Expats

[Drunk Monk]

Expats

 
This miniseries is by Lulu Wang who did The Farewell. She has a keen eye for Asia and captures Hong Kong very well. Nicole plays a mother of 2 but she lost a child and is broken by it. She has a good friend with an alcoholic cheating husband. Then there’s the babysitter who lost the child.

The first ep is a party for Nicole’s husband’s 50th. A lot is unsaid but by inference things are revealed. It’s tragic and tense. There’s sex scenes (the cheating husband). the HK backdrop is rich and lush, toggling between the cluttered urban sprawl to the upper class of the peak. 

Ep 2 is the flashback to the loss of the child. It’s a clever device because by now, what exactly happened is a mystery that demands explanation. And that’s done very well. It’s all super dramatic and tragic.

This is one of those dramatic tour de forces of Nicole. She has many emotionally complex scenes and she portrays them with her usual precision. Her ability to pull me into her feelings with the tiniest of facial expressions still impresses. At first, I was distracted by her intensity sculptured sternocleidomastoids - so firm and pert. Then she shows off her wiry back in a backless evening gown. Her physicality is still sharp in her 50s. I am encouraged that her husband is Asian and not some dumb country singer. 

It’s a stylish show, Uber dramatic and complexly layered. I’m interested to see where it’ll go. 

6 hourlong eps. I’m down.

Not D00M recommended. I think I’m the only Nicole fanboy here.

[Greg]

I keep confusing this Kidman TV show with Faraway Downs, the other Kidman show out right now with Huge Jackman.

[Drunk Monk]

2 more eps deep and man, this show is an emotional downward spiral. All the main characters are going through it and then some - it’s dramatically brutal, bumout Maximus. The performances are brilliant and the cinematography gives great nods to the complex character of Hong Kong. It’s well written in that ‘well that can’t get any worse… oh wait. That’s so much worse.’ Now I’m engrossed because I want to see how much worse it can get. For example, e4 juxtaposed being trapped in an elevator with a viciously passive aggressive mom, waiting on a pregnancy test from a self loathing affair, and being lost in a huge PRC mortuary after being summoned to identify the body of the missing son.

Only 2 more eps to go. Thank goodness because I don’t think I could take any more of a downer.

[Drunk Monk]

E5 was brilliant. It takes a sharp turn, focusing on the story arcs of the housekeepers and friends, with the main protagonists stepping into the background. It’s also an hour and a half, long than the other eps. Hong Kong is hit with a typhoon and the wet is palpable. This is also a more musical ep as one of the housekeepers is up for a singing contest. The ep opens with her singing lead in a Filipina street chorus, doing a great take on Katy Perry’s Roar. Later she does a beautiful rendition of one of my fav Dylan tunes Make You Feel My Love. Emotionally and dramatically, this ep is a payout on many built up ideas across the whole series. It’s intensely poignant and human, tragic on many levels and yet somehow redemptive. I was thoroughly engrossed. Although still on that downward spiral, it had the tiniest peek at light at the end of the tunnel. 

I am ready for the finale.

[Drunk Monk]

That was beautifully actualized with tremendous performances from Nicole, Sarayu & Ji-Young. The ending was existential - not much was resolved - in fact, stories were left intentionally dangling to sink that point. However it was strangely satisfying.

Unless this calls out to you like it did me, I’d give it a miss. It’s emotionally gut wrenching and its ultimate lesson is to live with the pain and to hum to keep the silence and lo lines from driving you mad. It’s a tremendous work but D00M recommended.