The whodunit murder mystery genre is experiencing a resurgence we haven’t seen since the popularity of Clue. From Knives Out to The White Lotus, Only Murders in the Building, Poker Face, A Murder at the End of the World, and The Afterparty, there’s no shortage of options in the sub-genre. Each one is different, some with a comedic spin, some psychological thrillers, some that buck typical trends to include a mix of themes and tones. They all follow the same premise, however: a murder has occurred and the characters and viewers at home follow the twists and turns until their identity is revealed.
That’s indeed the case with Netflix’s The Perfect Couple, another entry into what’s gearing up to be a saturated category. How does the series fare against others? The Perfect Couple is like a cross between The White Lotus and Knives Out. It’s not as good as either, but as a soapy drama with a killer cast, it may satiate your taste for something new.
What Is The Perfect Couple About?
The Perfect Couple is set in Nantucket, centred around the wealthy Winbury family headed up by Greer Garrison Winbury (Nicole Kidman), a famous novelist and Tag Winbury (Liv Schreiber), a man who comes from money but has his share of personal troubles.
The family has gathered in their lavish Nantucket mansion for the wedding of son Benji (Billy Howle, The Serpent) to his fiancé Amelia Sacks (Eve Hewson, Bad Sisters), a “commoner” who was never been exposed to this level of wealth and opulence until she met Benji. Greer, a tightly wound, uppity, well-put-together woman isn’t exactly fond of Amelia, delivering passive-aggressive digs under her breath. She does her best to make her disdain for her daughter-in-law-to-be known.
When someone turns up dead in the water before the wedding can proceed, however, the accusations fly. Not only is everyone a suspect, but Greer’s celebrity status means trying to keep the incident as quiet as possible, despite people grieving the loss.
As police investigate, they meet dead ends at every corner, though each leads to a new potential suspect. Everyone, it seems, has a motive, whether it’s money, power, jealousy, revenge, or something else entirely.
The Perfect Couple Review
While The Perfect Couple is just six episodes long, you feel as though the story drags on and on, frustrated to just get to the resolution, already. It isn’t until the end of the first episode that you learn who the victim is in the first place. From there, it becomes the “why” did this person die, and was it murder?
Everyone, it seems, has secrets, some more shocking than others. The Perfect Couple sheds light on the fact that the couple at the centre of this series is anything but. With the right PR spin and a fake smile, Greer has developed a version of her life that isn’t real, and one she often uses for inspiration for her fictional novels. Every member of the family is spoiled, entitled, and arrogant, each with an easily diagnosable personality disorder you don’t require a degree to figure out.
The tone and feel of The Perfect Couple is that of a soap opera. With the stunning setting by the water and the large group of people gathered for an event, it feels a bit like The White Lotus, too, though the writing isn’t quite as intelligent and cutting. The inclusion of Meghann Fahy, who starred in season two of The White Lotus, is a nice touch. She’s just as captivating in this role as she was in the Emmy-winning HBO series, but the character not as interesting.
The show is also a bit like Knives Out with a wealthy family at the centre, and the overall tone. The family members aren’t necessarily pointing fingers at one another. They’re more worried about their status, reputation, and the optics of this tragic situation than they are actually finding out who the real killer is. In one scene as two brothers are fighting, the pregnant wife screams at them to be careful because her dress is vintage, not because of the baby. That about sums up the mentality of this family.
The show tries to throw red herrings and misdirects your way all the way through, wonderfully satisfying the typical whodunnit formula. Just when you think you’ve figured out the mystery, your theory is disproven, causing you to rethink your angles and start again from scratch. You’ll be watching for subtle hints throughout, some that pan out to be part of the story, even if not in the way you think.
The Perfect Couple puts a spotlight on white upper-class society, privilege, and the age-old saying that money doesn’t buy you happiness. There isn’t a real bone in any of the Winbury family members’ bodies. Amelia is like a fish out of water, learning more and more about how fractured and messed up the family she was about to marry into really is. They seem perfect, but they’re anything but. The show is reminiscent of Peacock’s Apples Never Fall as well, so if you liked that show, you’ll love this one, too.
The cast is what makes The Perfect Couple watchable. Along with Kidman, Schreiber, Hewson (daughter of U2’s Bono), Howle, and Fahy, there’s also stand-outs like Dakota Fanning as Abby Winbury, Benji’s sister-in-law, Donna Lynne Champlin (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) as detective Nikki, The Peripheral’s Jack Reynor as Benji’s older brother Thomas, and Michael Beach (Sons of Anarchy) as Chief of Police Dan Carter.
Of the entire show, the scene most people can’t stop talking about is the choreographed dance scene in the intro, depicting guests at the pre-wedding party dancing on the beach in their expensive dresses and suits. Ironically, the happy smiles and gyrating hips are moving to Meghan Trainor’s song “Criminals,” a beautifully fitting juxtaposition.
Should You Watch The Perfect Couple?
If you love shows like The White Lotus or Big Little Lies (in which Kidman also stars) and movies like Knives Out, The Perfect Couple will be right up your alley. But while every actor nails their roles, the story itself is more bubblegum mystery than riveting TV. There are moments of humor alongside the drama, and Kidman’s portrayal of the wooden, prim and proper novelist who is more concerned with her image than anything else is spot on. The same goes for Schreiber, who will draw you into his personal misery, peeling back saddening layers to his character with each passing episode.
The Perfect Couple is a story you have seen time and time again, with an ending that, no matter how closely you look, you might not see coming. Even if you guess the killer’s identity, there are other elements of the plot that will leave you thoroughly surprised.
For filler TV when there’s nothing else on, you’ll enjoy The Perfect Couple. With just six episodes, you’ll get through it easily in a lazy weekend. It will delight as much as a season of a primetime soap would. For some, that’s exactly what the doctor ordered.
Much like Greer has a loyal legion of fans who eat up her farcical stories of a perfect couple, you may enjoy the preposterous nature of this story about rich folks in Cape Cod dealing with a death that has inconvenienced their busy lives and jam-packed social calendar.
The Perfect Couple is best described as a poor man’s Knives Out. And that’s perfectly OK. Don’t forget the wine and oysters before you sit back to enjoy the wealth, greed, and devious behavior that makes the show the perfect end of summer guilty pleasure.