Plot: Chloe (Jessica Biel) navigates life with husband Adam (Corey Stoll) and son Ethan (Maxwell Acee Donovan) while her sister Nicky (Elizabeth Banks) battles addiction. Adam’s murder unveils long-hidden family secrets, shaking their world.
Review: Sibling rivalry is a concept as old as time. In extreme cases, duos like Cain and Abel, the Boleyn sisters, and Liam and Noah Gallagher of Oasis come to mind. People say blood runs thicker than water, but it’s difficult to see the forest for the trees when the floodgates burst. In rare cases, a heartfelt chat over a glass of wine or beer can resolve most issues. However, when a decades-long rift is made deeper by murder, there isn’t enough Cabernet Sauvignon or IPAs to repair the widening damage.
In The Better Sister, created by Olivia Milch and Regina Corrado, based on the novel by Alafair Burke, Chloe (Jessica Biel) and Nicky (Elizabeth Banks) must exorcise their interpersonal demons to rescue their mutual son, Ethan (Maxwell Acee Donovan), from the jaws of the justice system. Wait. Mutual son? Sisters? What in the Appalachian gangbang is going on here? Relax. In the show, Nicky loses custody of her son after a near-deadly accident, and Chloe, her sister, takes custody of her son. Let’s not forget the part about Adam (Corey Stoll), Ethan’s biological dad, developing a relationship with and eventually marrying Chloe, unbeknownst to Nicky, who’s been out of the picture for years. Have you got all that? Good. I’m bringing this complicated web of unions to your attention because it’s essential to understand how fragile the interpersonal relationships in this story are.
The Better Sister begins with Stoll’s seemingly innocent character, Adam, found dead from stab wounds on the floor of his posh beachfront home. Chloe discovers his body later that night and (almost) immediately calls the police. As events and motives leading up to that night unravel, The Better Sister presents one suspect after the other, each with a reason for wanting Adam dead. Included in the list of suspects is Nicky, who, after hearing about Adam’s demise, arrives to check on the well-being of her biological son, Ethan, and, by extension, her estranged sister, Chloe.
Nicky, befuddled by her sister’s extravagant lifestyle as the figurehead of a high-end lifestyle magazine (think Esquire or Vanity Fair), inserts herself into Chloe and Ethan’s lives as the mystery of Adam’s death sends a signal flare to paparazzi while threatening Chloe’s position at her company. Unfortunately for the sisters, opening old wounds is one of many problems they’ll face as the investigation into Adam’s murder takes a devastating turn.
Enter Detective Nancy Guidry (Kim Dickens) and Detective Matt Bowen (Bobby Naderi), whose snooping around leads to Ethan getting arrested under suspicion of murdering his father. Detectives Guidry and Bowen are a highlight of the series, full stop. The duo’s good cop (Bowen) and bad cop (Guidry) dynamic is a testament to why this trope still works so many decades into screenwriting. Their gentle sniping at one another and applying differing strategies to solving the case make for a fun, engaging, crime-solving dynamic that makes the mystery more fun to unpack.
In Chloe’s camp is Catherine Lancaster (Lorraine Toussaint), the Grand Dame of publishing and New York City queen-maker, and my favorite character/performance in the series. Toussaint, as Catherine, steals every scene. Catherine is an ambitious, semi-self-serving diva with more ulterior motives than her stash of mushroom microdoses for her limited downtime. Toussaint slays as Catherine with her snake-like delivery, pointed stares, and no-nonsense attitude. I ate up her performance with Swarovski silverware.
The Better Sister works best when it’s focused on solving Adam’s murder. Milch and Corrado do an excellent job of establishing a motive for multiple characters, even if not every reason for wanting Adam dead is interesting enough to give your undivided attention. Aside from the characters mentioned above, The Better Sister introduces Matthew Modine as Bill Braddock, the founding partner at Adam’s (Corey Stoll) law firm and a fabulously dressed, self-righteous prick by all accounts. Working alongside Adam at Braddock’s firm is Jake Rodrigues (Gabriel Sloyer), a seemingly affable corporate playboy caught between a rock and a hard-on. Place! I meant to say place! Well, both are accurate. You’ll see.
As Bill Braddock, Modine is as slippery and sassy as they come. He plays Braddock as someone you want to smack across the face and raise a glass to simultaneously. He’s an excellent suspect in Adam’s murder, but does he have time for such an elaborate crime? On the contrary, Slayer’s Jake is less attractive as a character. While Sloyer does a solid job portraying Jake’s dilemma, his story thread quickly falls flat as he’s little more than a distraction. Ultimately, Jake feels more like a spare part than a necessary cog in the whodunit murder machine.
Tied to Jake throughout the tale is Michelle Sanders (Gloria Reuben), a respected lawyer who has made a career of standing up when told to sit down. Sanders is another sharp presence in The Better Sister. She’s often two steps ahead of her courtroom adversaries, and her chemistry with Ethan is enjoyable to watch. Reuben portrays Sanders as a woman who downs a bottle of wine at the end of a hard day with no fear of a hangover, dreaming of private sessions with her Pilates instructor.
Maxwell Acee Donovan shares many scenes with Gloria Reuben as Ethan, Nicky, and Chloe’s son. Of all the characters in this story, Ethan is the most difficult to judge. Although he’s not the sharpest crayon in the box, he has a great heart and the best intentions. Donovan plays Ethan like he’s in a perpetual daze, which is understandable given the trouble he faces throughout the series. However, Ethan’s listlessness is also Donovan’s most significant hurdle, as it limits opportunities to show range. I like Donovan’s energy and welcome the chance to see him in a role that lets him run the spectrum of emotions. For who Ethan is in this story, Donovan delivers, but let’s give the man something to cook with, eh?
Next, Corey Stoll’s Adam is a complicated, shadowy sort who comes off like a victim in his own story but is anything but. I don’t want to give too much away, so Adam has layers. Throughout the series, you learn why several people might wish to see Adam lying face down in a pool of blood. Stoll brings a sinister edge to Adam as more of his suspicious behavior and shadowy business dealings are revealed.
As I’d said, The Better Sister is at its best when we follow the breadcrumbs leading to (or away from) Adam’s murder. Jessica Biel (Chloe) and Elizabeth Banks (Nicky) understand the assignment by bringing intrigue, doubt, and daggers to their sisterly bond. Both women do a great job of standing on opposite ends of a widening emotional divide that keeps them shouting at one another from their respective sides. There are moments when the sisters understand they have more in common than they think, and witnessing their journey is gratifying when they discover equal ground.
Irritatingly, The Better Sister took an arrow to the knee for me after specific revelations about Adam’s murder. The truth is emotionally devastating, yet it left me questioning all the other red herrings. Suddenly, I felt the rabbit hole was caving in, choking my path to satisfaction with an unnecessary episode count and dirt. I’m well-acquainted with the art of misdirection, but it’s defeating to feel as if the meanderings ultimately meant little to the grand scheme. Again, I don’t want to give anything away. I’m curious to hear what others think about events buzzing around the crime, and admit there’s a chance I missed a detail or two.
Overall, The Better Sister is well worth watching. Banks, Biel, and Toussaint give great performances, and Adam’s murder mystery keeps you guessing until the very end. There are a few surprising needle drops throughout the series, and Will Bates’s score is appropriately minimalist, strange, and unnerving. Your mileage (and attention spans) may vary regarding events surrounding Adam’s death. Still, there’s lots of fun in this high-society thriller of hurt feelings, shady business practices, and unburied secrets.
Source:
JoBlo.com
