Lady In The Lake: Review
By Sioph W. Leal
The lives of Maddie Schwartz (Natalie Portman) and Cleo Johnson (Moses Ingram) are fated to entwine before they ever lay eyes on each other, but it is the disappearance of a young girl that grips the city of Baltimore and ties the two women together even though they do not know it. Maddie is a Jewish housewife desperate to reinvent herself as an investigative journalist, while Cleo is a mother navigating the political underbelly of Black Baltimore, struggling to provide for her family, and trying to ensure her children don’t get involved in anything criminal. The two women have drive, but it is Maddie’s incessant determination and ability to find connections that force their lives together and show the price women pay for their dreams and the lengths they will go to in the noir thriller.
There are two murders in this story, one of a young girl named Tessie Durst and the other of Cleo Johnson. Unhappy with her life and desperate to change it, when news breaks about missing Tessie, Maddie wastes no time in leaving her family to search for the girl and eventually finds her body. At first, there seems to be no link between Maddie and Tessie other than Maddie using the girl's murder to bring about her own freedom, but it isn’t enough, and she eventually uses the Cleo Johnson murder to seal her own freedom from her quiet, boring life.
Since the story is about Maddie and Cleo’s lives and how they both do whatever it takes to get freedom, it is interesting to see the characters develop or not. Cleo is an intriguing character who works hard despite oppression, poverty, and racism, tries to better the lives of her children, and seems to sacrifice her soul and life to do that. Maddie, on the other hand, does it for herself. That in itself is fine and can create an interesting, unapologetic character, but there is something lacklustre about her despite the frantic energy Portman brings. There is never really anything about Maddie that grips or draws you in like Cleo does, and there’s almost a coldness about the character despite Portman giving her best. We don’t spend much time with Maddie as an investigative journalist, but too much time is spent on the mystery of her past and who the real father of her child is. It isn’t interesting, and it is clear who it is despite multiple episodes and scenes dedicated to the intrigue of the mystery. If anything, Maddie’s parts can take away from an otherwise intriguing gritty noir mystery, and just when her story picks up and draws you in, the majority of a later episode is focused on Maddie’s dream state, which becomes tedious fast.
In opposition to that, Cleo’s story draws you in with a powerhouse performance from Ingram, who showcases a character fighting against every circumstance life and society throw her way. We see her fight in almost every scene, not just against the world but against her own morals to try and do right by her family. Cleo never gives in or gives up, and you can tell that through the writing and the performance. Had the sole focus of the sole focus of the series been Cleo, with Maddie woven in, it would have created a far more compelling story. Two moments stick out and remain long after the episodes air: one when Cleo dances in the club, seemingly lost in the underbelly of the criminal world and reckoning with her own actions, and again when she sings Feeling Good near the end of the season. It is more than a character singing and then dancing; you feel the agony and stress Cleo goes through as she dances and succumbs to the criminal elements in her life, which gives early suspicion that it will be the cause of her fated death. Then, as she sings, you feel the culmination of her choices and her story in one of the most impressive moments of the story.
The problem with Maddie is that she is very exploitative from the get-go. She inserts herself into Tessie’s murder, destroys her own life for a chance at a dream, and, it seems, moves to a poorer neighbourhood to claim that she is in the “black world,” as she puts it. Even her son laments how Maddie believes every story is her own, and it comes across clearly but often that she and the writing are shoe-horning her in to make her more relevant. Cleo draws the story in around her and makes for an easy draw that hooks you in and keeps you eagerly awaiting her next move and wondering if she succeeds despite her death being shown early on.
More of a character study than a murder mystery, Lady in the Lake is a gritty noir whose two murder mysteries take a backseat to showcase the complex characters. At times, it feels surreal to see just how connected Cleo and Maddie’s lives are. The noir aspect of the show is crafted beautifully with stylized shots and striking cinematography that are a staple of the genre.
Lady in the Lake premiers 19th July on Apple TV.