This fearless, 60s-set thriller is astonishingly written and acted. It’s so sumptuous that its brilliance threatens to overwhelm you
I remember reading Margaret Atwood’s Alias Grace many years ago and feeling almost as if I was being beaten about the head with its brilliance. I loved it, admired it, wanted to tell all my friends about it, but I had to take a few days to recover from a sort of cudgelling-by-quality first.
I feel much the same about Lady in the Lake. This is a seven-part adaptation of the 2019 bestseller of the same name by Laura Lippman, an exceptional thriller writer, that stars Natalie Portman in her first small-screen role and marks visionary director Alma Har’el’s first time as a showrunner. It co-stars Moses Ingram, whose faultless, mesmerising performance should surely sweep the board come awards season. The whole endeavour is a dense, clever, impeccably written, acted, shot and scored offering that is designed to be consumed slowly, episode by episode, not binged. You may finish each one feeling slightly battered and exhausted – perhaps more impressed than moved, but that’s OK. Give it a few days to bed in and the love will come.
Lady in the Lake is on Apple TV+ now.
