How ‘Big Little Lies’ Transcends the Typical Melodrama

Since the arrival of reality shows like “Desperate Housewives,” and “Real Housewives,” television has become forever flooded with parallel shows, imagined or “real”,  of women who seem incapable of treating one another with cordiality and respect. The bite is often meant as a kind of righteous satire, but in the aggregate, it amounts to a dismal statement about an entire gender. It’s also an insanely popular genre.

Big Little Lies,” which debuted Sunday night, is definitely filled with the tropes of motherly blogs and dramatic confrontations in the elementary school drop-off and pick up lane. However, the first episode is so elegantly conceived and constructed, and so extraordinarily acted by a five star cast that includes two of Hollywood’s most tenacious actresses (Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon), that the soapy cover immediately rinses away in the first episode. What remains is an incredibly captivating, highly addictive murder thriller paired with a conscientiously considered psychological work up of an exclusive community.

Based on Lianne Moriarty’s best-selling book, the storyline of “Big Little Lies” has been changed from its initial backdrop to Monterey, the idealized waterfront small town where a local elementary school is considered so distinguished, that it appeals to the coddled children of tech-like millionaires who reside in the cliffside mansions along the coast. The hothouse atmosphere is tangible on the children’s first day, as beautiful mothers and fathers check in with their beautiful, ambitious first graders.

In the TV-world, script-writing is often times cultivated through a myriad of efforts from the entire staff and overseen by an experienced show runner, while the director is interchangeable for every episode. “Big Little Lies” differs in that aspect because every episode was written by David E. Kelley (“Boston Legal”) and directed by Jean-Marc Vallée (“Dallas Buyers Club”). Vallée also gracefully directed Reese Witherspoon and Laura Dern’s drama, “Wild.”  The impeccable collaboration between Kelley and Vallee on every episode of “Big Little Lies” impressively strengthens the show’s consistency. It makes viewers wish that more of the new shows we’re being exposed to would limit themselves to a contained story, rather than a launching platform for a dramatic saga. By combining Kelley’s knack for merging irony and suffering with Vallée’s whimsical focus on the illusions that assist the characters’ coastal California bliss, “Big Little Lies” becomes a sinfully exciting and even cerebral experience.

Big Little Lies premiered Feb. 19 and airs on HBO Sunday nights at 9 p.m. ET