Segredos de Família

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.

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.

Yes, ignore the low ratings from folks. This has a lovely slow burn. Easy to digest and follow even when it goes back from Then to Now and vice versa. Each episode focuses on a character and their vantage point or pov. Each tell a part of the story which if was spoken or shared, we would have figured out the mystery sooner. But this story is about what's done in the dark, the secrets you keep, the self preservation of yourself affects your life and your family. The decisions we make alter the perspective of others. How they see us and how they see themselves. All of this plays into the telling of the story.

To be honest I thought the ending was going to fall short. But it didn't. They could have however, had an eight episode entitled Savannah. The only mystery is the life and the character of Savannah which is never fully developed or shown. To see her then and now would have warranted a 10/10.

I'll definitely be watching this again. And as a father and husband reminding myself that all my actions and words have a bigger impact and butterfly effect that I could ever imagine.

Liane Moriarty's story is transferred to Miami and torn between a satire about the disintegration of a dysfunctional family (who love their tennis) and a TV melodrama mystery. There is lazy dialogue that sounds as if taken directly from the book, and characters not fully realised or fleshed out. Even the actors seem a bit lost, with Sam Neill hamming it up, just going through the motions.

Still the mystery element keeps the interest, with two detectives hot on the trail. Other factors that stood out (and hopefully get wackier) is the children who come together in search of their mother. This forces the siblings to sort out their relationship hang-ups and family squabbles.

Overall disappointing, but the dark humour and mystery just keeps it afloat.