Lady in the Lake Review: Natalie Portman, Moses Ingram Deliver Memorable Series

Based on the novel by the same name by Laura Lippman, this drama-thriller Limited Series showcases themes of racism and misogyny in 1960s Baltimore when a woman leaves her marriage in order to become an investigative journalist and get to the bottom of the murder of a Black bartender and a young Jewish girl.

Portman’s Maddie Schwartz, although not without flaws, is a woman who is inspirational in many different ways. With racism and misogyny an everyday phenomenon, so much so that most women cannot fathom being asked their opinion on an issue, the series is a gritty crime-thriller that goes many different ways in search of the truth while drudging up a murky past and a painful present.

Maddie’s life, overwhelmed by the search for truth concerning two shocking deaths and a tumultuous home life where her family are unable to wrap their heads around a woman wanting to be anything other than a docile homemaker, is a trainwreck and a half to watch. Her emotional turmoil and her unrelenting dreams of becoming a published journalist become the centre of Lady in the Lake while we go up and down surrounding the heartbreaking circumstances of Cleo’s death.

The racism and misogyny also create an intoxicating situation that is bleak and distressing. The nightmares that Black people have to live through in order to simply get by in life are just so sad and unfair. The series does a fantastic job of bringing those points across. The series makes it clear that we are going to watch Cleo die at some point in the runtime. But, the backstory has a touch of gang wars and a ton of unheavals that is not just hella bleak, but also a representation of the lives of so many people in similar situations at the time.

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Other than the social commentary, Lady in the Lake is a dark and twisted story that keeps you on the edge throughout. Portman is a deft leader in this series who carries the burden of making this both relatable and thoroughly confusing as things go from shocking to bizarre and new avenues open up around every turn. As Maddie’s personal life continues to spin out of control, her professional life also finds more and more roadblocks from different places, along with the case itself being shrouded in mystery. With nothing going “according to plan” for most of the runtime, the series becomes a fever dream of questions and you are left to pick up the pieces one by one as things start to get together in the end.

Although the series holds its cards close to its chest for a majority of the runtime, it doesn’t become annoying or boring at any point. If anything, the incessant and merciless sequence of events just keep getting stranger and stranger, making viewers question what can cause Cleo to die and whether anything is real or not. Of course, it answers everything in equally strange ways and although some of the moments in the last two episodes feel like a bit much, I think viewers will easily be able to move past them. On the other hand, the political and social climate, along with the absolutely heartbreaking past of the protagonists add a layer of distress into the mix that works well with the worldbuilding.

Natalie Portman and Moses Ingram are the two pillars keeping Lady in the Lake together and both make an excellent impact on viewers. You can’t help be entranced by their performances and, thus, fall in love with their stories because they are told in such impactful ways. I found both of their backstories impactful and attention-grabbing but not overdone, making us relate but not fatigued. Their backstories also add value to the person that they are now, constantly trying to find their place in a world where women are always considered second.

Lady in the Lake Review: Final Thoughts

The first few episodes of Lady in the Lake might feel a bit slow and overwhelming considering the amount of information that we are expected to take in. However, when the mystery solidifies itself is when things pick up steam and you can’t help but be wrapped up in the frenzy. With excellent performances from all around, this series is a hefty watch but might not be for everyone.

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