Apples Never Fall

I enjoyed the slow burn. Sam Neill is excellent. He does a great job of portraying someone who's holding back. While the series progresses he keeps you guessing as to the type of person he might be. It's easy to say in retrospect that you knew the answer all along but, honestly, he made me wonder and I really enjoyed the journey. Annette Bening also does an excellent job of portraying a woman coming to terms with the meaning of her life upon retirement. Her kids are grown and she finds herself being alone with her husband. What happens when your identity for so long has been defined by your family and your profession? Was it all worth it? I enjoyed finding out.

I am getting tired of shows with such promise at the beginning only to be squandered away with a rushed, thoughtless, disappointing ending. Such is the case of "Apples Never Fall." Annette Bening (recently in "Nyad"), Jake Lacy of "White Lotus," and Alison Brie ("Promising Young Woman") lure me in, and for the most part, the mysterious unfolding of events keep me tuned. The feel of this series is very similar to "Big Little Lies," being that both are based on the work of the same author. However, "Apples Never Fall" is clearly the inferior of the two, with its contrived plot turns and a waste of an ending.

Absolutely unwatchable. Another Australian story converted, yet again, to an American setting with truly obnoxious characters, trite dialogue and weak plotting. The book wasn't literature but at least provided a decent read. Sam Neil needs to give it up if this is the best he can do. What an insult - Lianne Moriarty should be hung, drawn and quartered for allowing this bastardisation of her Australian story. Why not set it where it belongs and allow excellent Aussie actors to demonstrate their acting chops? She certainly doesn't need the money ffs. Shame on you Ms Moriarity for this faithless act. But if you must make it American try at least to make it good.

By episode one it's basically figured out. This could have been done into a 2 hr movie I would have passed on. The story is dull and too predictable. It's peacock so yeah... I had some hope given the cast and I'm sure if you like shows like American idol or America's got talent this will probably blow your mind. But for people who enjoy watching quality work this is not that. We started watching this because for all mankind was just getting so slow, drawn out and boring. Too many of these shows need to be condensed into movies. There is way too much filler content. They suck you into the show with intrigue and just leave you with a dull ending while spending hours on pointless character development.

Look, I'm all for good character development when you have a really good story to tell but these micro stories are just built around filler content and I'm sorry but nothing in this show is original.

Two award-winning veteran actors, Annette Bening and Sam Neill drag this predictable plot along, supported by their soap opera children. Robert Taylor, Sheriff Walt Longmire that was, has a small supporting role late in the show.

It's watchable enough, when Annette disappears and the family self-destructs. There are a couple of interesting twists in the backstory as the scenes switch from "then" to "now", but that part of the plot is unbelievable in the end. Everyone swearing to do better and the renewed happy family final scene is laughable. Mom was always taken for granted and left cleaning up after her ungrateful spoiled brats of a family. Mom and Dad's toxic relationship DNA has reproduced to some degree in the children. It's a cautionary tale and one probably familiar to lots of wives and mothers. Not awful, just could have been a lot better.