Warning: Minor spoilers ahead for HBO's "Sharp Objects."
HBO's latest miniseries "Sharp Objects" is a simmering murder mystery set in small-town Missouri and brought to life with a big-time cast of Hollywood creators. Starring Amy Adams as Camille Preaker, a woman grappling with alcoholism and mental health issues, the series is an eight episode adaptation of the first novel published by Gillian Flynn ("Gone Girl").
After reviewing the first seven episodes, we feel certain that HBO has another sleeper hit on its hands, much like the breakout series "Big Little Lies" that captivated fans last year.
Why you should care: The creators and cast is a super-sized pool of talent.
Flynn's two other novels, "Gone Girl" and "Dark Places," were adapted into feature films, but "Sharp Objects" brings us back to the very start of Flynn's fictional literary career. The showrunner and primary writer for HBO's series is none other than Marti Noxon.
Noxon's writing, directing, and producing work resume includes "Buffy the Vampire Slayer,""Grey's Anatomy,""Mad Men," and the currently airing "Dietland."
Jean-Marc Vallée ("Dallas Buyers Club,""Wild,""Big Little Lies") is the director for all eight episodes, while Patricia Clarkson and Amy Adams star as the twisted mother/daughter duo whose dark past unravels as the episodes move forward.
At a time when major Hollywood projects spearheaded and starring women are rare, "Sharp Objects" is barreling in with incredibly talented women at almost every stage of production.
What's hot: The show has brilliant editing, performances, and a haunting score.
"Sharp Objects" tells the unsettling story of a reporter, Camille Preaker, who is sent back to her small hometown of Wind Gap, Missouri when a brutal set of murders occurs. Camille is clearly haunted by a series of events which occurred in Wind Gap during her childhood, the full breadth of which becomes clear as the series continues.
For those who haven't read Flynn's debut novel yet, "Sharp Objects" will have you theorizing with each new episode about the killer's real identity. As Camille navigates her hometown, Adams delivers a harrowing performance with her understated suppression of trauma, self-harm ideation, and complex relationship with the intersection of sex and violence.
Flynn's original novel is skillfully adapted by Noxon and her writing team. The small town tableau enhances the ways domesticity and misogyny eat away at the internal mechanisms of women and the people around them.
Wind Gap is revealed to be a town chock-full of twisted people in each generation, any of which might have killed the the two young girls at the center of the murder mystery.
A couple main suspects are introduced towards the start of the series, but Noxon has brilliantly worked scenes with nearly each character so that you change your mind, sometimes from moment to moment, about who the person menacing the town might be.
"Sharp Objects" pinpoints the way adults can become emotionally frozen in adolescence after trauma. Camille is a flawed protagonist in a way that's rare for women characters, and the miniseries forces the viewer to sit with that discomfort as she chugs vodka for breakfast and engages in some seriously shoddy journalism tactics.
Clarkson delivers an inspired performance as the haughty privileged Missouri mother of the town, Adora, and former Australian soap star Eliza Scanlen has a captivating energy as Amma, Adora's doll-like daughter and Camille's half-sister.
As the story builds, we see the carelessness with which men (and women) in power and positions of privilege handle the lives of those around them. Some may perceive the story as slow-moving, especially if you're looking for a "Law and Order: SVU" style murder investigation, but the simmering build of emotional horrors are just as compelling.
The soundtrack skitters between blaring Led Zeppelin and an ominous synth-based thrumming that helps navigate the story from past to present. It won't take long for people to begin curating their own "Sharp Objects" playlists for melancholic car rides.
Vallée's editing is also a thrilling style choice that helps bring the viewer into Camille's train of thought, since the adaptation loses Flynn's narration of events through her protagonist's point of view.
What's not: The slow-burn mystery takes awhile to build, but it's worth adjusting your expectations.
Vallée's choice to split flashback memories with hallucinations or dreams creates a disorienting viewing experience that takes a couple episodes to adjust to. At first, the unprompted flashes of scenes simply had a jarring and unpleasant affect on the watching experience.
There are times when the snippets of violence juxtaposed with seemingly simple childhood memories is disorientating, but I suspect that's entirely the point given that we're following an alcoholic with deep currents of trauma embedded in her very skin.
For a weekly series you won't be able to binge, the pace might deter you from tuning in each week. But if you know ahead of time that "Sharp Objects" is a study in the slow decay of will, then you'll grow to appreciate the brilliance of its framework.
The bottom line: You don't want to skip "Sharp Objects."
For those who can engage with the macabre and possibly triggering storyline of self-harm, murder, depression, and alcoholism, "Sharp Objects" will surely be your next TV drama obsession.
Grade: A-
"Sharp Objects" premieres on HBO this Sunday, July 8, at 9 p.m. EST. Watch the full trailer below:
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