Books are always better than the movies and in this case – a TV show. Big Little Lies is a miniseries based on the best selling book by Liane Moriarty. The first episode aired February 19 on HBO, and it had everything to make an entertaining TV show.
Set in a rich suburb of Monterey, California, a murder takes place at a fundraising event for an elementary school. The ever-so perfect neighborhood, looks to be a lot more dysfunctional than you would think. The show is filled with incredible acting, by Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, Shailene Woodley and Zoë Kravitz.
Photo Courtesy of hbo.com
After I watched the first episode, I wanted the whole story and was intrigued by the complexity of each character. All these women have children that are starting the first grade and they all meet Jane (Woodley) for the first time at orientation. By the end of the orientation an incident takes place with the children, that draws the battle lines between the mothers and brings drama to their community. I was really interested in Shailene Woodley’s character Jane because she seemed to be running from something in her past, that she does not want anyone to find out.
I picked up the book the day after I finished the episode and finished it within the next couple days. I could not put it down, and the plot twist left me speechless. It took me five minutes to process what had happened. The evolution of each character kept me engrossed through each chapter. I have been recommending it to everyone I know.
As I continue to watch the next couple episodes, I am loving looking at the differences the TV show has with the book. The main difference was that in the book it is set in a wealthy neighborhood of Sydney, Australia unlike in the show it is Monterey, California. Besides changing some small events, the series has stayed true to each character’s story and development.
I am happy that I read the book first, because even though I am loving the TV show and my Sunday nights, nothing will make up for the shock of reading through that book.