The Beautiful Lie

I wasn't 100% sure about this show, being a huge fan of Tolstoy, so I was pleasantly surprised at the drama and the consistency with the storyline of Anna Karenina. The casting was superb, and the setting was surprisingly consistent.

Sarah Snook as Anna was an amazing casting choice. Her portrayal was perfect, beginning to end. She played out the snowball of drama that came about from that initial decision in such a meticulous way, drawing it out and making me (i.e. the viewer) feel the heart-wrenching conclusion to this classical story in a surprisingly new way.

The other noteworthy casting choices: Sophie Lowe as Kitty (that melodramatic, super-clingy and naive little girl who transitions into a mature, considerate woman); Daniel Henshall and Celia Pacquola as Kingsley and Dollly; and Alexander England as Peter.

If you want to experience Tolstoy in a new and unexpected way, give this series a try. (It's also incredibly easy to binge-watch.)

One of the key lines of the series.. "with Skeet I feel like a starving person who's been given food... and with Xander I think I've married an abacus". Anna discovers and is completely consumed by unbridled sex. And finds herself incapable/ unwilling of making the sacrifice to abandon it.. and what comes next permanently locks her in, and ultimately determines her fate. You must watch it more than once to truly discover how remarkable a production it really is. This is one of the great new relationship series you will come across, and Sarah Snook's portrayal of Anna is beyond just good, she is absolutely mesmerizing. By far, her most outstanding work to date.. and it is her performance that drives this series, and makes it well worth the time spent watching. I think she is just an amazing actor.. ever since seeing her in 'Not Suitable For Children'. If you have not seen this wonderful little film, be sure and search it out, it is by far one of the best of the recent rom-com genre. There's little doubt, she's one of the top acting talents out there today. The Beautiful Lie is another well produced AU drama. The Australians just seem to be able to crank them out with such ease.. wish we could do as well here in this country. This is an easy 10 rating, and would go higher if possible.. don't dare miss it.

Allegedly a re-working of Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, The Beautiful Lie has a great ambition. Some of the script, parts of the acting and occasional moments achieve something really worthwhile, but as a whole it isn't satisfying or believable.

More than that, none of the characters really engages us as viewers, so we may want to find out who ends up with whom, and why, but we don't get the sense that any of them are real.

The contrast with Tolstoy is vast: his moral and psychological vision was profound and engaging, whereas The Beautiful Lie takes us into a world of mostly trivia and lust, disguised as love.

I suspect this was a 6-part series that got extended. That makes it even less likely to retain our attention.

The Beautiful Lie is a surprisingly well-made Australian gem and possibly the best TV mini-series out there on love, betrayal and disillusion.

It tells its story simply yet awesomely, is backed by a stellar main and supporting cast who play so believably and is led by the brilliant and sun-like Sarah Snook. This actress does such an amazing job, performs at such a high level that the other actors are merely gravitating around her and bowing imperceptibly to her huge talent.

The story is so gripping, so riveting that many times, I thought to myself that it is so well-made that it's dangerous, may well be setting some new precedences and making some people wanna reconsider their relationships. It is that good and that award-worthy.

The series flows with amazing ease, is easy on the eyes and enthralls you emotionally. It is captivating like a snake looking at and hypnotizing its prey.

It's an original masterpiece, well worth watching and re-watching, while pondering on the dangers of lies, told beautifully, but nevertheless lies.

A beautiful son, husband and home.. We all have our youth to explore fantasies and passionate love that will never work, but the selfish main character made me sick. I love Sarah Snook, and I do believe this series is worth watching... but man, did she ruin her own life or what? I feel no empathy or sympathy for her. What you reap is what you sow.