The word “gripping” has been used to describe Lady in the Lake, the limited series that premieres on Apple TV+ on Friday, July 19. I’d say that description also applies to the trailer, along with “provocative,” “evocative,” “riveting,” “haunting,” and “shiver-inducing.” I experienced a “Wow. Just wow,” reaction after watching it.
I’m going out on a limb to say that Apple TV+ has another hit on its hands. Based on the trailer alone. Yes, it’s that good.
It reminded me of a combination of Last Night in Soho and Boston Strangler for a few reasons. Lady in the Lake is also set in the 1960s. It involves a true crime. (But is it based on a real-life true crime? I might have to explore that later in another post.) And like Thomasin McKenzie and Anya Taylor-Joy did in Last Night in Soho and Keira Knightley and Carrie Coon did in Boston Strangler, a powerhouse duo leads the cast. The potent Natalie Portman and the magnetic Moses Ingram.
The series Lady in the Lake is based on a book of the same name by Laura Lippman. Exactly like the book, the TV version explores the stories of two women whose lives become inextricably entwined after one of them dies. Here’s the synopsis from Apple TV+:
When the disappearance of a young girl grips the city of Baltimore on Thanksgiving 1966, the lives of two women converge on a fatal collision course. Maddie Schwartz (Portman), a Jewish housewife seeking to shed a secret past and reinvent herself as an investigative journalist, and Cleo Johnson (Ingram), a mother navigating the political underbelly of Black Baltimore while struggling to provide for her family. Their disparate lives seem parallel at first, but when Maddie becomes fixated on Cleo’s mystifying death, a chasm opens that puts everyone around them in danger.
My goodness. From exploring the repression women once felt to racism, talk about loading heavy, complicated elements into one storyline. That’s what I’m excited about watching? Not exactly.
It looks like it’s all woven together to create a twisting story, though. And I’m excited to see Portman and Moses in action with roles that will no doubt test and stretch their emotional limits.
Plus, I’m a sucker for historical fiction that blends mystery, thriller, and suspense like this. What about you?
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What was your reaction after watching the Lady in the Lake trailer?
Courtney Mroch is a globe-trotting restless spirit who’s both possessed by wanderlust and the spirit of adventure, as well as obsessed with true crime, horror, the paranormal, and weird days. Perhaps it has something to do with her genes? She is related to occult royalty, after all. Marie Laveau, the famous Voodoo practitioner of New Orleans, is one of her ancestors. That could also explain her infatuation with skeletons.
Speaking of healing, to learn how she channeled her battle with cancer to conjure up this site, check out HJ’s Origin Story.
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