‘Lady In The Lake’ Season 1 Review – Portman And Ingram Give Outstanding Performances

While the pilot of the new Apple TV+ series Lady in the Lake does a wonderful job developing the setting, tone, and era of the series, it is admittedly a chore to sit through. The pacing could be more active, and the setup of the characters takes an inordinate amount of time. Additionally, personal relationships and conflicts are hard to navigate; even though this is intended to engage the viewer, it could have been more helpful to guide the audience through the episode.

However, as Lady in the Lake progresses, a standout three-episode run, including “It has to do with the search for the marvelous,” “I was the first to see her dead. You were the last to see her alive.,” and “Innocence leaves when you discover cruelty. First in others, then in yourself.” is engaging, even suspenseful, and anchored by two outstanding performances from Academy Award winner Natalie Portman and Moses Ingram (The Queen’s Gambit).

The year is 1966, and on Thanksgiving Day in Baltimore, the city buzzes not only with the holiday spirit but also with the troubling news of a young girl who has gone missing. The story follows Maddie Schwartz (Portman), who finds herself amid an existential crisis triggered by the story of the missing girl; she just cannot let it go. When Maddie joins the search for her, she uncovers more than she bargained for.

The series also follows Cleo Johnson (Ingram), a woman who works hard to make ends meet for her two children. Her husband, Slappy (Byron Bowers), refuses to find a steady job and spends his time telling jokes at local clubs. Cleo is heavily involved in Black Baltimore’s politics. Yet, her involvement with a local gangster and numbers runner (The Wire’s Wood Harris) prevents her from moving up in the world. However, when Cleo dips her toes in a money-hustling scheme, Maddie’s fixation on the story changes their lives forever.

All seven episodes were made available for critics, and director Alma Har’el (Honey Boy) is behind the camera for all of them. Based on award-winning novelist Laura Lippman’s best-seller of the same name, Lady in the Lake is an engrossing drama from Har’el. It drops the audience into another time and place, and a volatile one at that. Racism, discrimination, segregation, sexism, political activism, public health, and socioeconomic classism all play a part in the background of a city rotting from the inside. However, both women represent a tipping point in identity and gender roles.

For instance, there is no one better to play a woman in an existential identity crisis than Portman. The veteran actress has made a living at it in films like Black Swan and Jackie. Portman’s performance is vicariously alive here, enthralling, and has many layers. She can be poignant, heartbreaking, even sexy, and finds a resonant within Maddie. This is important because Portman’s character has to find a role for herself in a world that was dormant for decades. After all, society taught her to do so.

While Portman looks at the world through a feminist lens, Ingram views it through the one of intersectionality, which has to do with social categories, such as race, gender, class, and sexuality. (In simple terms, Cleo navigates life as female and Black., where two types of discrimination can cross paths.) Her role generates the most suspense and excitement, especially considering the story’s direction by the finale. Despite this, Ingram finds the emotional core and strength in a role centered on survival. She has never been better.

Lady in the Lake is not without its faults. For instance, the ending is a bit too tidy for my tastes and lacks some natural consequences. Additionally, a major character departure by the third episode is spoiled by the trailer and online synopsis. This move also makes it fairly obvious where the story is going. This diminishes some of the well-earned suspense of the noir thriller. Frankly, a more ambiguous ending would have been preferred.

Yet, that doesn’t take away the finally crafted restless and intense mysteries of the series. Lady in the Lake is a gripping tale of status, race, and liberation.

You can stream Lady in the Lake only on Apple TV+!

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