The Apple TV psychological thriller “Imperfect Women,” based on Araminta Hall’s novel of the same name and adapted by Annie Weisman, is a twisted, sinister tale of friendship and the facades people put up to prevent others from looking too closely. Utterly compelling, the series places a microscope on the lives of three longtime friends, forcing them to look not just inward but also at one another, and at the missteps and deceptions that have been simmering just below the surface.
Set in Los Angeles and its environs, “Imperfect Women” begins with a devastating event. Eleanor (Kerry Washington) is summoned by the police to identify the body of her best friend, Nancy (Kate Mara). With little evidence to go on, Detective Bethany Ganz (Ana Ortiz) asks Eleanor to reflect on the last time she saw Nancy. In a flashback to 11 hours prior, Eleanor and Nancy are shown at dinner, celebrating the birthday of their other best friend, Mary (Elisabeth Moss). It should be a joyous occasion, but Nancy’s phone won’t stop buzzing. A mystery man she has been having an affair with has begun threatening her, and Eleanor urges her to end the relationship. Meanwhile, Mary, the most naive of the trio, remains blissfully unaware that anything is amiss.
In the present, Eleanor tells Ganz she doesn’t know much about the man her friend was dating, only that Nancy left the party to break off the affair for good. Across the limited series’ eight episodes, viewers begin to piece together what happened to Nancy. The show also explores the women and their unusual bond.
Eleanor is a native Bostonian who grew up extremely privileged and now runs a bustling non-profit. Aside from an ongoing fling with one of her employees (Rome Flynn), she’s remained unpartnered. Though Nancy married into wealth, the perfect trophy for old-money husband Robert Hennessy (Joel Kinnaman), she grew up in an impoverished, abusive household in Bakersfield. Finally, there is Mary, a stay-at-home mom to her teenage son, Marcus (Jackson Kelly), and two young daughters. Ever optimistic, Mary puts on a happy face amid the chronic underemployment of her professor husband, Howard (Corey Stoll).
Despite the trio’s different backgrounds, their three-decade-long friendship has withstood the
test of time. Over the course of the show, Eleanor and Mary work to solve the mystery of Nancy’s death. However, what also emerges is that despite their perceived closeness, the friends kept many secrets from each other.
From girlhood, many women are taught to remain silent, to hide or deflect when they behave or have experiences outside the “norm.” Worse, when harm is done to them, safe spaces are scarce, which allows shame to fester. As “Imperfect Women” suggests, the only way to liberate ourselves is through radical honesty, particularly with the women we love and trust the most. After all, many are having similar or parallel experiences. As the show shifts perspectives from Eleanor to Nancy and then to Mary, it becomes clear that the humiliations they are so desperate to hide aren’t singular.
“Imperfect Women” is an outstanding mystery thriller bolstered by the resounding lead performances. It is also a profound portrait of friendship. womanhood and the openness needed to build authentic trust and community. Women learn to protect themselves by keeping things in. However, the series shows that the most important thing these lifelong friends can do is to let everything rise to the surface and spill forth, freeing themselves and each other in the process.
The first two episodes of “Imperfect Women” debut March 18 on Apple TV, with the remaining three episodes airing weekly on Wednesdays.
Leave a Reply