Enjoyable melodrama - that's not a back handed compliment. It's well done though perhaps stretched out at 7 one-hour eps... there's lots of filler, with scenes of kids running around and other such montages.
It reminded me of Ross Hunter/Douglas Sirk 1950s melodramas, with its combination of lust, unhappy marriages, aspirational lifestyles (the Monterey coast), good female roles. Instead of Lana Turner and Jane Wyman there's Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon and Shailene Woodley - plus Laura Dern and Zoe Kravitz.
It's extremely well done across the board - acting, costumes, etc. Nicole gets the juiciest part, being slapped around and having self destructive sex. Her scenes with the shrink are particularly well done and must have been what got her the Emmy.
Dramatically really Reese's character could have had the affair on screen - I'm guessing they made it flash back so she'd be more sympathetic? Builds to a tense ending. Still I kept feeling it could and should have been condensed into a great two hour movie. Such is modern Hollywood!
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