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Netflix has treated us to a new ‘perverted’ thriller with a star-studded cast, and viewers are devouring it.
The Perfect Couple landed in subscribers’ accounts yesterday, and it’s already getting rave reviews.
Based on the bestselling book of the same name by Elin Hilderbrand, a shocking death derails a lavish high-society Nantucket wedding between Benji Winbury (Billy Howle) and Amelia Sacks (Eve Hewson), and turns everyone into a suspect.
Nicole Kidman plays rich novelist and mother-of-the-groom Greer Garrison Winbury, who is married to Tag Winbury, played by Liev Schreiber. Making up the rest of the Winbury family, are Benji’s older brother Thomas (Jack Reynor), and his pregnant wife Abby (Dakota Fanning), younger brother Will (Sam Nivola), and family friend Isabel Nallet (Isabelle Adjani). Joining them at the Nantucket wedding are maid of honour Merritt Monaco (Meghann Fahy), and best man Shooter Dival (Ishaan Khattar).
In the opening moments of the series, the guests are in high spirits at a rehearsal dinner, but within minutes of tuning in, the champagne bubbles burst. The police station is informed they’ve got a ‘floater’ – a dead body on the Winbury property, and as the mystery unfolds, affairs, grudges, and dirty secrets come to light.
Showrunner and creator Jenna Lamia hoped that audiences would watch the six episodes with ‘bated breath and needing to keep going, because they can’t stand that they’re not sure who did it yet.’
The Perfect Couple has launched on Netflix (Picture: Seacia Pavao/Netflix)
‘But I hope they’ll also laugh!’ she added to Tudum. And that’s exactly what they’ve been doing.
While Liev, 56, told The Express: ‘There is a really healthy dose of perversity.
‘Some of the most inappropriate and wonderful choices that I’ve ever seen a director make.’
Nicole had fun playing the role (Picture: Hilary Bronwyn Gayle/Netflix)
In one episode, Greer and Tag show off their ideal marriage and boast about their active sex life after decades together, all is not as it seems. The characters engage in a rather tense sexual encounter that begins after Greer repeatedly tells her husband not to touch her. She then succumbs and they have sex fully clothed against a window.
Explaining the significance of this scene, Bier explained to Metro.co.uk that it was deliberately ‘uncomfortable’.
‘It’s sort of a little bit of an uncomfortable sex scene in there. It doesn’t feel entirely mutual in a way.
‘It was a way of describing the emotional thing that was going on between the two of them, as opposed to just describing the physical.
‘But also, it was very conscious. We understand exactly what’s going on, but we are still keeping certain things literally on the ropes,’ she said describing the character’s position with her back to her husband and her body pressed against a window.
Everyone is a suspect (Picture: Hilary Bronwyn Gayle/Netflix)
Beyoncé has the same 24 hours in the day as all of us, and many Netflix subscribers have been using theirs wisely. They have watched the series at record speed and then taken to social media to encourage others to join them in binge-watching the whole thing.
‘I love how #theperfectcouple isn’t too serious or complicated. The storyline is straightforward and that opening dance number is just the cutest!! 10/10 recommend!’ wrote Jojo Gachara on X.
Account Hugeasmammoth.films summarised: ‘The Perfect Couple on Netflix is another entry in the distressed Nicole Kidman genre with an all new wig, an all new loser husband and annoying kids and an all new dead body. They made this for me and you know what, I enjoyed every minute of it. It’s soapy and while it isn’t groundbreaking, it’s VERY entertaining.’
Renata Rodriguez added: ‘If Nicole Kidman is going to be attached to man in a project you best believe he is going to be hot, toxic, obsessive and useless all in one. The Perfect Couple on #Netflix hits all the bases. 10/10.’
Moviegorey echoed the sentiment: ‘#ThePerfectCouple is pure, delicious trash TV at its finest! soapy drama, twists at every turn, and just the right amount of guilty pleasure fun.’
While EhyOwie simply wrote: ‘Just finished watching The Perfect Couple and I love it!’
The wedding is derailed (Picture: Netflix)
Netflix subscribers need to cancel their plans (Picture: Hilary Bronwyn Gayle/Netflix)
Nicole has spoken about her experience playing Greer – the successful novelist, who is hosting the wedding for her son.
‘The director Sussane [Bier] was like: “This is something you haven’t done and I want you to go and have fun with it”. So I did and it was just a great group of actors,’ she told PA Media.
‘It was almost like doing theatre at some points because we would work the scenes, and then she would shoot them.’
‘Everything I’ve done, I’ve always been very meticulous about the world being correct, but also the characters being specific because what never works is if it becomes generic,’ Susanne explained.
‘You need to understand the world.’
The Perfect Couple is available to watch on Netflix now.
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