deepened my interest in and respect for her as a person. That role required a great deal of emotional depth. She went through a lot with Tom Cruise, her kids, and that religion. It certainly didn't impact her ability to put on a stellar performance in this series. I haven't seen her in anything else that comes to mind.

She was just nominated for her supporting role in Lion in which she was phenomenal. She also dug pretty deep in Rabbit Hole. I went with my mother (a biochemist) to see Kidman star in Photograph 51 (a play in London last year) where she won several best actress theater awards -- she somehow made DNA research spell-binding. She more often takes art house, independent, quirky or some other psycho-ish roles. But I've never seen more universal and effusive praise for Kidman as Celeste.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It has been a long time since Nicole Kidman divorced Tom Cruise....I know it's just acting, but watching her in the role of Celeste deepened my interest in and respect for her as a person. That role required a great deal of emotional depth. She went through a lot with Tom Cruise, her kids, and that religion. It certainly didn't impact her ability to put on a stellar performance in this series. I haven't seen her in anything else that comes to mind.

She and TC divorced around 2000? Nicole's been married to Keith Urban 11 years. It seems she's in a happy place in her personal life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good for Bonnie for kicking his ass. It was really annoying to see all those women swatting at him while he beat the shit of Celeste. They should have been able to do some damage to him. Did Perry realize who Ziggy's mom was or did just react because he thought Celeste was telling everyone about the abuse?

I was wondering this too. I really doubt he would have recognized Jane in that split second, and in the partial darkness. After all, she was probably less than an afterthought to him to begin with, and I'm sure he'd probably been with/raped many other women on his travels, not just Jane. So I imagine he was enraged that it appeared Celeste was telling all of them about what his abuse of her. I actually wish there had been time for more recognition of Jane, and perhaps the knowledge that Perry had fathered another child through his rape of her. I think he got off too easily.

I think what makes his (possibly) recognizing her more plausible is that it seems (from Jane's flashbacks) that they did actually face each other on the beach. But prior to that the pain blocked it out? Why she kept running on the beach in her flashbacks and never finding/reaching him.

But actually I think it's very plausible that he wasn't lunging because he realized Jane was one of his victims, but that he thought Celeste had told all the women about his abuse of her. He was so on edge that that was enough to make him lunge for her.