Review of the series “The Perfect Pair”: Nicole Kidman leads this stylish, superficial crime thriller

A still from Netflix's “The Perfect Pair” | Photo credit: Netflix

Susanne Bier, who directed the other glossy film with Nicole Kidman, The downfallis back with another elegant opus in which Kidman once again plays a rich, privileged woman in peril. Here Kidman plays Greer Garrison Winbury, a wildly successful writer – thankfully not a gallery owner! She writes crime novels starring Dash and Dolly, with Dash modeled on her generationally wealthy husband Tag (Liev Schreiber). The Winbury family is on Nantucket, hosting the wedding of their second son Benji (Billy Howle) to the girl next door, Amelia (Eve Hewson).

In quick succession, we are introduced to the players at the party. There are Benji's older brother Thomas (Jack Reynor) and his heavily pregnant wife Abby (Dakota Fanning), Will (Sam Nivola), the youngest Winbury, Benji's best friend Shooter (Ishaan Khatter), Amelia's best friend and maid of honor Merrit (Meghann Fahy) and family friend Isabel (Isabelle Adjani).

Downstairs live the frighteningly efficient and snobby housekeeper Gosia (Irina Dubova), wedding planner Roger Pelton (Tim Bagley) and Greer's editor Enid (Adina Porter). When a body is found on the beach the morning after the rehearsal dinner, it's time for the cops, including Police Chief Dan Carter (Michael Beach), Deputy Carl (Nick Searcy) and Detective Nikki (Donna Lynne Champlin), to spring into action.

A still from Netflix's “The Perfect Pair” | Photo credit: Netflix

It's also time to turn over many stones to reveal the horrific creepy crawlies beneath the Winburys' sleek facade. Police Chief Carter's daughter Chloe (Mia Isaac) seems to be connected to the crime as she hides a bloody shirt, while Thomas Flanagan takes on the role of the stranger as Broderick Graham.

Tag realizes that you can't sweep bodies under the rug, no matter how much money they donate to the police for fancy uniforms and fancy cars. All of the characters are equally awful, including down-to-earth Amelia, who was working at a zoo when she met Benji and they fell in love. Tag's supposed attractiveness isn't very visible, as he seems to just smoke weed and play golf, not sing Jurassic-era pop anthems.

Gosia looks down on Amelia's parents Karen (Dendrie Taylor) and Bruce (Michael McGrady) for giving store-bought fruit even though the wedding has been postponed to accommodate Karen's “dying,” and rejects a character for making her bed like “a poor person.” Death also introduces vulnerabilities into the image of the “perfect couple” the Winburys try to project.

The mystery isn't very clever, and given the general awfulness of all the characters, you don't really care who did it. Kidman is majestic as Greer (she can play these roles in her sleep now), while everyone else does what they're asked to do, breathing as much life into their poorly written characters as possible. The extreme close-ups reveal nothing about the characters, aside from their sometimes flawless skin.

The dresses are divine, especially Kidman's, with beautiful wide-leg trousers, a brilliant azure blouse that accentuated the blue of her inscrutable eyes, and all those intricate ties and sashes.

A still from Netflix's “The Perfect Pair” | Photo credit: Netflix

The only person who seems to be having a great time is Fanning as Abby, who displays a casual cruelty and indifference to everything around her except herself. Saying that Shooter (what's with that name?) is from the Middle East and replying “exactly” when Amelia says he's from India is one of her many minor gems. Champlin also has fun with her character of a detective who is seemingly blinded by all the wealth while keeping her eyes peeled for the many ugly flaws.

Although it is a cliché full of breathless twists that do not make much sense, The perfect couple based on Elin Hilderbrand's best-seller of the same name, is addictive, from the Hindi-film-style dance sequence in the opening credits to the final reveal. It could have been cleverer, sharper, and more. The lack of ambition hurts this well-produced show greatly, and the stately Ms. Kidman should seriously consider putting her considerable star power into more worthy projects, despite what she did with her accent in this film.

“The Perfect Couple” is currently streaming on Netflix