Segredos de Família

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.

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.

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.

There is absolutely nothing groundbreaking about the show, but it is enjoyable, well acted, interesting, and the perfect length at seven episodes. I did not read the source material yet, but I never compare books and movies for the sake of determining which one was "better", so that really doesn't matter to me anyway. I've always loved Annette Benning and Sam Neill, and both have certainly become better with age! The rest of the cast supports them well.

As for the low scores... completely ridiculous. I probably would've rated this a 7, but I gave it an extra point just to counter some of the unfair reviewers. One person in particular rates it a 2, and goes off about Hollywood culture war, blah blah, rich white people are being demonized blah blah. Well, I'm white, and I don't see that at all. Some people just need to get a life.

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.