Lady in the Lake

A drama about two women fighting two different battles to achieve a common goal. A drama about freedom told with magnificent visuals supported with great music. Dynamic set of characters that enables a wide exploration into the western society that's undergoing rapid change. Sincere performances by the cast full of expression. There are no heroines even the central characters are criticized for their selfish desperations. It's different not the typical thriller most of us come looking for yet succeeds in keeping any viewer engaged till the very end. Absence of a one central theme makes this watch even more worthwhile.

The series first episodes are captivating but gradually, once well within the story, starts to take you through long dream sequences which is a lazy way of bringing a little insight into certain aspects of the caracter. By the third one I was climbing up the walls and resisting the fast forward button. Great cinematography, costumes, settings but some caracteres such as the journalists are depicted in a very obvious cartoony way. Some acting is very good, some scenes not so much. This series could have been at least two episodes shorter and would've strengthened the plot. It took a little effort to plow through the last episodes.

Review posted after watching episode 4.

Hard to understand the low reviews some people are posting - ignore them. I'm finding this to be an engaging and interesting story. I've been a fan of Natalie Portman since Leon: The Professional. Her performance here is one of her most nuanced and complete characters. The entire cast is really good, especially Moses Ingram and Y'lan Noel, who I haven't seen before, and Wood Harris who seems to be everywhere recently.

Still a long way to go in the series, but I'm enjoying Lady in The Lake and think it's worth a watch. Give it a couple of episodes, however, before forming an opinion. It started coming together for me during episode 2. I certainly feel that even after 4 episodes one cannot honestly make a final assessment of the show. However, I really want to see more of this story.

As with other Apple TV shows the production values are top notch. I am old enough to remember the 1960's and the depiction of the era jibes with my memories.s

I have not read the book the series is based on, so I cannot comment about how it follows the book.

Beautifully shot, well acted but ultimately dull. Far too long to get to the point. I've given up after episode two.

This should have been an hour and a half long made for television film not a short series. I really dislike when programme makers drag a story out just to make it so many episodes long. They turn a good story well acted into something that turns viewers off because of the length of time it takes to tell that original good story.

Please programme makers just make a good film! Is it because they have to pay Natalie Portman a fortune to have a name on the cast and need to get their moneys worth? I don't know but I'm bored so 5 stars and I won't be watching any more.

Drama and story-telling for grown-ups.

I can see why some people don't like this. It's not conventional and simple story-telling. The two main characters, Cleo Johnson and Maddie Schwartz are deeply flawed people. Schwartz especially so, as she is quite unsympathetic and unlikeable. Johnson's story is that of a smart person who can't stop making bad choices. I find all this refreshing and relatable. It's so much more like real life. If you're bored with it, good for you - go back to your Marvel movies or 'Emily in Paris'.

I also get to play one of my favorite TV and movie games - spot the twist in advance. I know there's one or two big ones here, but by episode three they aren't revealed, so it's fun to try and guess. Maddie Schwartz was suspiciously quick in finding a murder victim in a very remote location; something tells me that will have a bearing on things.

Kudos also to Jennifer Mogbock in episode 1. Her character is forced to sing on stage while severely intoxicated and manages to turn it into something strange and beautiful. Actually 'strange and beautiful' sums up the best about this show when it's hitting its high notes.