Apples Never Fall

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.

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.

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.

If you are willing to adjust your expectations of this limited series, you may not be let down by this generally well-acted drama.

In reality, there really is no "mystery" other than not knowing *anything* substantial about the central event for 7 of the 8 episodes. Plenty of suspicions and dubious conclusions by law enforcement are lobbed (sorry) between characters relentlessly episode after episode, with key "evidence" uncovered along the way being almost hilariously circumstantial (and obviously meant to mislead).

The *vast* majority of the episodes center around the family dynamics of the. Delaneys, with plenty of flashbacks that fill in present day interactions to explain why some family members react and behave the way they do.

In the end, the final episode was a complete letdown, with the last 5 seconds of the penultimate episode being the biggest twist/shocker of the series. I did not read the book, but it felt like the last episode was stretching the last couple pages of the book into a full hour of content.

If you temper your expectations oso that you don't expect a big payoff to the series, and instead watch it as a family melodrama wrapped around a "meh" mystery, your opinion might be higher.

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.