Summary
Lady in the Lake’s Rotten Tomatoes score is in, with critics sharing their thoughts on the new Natalie Portman series. Based on the 2019 novel of the same name by author Laura Lippman,Lady in the LakestarsPortman as Maggie Schwartz, an aspiring investigative reporter who butts heads with a local activist during an investigation into a murder. The Apple TV+ miniseries, which takes place in 1960s Baltimore, marks Portman’s first leading role in a TV series.
As of writing,Lady in the Lakeenjoys a positive 75% scoreonRotten Tomatoes, with 12 reviews. This score will almost certainly evolve as more reviews are added and could drop, but the early response suggests Portman’s first major foray into the world of streaming TV shows has been a successful one. There’s no audience score for the series available just yet, but one will arrive after more viewers get a chance to dig into the show.
What Critics Are Saying About Lady In The Lake
The Apple TV+ Show Gets A Lot Right
While it’s challenging to discern a clear consensus from the small number of reviews released thus far, a main point of praise isLady in the Lake’s cast and the powerful performances from both Portman and Moses Ingram. The show, which is created by Alma Har’el, is a two-hander, in many ways, with Ingram’s Cleo playing a prominent role as a local activist that Maggie interacts with throughout the narrative. Thetwo stars are said to have a compelling on-screen dynamicas their characters experience constant friction.
Ingram will be best known to many viewers for her starring role as part of theObi-Wan Kenobicast, but she has also appeared inThe Tragedy of Macbeth,Ambulance, andThe Queen’s Gambit.
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After 30 years in Hollywood, the incredibly prolific Academy Award-winning actor Natalie Portman is still having monumental career firsts in 2024.
The show’s setting and world-building, too, is another positive aspect of the series that has been singled out in someLady in the Lakereviews. In her review forScreen Rant, Kate Bove describes the show’s version of 1960s Balitomore as “real and lived-in,” praising the show for not shying away from the race and class issues of the time. This world-building does, however, come at the cost of a slower opening few episodes.
While the response may be generally positive so far, Nick Schager is far more critical in his review forThe Daily Beast, arguing that Portman’s performance is exaggerated and uncompelling inLady in the Lake.He describes the show’s plot as being full of “busyness and nonsensicality,“generally criticizing the show for being too stuffed full of ideas. While it’s certainly possible that more reviews like Schager’s will dragLady in the Lake’s Rotten Tomatoes score down, the show, at least so far, seems to hit more than it misses.
Lady in the Lake
Cast
BASED ON THE NOVEL BY LAURA LIPPMAN, LADY OF THE LAKE IS A FICTIONAL DRAMA MINISERIES BASED AROUND THE REAL DISAPPEARANCES OF A YOUNG GIRL AND A WOMAN, COMING TO APPLE TV+. THE STORY CENTERS AROUND MADELINE SCHWARTZ, A DISSATISFIED 1960S HOUSEWIFE OF TWENTY YEARS WHO ENDS HER MARRIAGE IN SEARCH OF A LIFE WITH MEANING. MADELINE, BETTER KNOWN AS MADDIE, SEEKS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD - TO DO SO, SHE HEADS DOWN THE PATH OF AN INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST AFTER SOMEHOW HELPING THE BALTIMORE POLICE FIND THE BODY OF A YOUNG GIRL IN THE LAKE, CLEO SHERWOOD. LADY IN THE LAKE HAS NOIR ELEMENTS AND EXPLORES STATUS AND RACE IN A MURDER MYSTERY IN A DIFFERENT PERIOD. THE SERIES HAS BEEN DELAYED DUE TO AN INCIDENT IN LATE 2022 BUT IS STILL SET TO COME TO APPLE TV+ IN THE FUTURE.
