When someone asks “Exactly how psychotic do you think I am?” you’re probably better off not giving an answer.
The first full trailer has been released for “Big Little Lies,” HBO’s highly anticipated limited series with an all-star cast. Towards the beginning of the clip, Reese Witherspoon’s character, Madeline, asks her husband (Adam Scott, “Parks and Recreation”) this loaded question. Her partner offers a succinct answer using only hand gestures, but rest of the footage seems to suggest that lots of people have lots to say about Madeline and just how “psychotic” they see her as. She’s described as a “bitch,” a “ticking bomb,” and an “itty bitty ball of rage.” But is she capable of murder?
Based on Liane Moriarty’s bestselling novel of the same name, the darkly comedic murder mystery centers on three mothers (Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, and Shailene Woodley) of kindergartners in the same class who become embroiled in a homicide investigation in their affluent beachside community, exploring with humor and compassion issues of infidelity, divorce, domestic violence, and school bullying. The first trailer for the project makes it seem as though Madeline is a prime suspect for the crime. But it also hints that there’s more to Madeline than what’s on the surface. She’s shown sticking up for Woodley’s character, a young, single mother with a much lower income than other parents at the school.
In addition to starring in “Big Little Lies,” Witherspoon and Kidman serve as executive producers on the project.
Laura Dern, Zoë Kravitz (“Mad Max: Fury Road”), Alexander Skarsgård (“Tarzan”), and James Tupper (“Revenge”) co-star.
“Big Little Lies” reunites Witherspoon and Dern with their “Wild” director Jean-Marc Vallée, who helmed every episode of the series. Both Witherspoon and Dern received Oscar noms for their work in “Wild.” “Big Little Lies” was adapted for the small screen by David E. Kelley.
“Big Little Lies” will premiere on HBO February 19. Watch the trailer to find out why people are gossiping about Kidman’s character’s relationship, and to hear Madeline’s theory about why “things never blow over.”
