Jan 26

Jan 26 'Expats' series review: 'The Farewell' director & Nicole Kidman's character study of grief & regret

The mystery-drama 'Expats' (streaming on Amazon Prime Video starting Feb. 26) explores the intertwined lives of three women living in the shadow of tragedy amid of the sprawl of Hong Kong.

The latest from Lulu Wang, director of the great 2019 film "The Farewell," is a limited-series adaptation of Janice Y.K. Lee's novel The Expatriates. And it does lend credence to the theory that novels are best adapted as TV series rather than films, if only because a story told in 6 episodes allows the audience to spend more time with various characters, whose lives literally filled chapters of a book.

Wang directs all six episodes of 'Expats," which follows the intertwined stories of grieving and disaffected homemaker Margaret (Nicole Kidman), her former best friend and neighbor Hilary (Sarayu Blue) and twentysomething Mercy (Ji-young Yoo) as they try to move on from an unspoken tragedy. This spoiler-free review page will critique each episode as they air.

Part 1: "The Peak" (original air date: Jan. 26, 2024) review:

In the opening moments of the first episode, 'Expats' very directly presents its thesis upfront as it candidly ruminates on the often untold stories of those who caused tragedies, rather than merely focusing on the lives of victims of tragedies. While tragedy, as a concept, is a pretty fundamental narrative anchor of storytelling, the perspective of the responsible party is often relegated to smaller indie film festival fodder - likely because heady ponders of guilt are often less attractive than stories of people overcoming tragedy to rebuild their lives.

Yet, after promising this intriguing proposition, the first ep drops the audience into the mundanity of a family prepping for a 50th birthday party. Expatriate Margaret (Nicole Kidman) lives in Hong Kong with her family - while she busies herself planning a party, it's clear something tragic has befallen her family in the recent past. Elsewhere in the city, Mercy (Ji-young Yoo) is a young woman enjoying a casual relationship, having mid-day drinks with friends and working various gigs to make ends meet. Spending so much time with Margaret, at least at first blush, feels like a bit of a betrayal from the episode's opener - because the episode seems to paint her as the victim of a tragedy.

While Margaret, Hilary and Mercy move through their lives in Hong Kong, an ever-present mystery of "what happened" hangs over the first episode. 'Expats' deliberately opts to drop small hints alluding to past events rather than outright reveal what happened to Margaret's family - and how that tragedy relates to Mercy and Hilary.

This intentional "mystery-drama" approach to this story works for character study purposes, but doesn't work as well from a straightforward "TV show with a plot" position. This first episode excels when it simply focuses on its characters living in the aftermath of tragedy. Small, quiet moments allow the audience to see the gap between the brave face that Margaret puts on for her family and friends - and the thousand-yard stare in her isolated moments. The series is afforded the time for these short, but critical, scenes as they allow the audience to see these unvarnished moments of pain.

Now, because 'Expats' is still very much a plot-centric series, the fact that it's so slow-paced in revealing meager hints about the past does keep the audience wondering "what happened." But rather than build up intrigue with a measured-pace of revelations, this first episode leaves the audience with almost as many questions by the episodes ending as it did from the start. This is only an issue because the show itself makes these undisclosed character connections so important - when two of these character barely cross paths, it's enough to cause them to spin out. Not knowing what prompted such an emotionally volatile response is a bit frustrating.

Episode score: 3.5/5. This introductory episode works best when it allows the audience spend time with its leading three characters - but it's very stingy with plot details. A slightly improved version of 'Part 1' would drop some riveting reveal that would keep the audience on the edge of their seat - instead, this first episode just ... ends.

Part 2: "Mong Kok" (original air date: Jan. 26, 2024) review:

As if a complete rebuttal to the above grievances about how miserly 'Part 1' is with plot details, 'Part 2' fires right out of the gate as it reveals how two of the three main characters came into each other's lives. While the first episode moves at a deliberate pace, due to its character-driven focus, the opening of 'Part 2' flies by as it allows two distinctly different characters to meet and interact. And seemingly intent to prove that revelatory scenes for plot-centric details do not need to be just exposition, this episode's introduction is rife with class-centric themes that permeate the entire series.

Although Margaret and Hilary lead affluent lives as upper-class foreigners enjoying the good life in Hong Kong, Mercy gets by with some grace from her trust-fun baby friends as well as her hard work. Throughout 'Part 1,' Margaret and Hilary are surrounded by various people who help raise their kids or drive them around - working class residents of Hong Kong upon whose backs these upper class foreigners enjoy their luxurious lives. The episode drives home the "employer-employee" distinction several times - as Hilary's husband David unsuccessfully tries to connect with his driver and Margaret referring to her family's live-in help Essie as "family." Their alienation from those closest to them is a double-edged sword - David's attempt to bond with "the help" falls flat, whereas Margaret is increasingly frustrated by the blurred lines between live-in help with her children and her own role as a mother.

Interestingly, 'Part 2' also fleshes out another theme that was hinted at in 'Part 1' - specifically the sacrifices women make as wives and mothers. The first episode script alludes to Margaret's former career before becoming a mother. She notes how unrealistic it would be to continue that career in Hong Kong, yet seems to be trying to rationalize her choices more to herself than the party planner she was talking to. It's an intriguing juxtaposition to watch one main character point out all sacrifices she's made as a wife, while another main character is conflicted about becoming a mother herself.

Relative to the first episode, 'Part 2' moves at a faster pace because each scene is defined by conflict of one sort or another - internal and external. This dramatic energy infuses the episode with momentum that never makes the episode feel "slow." And the final moments make good on the "mystery-drama" angle - with 'Part 2' answering a lot of very basic questions, while teasing many dangling threads left unexplored.

Episode score: 4/5. Revealing what life looked like for Margaret, Hilary and Mercy before tragedy upended their lives retroactively makes 'Part 1' more fulfilling. 'Part 2' reveals what "normal" looked like for Margaret, Hilary and Mercy - and this insight helps form a more complete picture of these three women.

Part 3: "TBA" (original air date: Feb. 2, 2024) review:

To come ...