The Czech-published bestseller <a href="http://www.time.news/alfonso-cuarons-disclaimer-a-gripping-tale-of-secrets-and-retribution-premieres-at-venice-film-festival/" title="Alfonso Cuarón’s 'Disclaimer': A Gripping Tale of Secrets and Retribution Premieres at Venice Film Festival”>The Perfect Stranger also told about an intellectual who hides a dark secret. Alfonso Cuarón, the Mexican winner of two Oscars for directing the intimate sci-fi film Gravity and the memoir Roma, has now filmed it as his first author project for television. The miniseries is wonderfully filmed, but literal and drawn out to such a length that it comes across as snobbishly boring.
Cate Blanchett plays a similar role that Nicole Kidman has chosen several times in recent years. In the mini-series Sedmilhářky, Měla to žiat or Wedding of the Year, she portrayed seemingly perfect, rich, privileged and admired persons, who, however, hide something behind the carefully constructed facade.
The heroine of The Perfect Stranger, which can be watched in the Apple TV+ video library, at first looks like them. Documentary filmmaker Catherine Ravenscroft accepts the prestigious award in front of a packed hall. A few days later, we see her running to throw up after getting her hands on a new book bestseller based on true events.
In it, the protagonist recognizes herself and an ancient, painstakingly repressed memory. For twenty years she was convinced that no one else knew about her. Appearing retold in prose where, moreover, her character dies at the end, Catherine struggles to hold her life together despite someone clearly determined to destroy her.
This story was first developed by the English writer and screenwriter Renée Knight in the novel of the same name, which was published in 2015, and the New York Times, for example, called it an extremely clever and intricate thriller.
The plot itself is strong. But when six of the seven long episodes we only see Cate Blanchett prevent the disintegration of her family and escape the wrath of others, it is not clear what the director is trying to achieve.
Cate Blanchett in the role of Catherine Ravenscroft hides a dark secret. | Photo: Apple TV+
Catherine has a husband and a son, which the miniseries portrays in cartoonish fashion. In this respect, Alfonso Cuarón seems to be riding on the recent wave of satirical series about the ridiculously rich, such as White Lotus or Seven Milestones.
Husband Robert is played by Sacha Baron Cohen, known for his comedic role in Borat, and twenty-something Nicholas is played by Kodi Smit-McPhee from the movie Power of Dog. The older one conducts company meetings in glass meeting rooms, the younger one sells vacuum cleaners. They both come across as losers and remain so until almost the end.
In addition to the central trio, we get to know the second serial family in parallel, also perfectly cast. Expressive Louis Partridge embodied the teenager Jonathan, who meets young Catherine on the beach twenty years ago. He plays him as a sympathetic, vulnerable child and manages all his transformations. Lesley Manville and Kevin Kline also give great performances as his parents.
Warning star journalist
It is the father of the second family who decides to make Catherine suffer much more than just reading a book. But when he plans to take revenge on the documentary maker, it seems slightly comical, like the actions of an aging person. Perhaps the director wanted to satirically comment on social differences by leading the actors representing both families, but the tone is a bit confusing. Everyone is ridiculous and we don’t know why.
From scraps, we piece together what Catherine did twenty years ago on vacation as a young mother of a five-year-old son. At that point, The Perfect Stranger begins to resemble a commentary on the current distribution of gender roles and power in society. An independent documentary filmmaker awarded for uncovering the truth finds herself in a situation more often experienced by powerful men. How will you deal with her? And does the series bring a new perspective on the so-called cancel culture?
The miniseries The Perfect Stranger is in the Apple TV+ video library with Czech subtitles. | Video: Apple TV+
All of this can run through our heads trying to understand why the narrative drags on. Not that at least the first few episodes weren’t attractive. Already the opening comedic erotic scene of the young couple on the train reminds us of the power of the director’s older films. In them, Alfonso Cuarón demonstrated the ability to fill powerful, often spectacular images with the intimate feelings of the characters, thereby evoking intense emotions in the audience.
Even the shots in The Perfect Stranger are so lively, airy and beautiful that they strongly evoke a direct connection to the world and experiencing the moment. Behind the camera this time, in addition to Cuarón’s long-time colleague Emmanuel Lubezki, with whom he filmed the science fiction Descendants of Men and Gravity, Frenchman Bruno Delbonnel was behind the camera.
It’s worse with an incredibly literal script. To organically incorporate the parts told in the book that made Catherine vomit, the director uses voiceover. Unfortunately, he also reaches for it in moments when it was not needed. The miniseries is full of redundant sentences, which is a surprising misstep from a creator known for his fascinating work with images and emotions.
At the beginning of The Perfect Stranger, the real-life famous journalist Christiane Amanpour flashes in to warn us of the importance of narrative form to tone. After watching all the episodes, it seems that the authors themselves forgot to take her words to heart.
When, at the end of the sixth episode, Cate Blanchett announces her nemesis “And now it’s time for me to speak”, the audience’s embarrassment may be beyond the limit of endurance.
On the other hand: those who endure this far will probably also manage the last, seventh part with a very good point, finally clarifying the clumsily described vicissitudes. However, even the last part is clumsily written and the hastily delivered key events do not save the whole thing.
Not even Cuarón’s amazing shots balance the impression. You cannot connect with the characters, they seem unsympathetic, their actions remain incomprehensible for a long time. Clumsy dialogues unintentionally create the impression of something bloated.
The Perfect Stranger introduces the audience to two families. Pictured are Kevin Kline as Stephen Brigstocke and Lesley Manville as Nancy Brigstocke. | Photo: Apple TV+
A seven-hour film
Some American journalists have long criticized authors who make serials like long films and do not think too much about how to use the structure of episodes in the narrative. The fact is that the current setup of the entertainment industry is not very favorable to them – instead of long opuses with many lines, as was the case in previous decades, today it is more safe. Video libraries are fine with closed miniseries that are closer to a feature film.
To Alfonso Cuarón, one of the most popular filmmakers of today, few would dare to argue with his authorial decisions. Moreover, some succeeded despite the fact that their series were formally more like long films. For example, with two seasons of the award-winning On the Lake by Australian director Jane Campion, no one minded it too much.
Cuarón announced in advance that The Perfect Stranger would resemble a film. “There’s great writing for television these days,” he told the New York Times. “But it rarely has the visual qualities that bring the experience closer to what can be experienced in the cinema,” he added.
While others, according to the newspaper, film seven to eight pages of the script in a day, the Mexican worked at a pace of only one page a day – to have enough time to try different camera movements or rearrange the scene. It led to an apparent, perhaps exaggerated, formal perfection.
So it is ironic that the creator was betrayed by the length of the narrative. The Perfect Stranger could have worked much better as a movie or a significantly shorter miniseries. With too much wordiness, a half-pathetic script, and an initially tepid, and finally frantic pace, he deprived himself of the opportunity to surprise or shock us with the point: how much the tone of the story can be changed by the one who tells it.
And not only that. The Perfect Stranger has a lot to say about our ideas about ourselves, our families, and our tendencies to protect something that isn’t really essential to an honest and happy life. Despite all the clumsiness, the miniseries is able to convey this message to us in the last minutes and allow a strong catharsis. It’s a shame that it comes after so many missteps.
Miniseries
The perfect stranger
Creator: Alfonso Cuarón
The miniseries can be seen in the Apple TV+ video library.