Review Disney+-series ‘Tiny Beautiful Things’
What starts out as a raw and painful comedy turns into an effective tearjerker.
Clare’s life is a mess: she’s at odds with her daughter, her husband has temporarily thrown her out of the house, and she’s secretly living in the retirement home where she works. Because the fame that awaited her as a writer hasn’t materialized until she gets a careful second chance. An old acquaintance writes an anonymous advice column and hands the assignment over to her. Clare slowly begins to help others with the words of her, her younger self from the past, and ultimately the person she is today.
The first episode is meant to be humorous, but it’s still intense. He’s not very comfortable seeing how Clare has turned everyone against her and she’s too screwed up to do anything about it. There are also images of her as a young woman using heroin. Therefore, it is not a thigh talk, but a series with jokes and a lot of drama.
Plus a touch of mystery. What happened that made Clare blame everyone in her life, especially herself? More and more puzzle pieces are being assembled so that the total picture is visible in the latest episode, both to the viewer and to Clare. And by then the atmosphere has already softened a lot, to close with the handkerchief. beautiful little things she manages to let a sad realization sink in as she shares a beautiful and warm message.
The book of the same name was made into a movie with the help of actresses Laura Dern and Reese Witherspoon. Although both are not part of the cast, it is understandable that this story moved them so much that they contributed to this visual translation. Kathryn Hahn (wandavision) can be seen as the main character. If she used to be that actress you know by sight but whose name you don’t know, this series will change that. She delivers a superior performance that is guaranteed to earn her an Emmy nomination this summer.
The drama with the teenage daughter drags the series down a bit. Then it fits, but in the first instance it’s another tiresome crybaby as seen over and over again in the series lately. Teenagers are often in a bad mood with their parents, but recently they’ve been seen on TV like that: rather one-dimensional and like a lazy initiation into domestic drama.
Clare’s mother’s character, on the other hand, is more than just the domineering, judgmental shrew for once. Already soft-headed, mother Frankie, played by Merritt Wever, is a perfect mother. She shows nothing but sympathy, support, and love. This does not escape the younger version of Clare and her brother, but she still has feelings of guilt later in life about how she has handled certain things. The biggest emotional tumor, which you later see how it has spread, shows itself mercilessly in the last episode.
It all sounds sad, but there’s also a moment in the series where Clare burns her vagina because her vibrator shorts out. That may be the flattest joke of the entire series, but this moment proves that humor is a part of it. beautiful little things. Even Clare’s tantrums are good for a smile sometimes.
beautiful little things[/i is in de eerste instantie niet de makkelijkste serie, zeker niet eentje die uitnodigt om direct verder te kijken, maar dat wordt het wel. Mede omdat de sfeer wat milder wordt, maar ook omdat Clares innerlijke verandering merkbaar en boeiend is. Wat begint met gesprekken tegen haar jongere zelf ontpopt zich tot therapie. Zo goed, dat de woorden die ze schrijft in haar adviescolumn per ongeluk een enorme impact hebben op haar privéleven. Na de laatste aflevering – een permanente afsluiter – is er voor deze serie een hoop liefde.
[i]Tiny Beautiful Things can be viewed at Disney+.