"Nine Perfect Strangers" Review: A Character Mystery Begins
- Vega
- Aug 28, 2021
- 5 min read
Platform: Hulu
Release Date: August 18, 2021
Coming off the season finale of HBOMax's “The White Lotus,” which will not have an official review but I do recommend as a good watch, I was not sold on jumping into a series with a similar premise. This drama miniseries based on Liane Moriarity's book of the same name, though, definitely carries itself much differently than the quirkiness of the HBOMax original. I had grown quite cold on most of Hulu's Original Series for no reason that has any weight. Looking back on their original programming, I have really enjoyed the series with which I stuck (e.g. “Devs,” “Casual,” “Castle Rock,” “Little Fires Everywhere”), but they have been few and far between. Best I can tell is Hulu just does not hold enough weight to be focused on when compared to the Disney, Netflix, or HBO names, especially with the movies that the aforementioned services have been releasing over the past year. But giving it a chance, I have found myself a bit enamored with how the story has unfolded through the first few episodes.
A group of nine individuals, some of which arrive together, have been accepted to attend Tranquillum House, a highly exclusive wellness retreat that promises a life-changing experience. Of course, like anything that could truly change their lives, the retreat comes with a number of sacrifices and compromises that the guests find quite difficult with which to accept. Amidst those sacrifices are the unwanted character interactions as these nine individuals deal with their own demons while being surrounded by strangers who do not always mesh well with each other. Sitting atop the Tranquility mountain is Masha (Nicole Kidman), who presents as disconnected from the real world and carries herself with a Buddha-like aura. Behind the scenes, though, Masha is dealing with her own demons as she receives text messages from an unknown sender that may be related to her mysterious past, all while spying on her guests to uncover the necessary measures she needs to meet her promise of forever changes.
Being a character-focused series with a substantial and strong cast, I think it will be easier to look at quick snapshots of each character through the first three episodes.
Napoleon Marconi (Michael Shannon): A father/husband who tries to hard to remain positive and avoidant of a family tragedy.
Heather Marconi (Asher Keddie): Napoleon's wife who is depressed and still reeling from a tragedy from years ago.
Zoe Marconi (Grace Van Patten): Napoleon and Heather's daughter who may be most affected by the family tragedy while also appearing to be the most healthily functioning of her family.
Jessica Chandler (Samara Weaving): A social media influencer addicted to Instagram and perfecting her image who is feeling very disconnected from her husband.
Ben Chandler (Melvin Gregg): Jessica's husband who comes off as very materialistic and is in denial of having marital issues.
Frances Welty (Melissa McCarthy): An author who is down on her writing luck that is looking to heal from an unrequited, and odd, love.
Tony Hogburn (Bobby Canavale): A former athlete with a drug issue that does not care how crass he comes across.
Lars Lee (Luke Evans): A bit of a rule breaker whose attendance at the retreat is being kept a secret and is the shadyest of the group.
Carmel Schneider (Regina Hall): A single mother with a nosy and over-sharing personality doing everything she can to hold it together with a smile.
It came as no surprise that the bulk of the story through the first three episodes is told through the characters' introductions and initial engagements with each other. In the first couple of episodes, the story is based around slow burn character reveals, but it feels really organic giving the amount of time they have to divide for each character arc. The show shines in the dynamics of the characters' interactions with each other as differing and similar personalities begin to clash amidst the peaceful focus of the retreat. While Evans' Lars and Kidman's Masha present with the most depth due to their secretive nature, it is Michael Shannon's and Melissa McCarthy's performances that prove to be the most engaging right off the bat. That being said, there is not a single performance that I find lacking thus far and there is enough diversity amongst the characters that there is someone for everyone to which to be drawn.
Along with the reveals of the character's intentions and secrets, the show also establishes doubt about Masha's backstory of having a near death experience that resulted in her mission to create Tranquillum House. Whether it is in the details given or not given that should not be trusted remains to be seen, but it is hard to question the cult-like aspects of the retreat. With a male employee, Yao (Manny Jincto), who is in a relationship with female employee, Delilah (Tiffany Boone), while also having some form of sexual connection with Masha herself, things are likely to become crossed with the added stress of this challenging group of retreat attendees. Then there is the strange nature of the retreats practices, with smoothies that are specifically designed for each member and blood sample taken from the guests, there is much more to be uncovered about the nature of Tranquillum House itself. With how the show has already demonstrated the volatility of its characters, I am highly anticipating how they are to react to the revelations slow to come.
This is not to say that the show is perfect. As alluded to earlier, it does take a slow burning approach which leads to inevitable dull periods of storytelling. Even though the well-divided character development feels organic, it is almost too formulaic and balanced and could easily be viewed to being superficially written. While I am not experiencing it that way I can clearly see the argument for that position. The biggest obstacle the first few episodes expose is the lack of diversity in the emotional tone. Everyone being damaged and having a similar awakening experience leaves a similar blanket of emotions throughout the entirety of the first three episodes. But the mystery of the retreat is engaging enough to push through the emotional flatness. The oddities of the retreat are grounded enough to not point towards a supernatural or otherworldly basis. However, it is all still strange and off-putting enough that should it go that direction, it would be just as interesting of a direction as it would be off-setting. This is a series I am ready to continue, but should the beats continue to feel similar across all of the plot lines, I think the dramatic pull will fall flat and I am not sure the mystery reveals will be enough for redemption.
INITIAL RATING: 🧘🏼♀️ 🧘🏼♀️ 🧘🏼♀️. 75 / 5
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