The (im)perfect mystery

Nicole Kidman chills as family matriarch in this Netflix whodunit

KARACHI:

If there's one thing Netflix's new treat to its viewers, The Perfect Couple, manages to do right from the jump, it's turning you into a binge-watcher if you aren't already one. It's almost a challenge: can you get through all six episodes in a single sitting? The answer is yes. It's addictive from the get-go with that glorious, out-of-nowhere Bollywood-style dance sequence in the opening credits. If the entire six hours were just that sequence on repeat, I'd be unashamedly glued to the screen anyway.

Money, money, money

Right off the bat, the main player is introduced: money. It's not just a backdrop—it's practically a character, breathing life into the motives of every one of the gloriously dysfunctional ensemble. Much like the slickness of an Agatha Christie whodunit crossed with the dark hilarity of The White Lotus, money is the invisible hand guiding every secret, power struggle, and, of course, murder. Sure, it doesn't have a face, but it's omnipresent—like a perfectly manicured puppeteer in the shadows, pulling all the strings.

The setup is real estate at its finest: a mansion (which has at least 50 bedrooms) perched on the Nantucket coastline. It's hosting an event grander than a royal wedding, where Nicole Kidman, playing Greer Garrison Winbury, takes her role as matriarch very seriously. Greer is the epitome of rich, icy perfection, smiling through gritted teeth at the impending marriage of her second son, Benji (Billy Howle), to Amelia (Eve Hewson), a girl who is, in polite terms, a "gold-digger" in Greer's eyes. But much to her joy, the wedding doesn't quite get off the ground due to the dead body that washes up on the beach the morning of. And in classic murder mystery fashion, everyone is a suspect. No one's off the hook here, and they've all got a motive.

Susanne Bier, who gave us that glossy Hugh Grant and Kidman-starrer The Undoing, returns with another luxe offering. This time, the stakes feel even higher, thanks to her effortless command on the narrative that gives us a murder mystery where, somehow, you suspect everyone, yet no one at the same time. And while some of the same genre have you guessing correctly around the halfway mark, this one doesn't allow for that.

Cracks in the façade

Kidman, as Greer, is back in her favorite role: rich woman in peril. She's an insanely successful mystery writer whose main claim to fame are the adventures of her fictional couple Dash and Dolly. Dash, of course, is modelled on her ridiculously wealthy husband, Tag (Liev Schreiber). But here's where things get spicy—Greer's outwardly perfect marriage is anything but. Her empire, built on stories of love and mystery, begins to crack as secrets bubble to the surface.

It's not just Greer's chilly perfection that keeps you hooked. We're introduced to the rest of the characters in rapid succession. There's her eldest son Thomas (Jack Reynor), a walking cautionary tale of what happens when you're raised in dysfunction. He's married to Abby (Dakota Fanning), who finds joy in watching others squirm—a match made in heaven. Then there's the forgettable youngest son, Will (Sam Nivola), who, well, if you blink, you might miss his entire storyline. And let's not forget the selection of family friends: Merritt (Meghann Fahy), Shooter (Ishaan Khatter), and Isabel (Isabelle Adjani). Together, they form a perfectly toxic mix of suspects, all with varying degrees of secrets and lies that keep you guessing.

The insider and the sleuth

But the real winner-of-hearts? Gosia, the scarily efficient longtime housekeeper. Gosia's distaste for anyone outside the Winbury inner circle is palpable, especially when Amelia's parents, Karen (Dendrie Taylor) and Bruce (Michael McGrady), waltz in with their store-bought fruit basket (gasp!). Her commentary is brutal—she's as quick to dismiss a character for "making their bed like a poor person" as she is to roll her eyes at Karen's conveniently "dying" illness that forced the wedding to be rescheduled. She's also a particular admirer of Greer's tight rein over all. "Without fear, there can be no control," she tells the police. And Greer does well to instil the fear - in her family and in the audience. Her steely glares and savaging comments carry through the screen having viewers wishing that they never end up with a mother-in-law like that.

The real tension kicks in once the police get involved, and it's not the flashy mansion or Kidman's glorious wardrobe that steals the show. No, the star is Donna Lynne Champlin as Detective Nikki Henry, the police detective whose expression shifts ever-so-slightly with every new absurdity she's forced to endure from this bizarrely privileged crowd. Nikki's interactions with the local police chief, Dan (Michael Beach), are a masterclass in professional frustration. She knows she's up against a system rigged by the wealthy—and while she might roll her eyes in secret, she's sharp as a tack and more than willing to outmanoeuvre every rich weasel in her path.

While The Perfect Couple delivers plenty of cashmere-coated decadence, snide remarks, and family drama, the mystery itself is just okay. The big reveal isn't the jaw-dropping twist you might expect—it's more of a slow burn that eventually fizzles out. It works, sure, but in the grand scheme of murder mysteries, it's not reinventing the wheel. That said, granted the general awfulness of all the characters, you don't really care whodunit, they all deserve to be in jail for their sheer deplorability.