“The Perfect Couple” proves we took the brilliant Dakota Fanning for granted

There is a scene in Netflix' The perfect coupleparticularly in episode 5, “Never Gonna Give You Up,” where someone catches Dakota Fanning's Abby Winbury doing something she's not supposed to do. The well-heeled, vintage-clad, pregnant blonde woman is packing up the clothes of a murder victim. It sounds like kindness, but it's also manipulation of a crime scene.

“If you have a problem with me packing my things [the victim’s] things, then they can arrest me,” says Abby. “But they won't. Because I'm a white woman.”

“So gross,” she says in a way that makes it clear she doesn’t really think that.

During the rest of the scene – and indeed during the entire The perfect couple — Dakota Fanning manages to be both brilliantly witty and astute in her observations. Moments of clear-eyed empathy for her future sister-in-law Amelia (Eve Hewson) make Abby seem not only human but sympathetic. But then the cruel glee with which she joins her asshole husband Tom (Jack Reynor) in mocking his brother, groom-to-be Benji (Billy Howle), reveals a fundamental meanness that links her to her husband.

Dakota Fanning is absolutely incredible in The perfect couplewho veers between comedy and drama, between falsehood and sincerity with every line. What's amazing is how effortlessly the former child star pulls off her nuanced performance. You may not realize how detailed, imaginative and clever her role as Abby is until the credits roll.

The perfect couple is based on Elin Hildebrand's best-seller of the same name. The series begins with the idyllic rehearsal dinner for the hasty wedding of Benji Winbury and Amelia Sacks on Nantucket. As Amelia's mother is dying of cancer, Benji's family has postponed the Fourth of July and is hosting a fabulous wedding at their Summerland home. The wedding, however, does not take place because a body is found on the Winburys' property on the morning of the “happy day”.

Like other glamorous, star-studded crime series, The perfect couple plays with timelines and perspectives to keep the audience on their toes. We flit between the present and the past, learning new details about key characters or finally seeing an exchange from a new perspective. In many ways, Fanning's performance does that heavy lifting for Abby. The way she flits between kindness and cruelty, confidence and jealousy, makes you feel like you've never quite figured out Abby, even though the character seems so familiar.

It goes without saying that the role of the snooty rich bitch is nothing new for Dakota Fanning. Aside from breathing new life into Marge Greenwood last spring, Ripleyshe also played a tiny Park Avenue princess in the 2003 hit Uptown Girl. Abigal Winbury feels like the final form of that template. She's a complicated character who seems obvious at first glance. Ergo, the work of a maestro.

The perfect couple made me realize how much we as a culture take Dakota Fanning for granted. When she was a precocious child actress, she was regularly celebrated for her brilliant performances. Now, at the tender age of 30, she has matured into a performer who continues to give us new, refreshing perspectives on the human experience. Her craft is unmatched and continues to improve before our eyes. Abigail Winbury is proof of that.

With The perfect coupleDakota Fanning has reached her hot, rich slut era – and it is incredible to see.

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