Sharp Objects
HBO’s new dark series adapted from the equally dark novel by Gillian Flynn is well worth the watch
HBO has premiered Sharp Objects, an adaptation of the novel by Gillian Flynn, an excellent noir fiction writer who has a special ability to create atmospheres that envelope you. Tormented characters and violent suspense are other distinctive features of her stories, which are both vivid and addictive.
Flynn’s best-known novel is Gone Girl, an interesting story full of twists and ideas that I would recommend to anyone who likes the noir genre. In fact, I’m not the only one to be gripped by this story, as David Fincher also fell under its spell, which is why he decided to translate it to the big screen, which he did with aplomb: the film reproduces the tension built into the story from beginning to end, while managing to remain faithful to its source, something to be expected as the author also wrote the screenplay. Gilles Paquet-Brenner adapted another of her novels, Dark Places, into a smaller film than Fincher’s but one that kept the coherence of the original work, even though in this case Flynn was not involved in writing the script.
Now it is the turn of another adaptation, of one of the three novels in her Sharp Objects series, which tells a fascinating story that HBO decided to turn into an eight-episode series, the opening chapter of which shows plenty of promise.
Sharp Objects relates the story of Camille Preaker (Amy Adams), a journalist who is sent back to her hometown of Wind Gapp by her editor, to cover the story of a murder and the disappearance of two children from the town. Once there, Camille is reunited with her unbalanced mother, with a stepmother she barely knows, and with her former morbid life in the small town, a life that was marked by violence. We are given the plot of the murders, but another plotline focuses on Camille’s struggle with her past and her uncomfortable memories, a struggle with alcohol and against past mental scars.
The series was created by the veteran scriptwriter, Marti Noxon, and is directed with skill by Jean-Marc Vallée (Big Little Lies). Vallée carefully constructs the background to the story through flashbacks that gradually reveal the protagonist’s former life to the viewer, while providing a precise idea about life in Wind Gapp and about its inhabitants. What’s more, Vallée uses music as an interesting resource and ably directs the actors into giving restrained performances that make what is on the screen feel real. Amy Adams and Patricia Clarkson give great performances that faithfully recreate the characters, albeit with some substantial differences, that appear in the novel, so that this initial episode is enough to draw the viewer in and make them want to watch more of this series.
The fact that three of Flynn’s novels have been adapted to the screen is testament to the visual force of her stories, which translate well both to the cinema and TV. Meanwhile, the grisliness, sordidness, tension and violence of the novels are not lost in the adaptations. The result is a noir series that more than justifies the hours of dedicated viewing. It will be interesting to see how the series develops, but for the moment, it has made the best of starts.
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