Last Updated on July 26, 2024 by
Lady in the Lake is a 2024 series directed by Alma Har’el. The film stars Natalie Portman, David Corenswet, and Mikey Madison Theater, released on July 19, 2024.
The first two minutes of Apple TV+’s Lady in the Lake introduced that one of the show’s featured characters is already deceased. We see Cleopatra “Cleo” Johnson, played by Moses Ingram, who is thrown by an unknown man over his shoulders into a body of water only to sink into the water and cease to surface. During her death, through a narration of her last moments in the form of voice-over, it is obvious that although she is dead, Cleo will not be erased from the narrative or the people responsible for her death. She directs this monologue to one character in particular: the other main character of the series, Maddie Schwartz, played by Natalie Portman.
She begins to tell Maddie, “You came in at the end of my story”. The series is based on the 2019 Laura Lippman novel of the same name, which was developed considering two murders that occurred during the author’s childhood in Baltimore. Seven episodes tell the story of Maddie, a Jewish woman and a housewife who is awakened by the abduction of a girl from her environment. She is an active blogger and a journalist by passion, but she needs a breakthrough story for herself to write about the girl’s disappearance, though deep down, she seems to be related to this missing girl.
On the other side of Baltimore is Cleo Johnson, whom Maddie first sees reflected in the glass of a department store. She’s dressed to the nines, almost immobilized through her modelling: a mannequin of how a doll should look like. The way she is positioned in this first scene pays homage to how Maddie will continue to see Cleo throughout the series, still as a mere object to be used by her for her successes. That’s the only interaction they have directly, though, over voiceover; the two will somehow be joined. Following Maddie’s investigation and her lack of understanding of the problems faced by the Black people she moves into, Cleo’s last weeks are depicted similarly to Maddie’s. These two women are different, but their fates are similar.
Maddie’s life as a housewife disintegrates almost immediately — within the first act of the show — and the life Cleo is trying to create for herself and her children is undone by forces beyond her control. Whereas Maddie attempts to regain her autonomy by leaving the suburbs for a Black Baltimore neighbourhood, Cleo’s narrative becomes entrapped and dictated by the male figures in her life. The thought of alternating between their stories might raise the question of taste. However, as the series progresses, director Alma Har’el navigates this story with a much-needed level of sensitivity.
In the first episode, Cleo mostly uses narration to tell the story at hand, but from the second episode to the end, she is much more actively involved. Portman and Ingram spend almost equal amount of time on the show and that is very good for the show. Her character has a powerful name, Cleopatra, and choosing such a name for a character played by Ingram is quite fitting as her performance feels quite groundbreaking. Every tear that falls off her cheek and every struggling syllable that comes out of her lips makes you want to believe that you are witnessing the birth of a star. It is at its most engaging when she’s present on the screen, and fortunately, it looks like both Har’el and her lens are aware of it.
It also composes its surrounding actors and set pieces very beautifully. It’s indeed common to find scenes depicting clubs in the series “Lady in the Lake”, but a particular scene of Ingram in the third episode is unique. When Cleo sees something she shouldn’t, and it starts to play over and over in her mind, following her wherever she goes, she goes to the club to shake off those images. Ingram whorls and twirls her body like she is chasing the devil, dancing in the club and stamping her feet so that even the sound of the singer performing on stage is almost outdone. Har’el filmed the bodies around the dancefloor as if she were shooting people during a sermon, which only makes her understand this connection between dance and freedom.
This is where “Lady in the Lake” is the best version of itself: when complicated storytelling is set aside for thrilling scenes and opportunities for music supervisors, sound mixers, and actors on set. But this only escalates as the show progresses. Despite this, the pilot is rather feeble, but with each subsequent episode, Har’el and everyone involved turns the dial-up to make one of the most intriguing limited series since ‘Big Little Lies’. In a world with so many streaming services full of series like this one, they have to do a lot to get noticed. Thankfully, this entire project appears to have had people putting their best foot forward, and it is rather engaging to watch.
I really enjoyed “Lady in the Lake “, and although the fusion between the two narratives is not as cohesive as one might expect, it is very hard not to be captivated by both Maddie’s and Cleo’s parallel lives. While Har’el embraces darkness, this brings some edge to this series that the genre somehow lacked, and it opens the story to something unique. From Mikey Madison’s monologue, a snippet of one of Anaïs Nin’s diaries, to Maddie’s reconstructed teenage memories, it feels like every time we, the viewers, start to see where this show is heading, we’re pulled into that abyss along with the rest of the series’ characters.
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Lady in the Lake 2024 Parents Guide Age Rating
Lady in the Lake is Rated TV-MA by the Motion Picture Rating (MPA)
Violence & Gore: The plot of the series starts with a violent scene in which Cleo Johnson is kidnapped and murdered by an unknown man who throws her into the water. In this scene, some scenes can be disturbing to a viewer, such as her struggling and then sinking. Throughout the series, some segments involve physical aggression, including instances of fisticuffs and altercations. In these scenes, the effects of violence on the lives of the characters are usually depicted. The two main topics of death and murder run through the storyline. There is an always talk about murder, investigations and scenes concerning dead bodies are common.
Profanity: The series contains violence and extreme language, which includes the constant use of swear words. People tend to swear on certain occasions when their emotions run high and when there is a conflict.
Alcohol, Drugs, & Smoking: People are depicted as drinking alcohol in different situations throughout the show. There is also smoking, and this is consistent with the historical context of the show’s setting. It should also be noted that some episodes may depict drug use, though it is not the show’s subject matter.
Sexual Content: The show depicts scenes of nudity and sexual content. These scenes depict acts which are meant to be viewed by an adult audience only. This is true, there are some remarks and hints at sexual violence which also add to the show being dark.
The movie “Lady in the Lake” is filled with many layers and delivers a cinematic experience with great acting but should be recommended with caution due to mature themes and violent scenes. In handling these aspects, parents and guardians should be in a position to determine whether a young or sensitive audience should watch the series.
