There is a dreamy, ethereal atmosphere permeating it Little beautiful things Fueled by memories, emotions and reflection on life decisions. This is a refreshing adaptation of Cheryl Strayed’s essay collection, created and performed by Liz Tegellar (Casual, little fires everywhere). The new series stars Kathryn Hahn (Agatha: A cove of chaos) in a Hulu outing that floats back and forth through time as Han’s frantic Claire desperately tries to take control of her fractured life and manage the grief that began long ago.
True, we’ve seen a lot of frustrated and, one might say, overreacting in middle age lately. Sometimes, it’s welcome, as we’ve experienced on physical And Small fires everywhere. Elsewhere, it gets tiring. (It’s not you Jennifer Aniston, it’s the writing morning show). But here, Han, an expressive actor if ever there was one, does justice to Strayed’s compelling work, offering viewers a character they can relate to and root for in Claire.
If you’re looking for a warm, real, and raw story that illuminates the human condition, this is it. Little beautiful things is one of Hulu’s most impactful outings in early 2023. Take a peek at the exclusive clip below.
Oh, the sadness
Seven words: Just scroll through the first few episodes. Trust us. That’s when Little beautiful things Begins to establish a welcoming rhythm. Ahead, we’re understandably concerned that all we’ll encounter on this journey has been a chain reaction and revenge on the series’ main character, a fictionalized version of Strayed. To my surprise, the shades of warmth and relativity really come through in Episode III, I’m so invested.
in Little beautiful things We are introduced to two Clarices – a teenager in the past (Sarah Pidgeon is doing well) and the 49-year-old (Han) whose work and home life have vanished. In the present, Claire’s marriage to Danny (Quentin Blair) is strained – she has moved out but desperately wants to move back. Her relationship with her teenage daughter Ray (Tanzin Crawford) is derailed. Here are deep sighs, bouts of frustration, and arguments aplenty.
In the meantime, let’s go back to when things were a bit more fun(ish). Teenage Clare enjoys her remarkably rare relationship with her beautiful mother Frankie (Merrit Wever in another winning performance) and brother Lucas (Owen Painter). Things change dramatically when Frankie is diagnosed with cancer. You can feel where things are headed. Desperate to keep her mother alive, and thus their bond, Claire goes into a panic.
We experience all of this through Claire’s memories in the present day as she searches for an emotional lifeboat. Coincidentally, Claire, a longtime struggling writer holding onto a stressful job at a nursing facility, finds herself accepting to be the advice columnist for something called Dear Sugar. She thinks she is the last person to deal with such a thing, but soon answers the messages, which also allows her to revisit the most pivotal moments in her life – from the death of a dear mother and the fallout with her brother to all of her life. Bad choices.
The series reflects Stayed’s real life. As a memoirist and advice columnist, she rose to fame by combining both art forms into one embraceable package. But there are many other reasons Little beautiful things He works.
Big beauty in small moments
across the baseboard, cast in Little beautiful things standing out. Han, always exceptional, wins us over in a three-dimensional role that is bound to land her an Emmy nomination. The actor has a knack for playing characters who are relevant at their wit’s end. And by episode six and seven, we start to see shades of Clare wanting to get to know her more.
The Blair and Crawford show does well here, too. They lose themselves in the role of Claire’s husband and daughter, respectively. Plair delivers range, depth, and believability in playing a husband whose spiraling, uncontrollable wife puts up. There’s nuance to how the actor and Han handle some of their tougher scenes, too — no couple is immune from facing terrifying truths that can strain their relationships. It’s also fun to see SteVonté Hart take a 20-something copy of Danny when he and Clare first meet.
Fortunately, Crawford got a wide range of material from the writers to make her something other than the grumpy teen that rolls our eyes so often. She breathes admiration into a character who struggles with her weaknesses in camaraderie and potential relationships and understands her place in the fairy tale of her fractured family.
The lighter moments come at the right time, too. Most of them are related to Claire’s day job. halfway through Little beautiful things Experience, the past and present seem to collide. It’s a beautiful effect… As Claire deals in real time with her ongoing grief, something has to merge. One is also left to conclude that Strayed, who serves as executive producer alongside Hahn, Reese Witherspoon, and Laura Dern, has created a very engaging tapestry.
Little beautiful things He manages to extract just the right amounts of the beauty, hardship, and humor we all experience in life to illuminate that none of us are beyond rescue, and that it is ultimately our stories that “save” us and bring us back “home.” Little beautiful things Streaming now on Hulu.
