Title: Sirens
Cast: Meghann Fahy, Milly Alcock, Glenn Howerton
Creator: Molly Smith Metzler
Rating: 3/5
Runtime: 1 hr/ep ( 5 eps)
This series is based on an Off Broadway play “Elemeno Pea” by Molly Smith Metzler who is also the creator of this limited 5-episode series. The series is focused on the way women treat each other and at its heart are two estranged sisters Devon DeWitt and the younger, aspirational Simone. Their fractured relationship becomes the basis for a whole lot of drama.
Directed by Nicole Kassell, Quyen Tran and Lila Neugebauer, Sirens excels in unsettling the viewer with its befuddled world of truths and lies. The sunny, picture-perfect island plays host to a dark biting social satire, with melodrama and thrills underlining the idyllic setting.
The story may sound common but it has deeper notches. Devon(Meghann Fahy) works as a falafel waitress, and is a recovering alcoholic who’s having a relationship with her married boss. Devon desperately reaches out to her younger sister Simone (Milly Alcock), when her father receives a diagnosis of early-onset dementia. But Simone is unconcerned and sends a fruit basket instead. Devon seeks Simone out at a coastal island where Simone works as a live-in assistant to the charming and bewitching Michaela “Kiki” Kell (Julianne Moore).Devon soon realises there’s something unholy about Simone’s relationship with her new boss.
Micheala is a master manipulator and manages to twist everyone around her, even her billionaire husband Peter (Kevin Bacon), can’t help but be her pawn. Devon soon comes to realise that the Simone she grew up with is not the same anymore. Michaela shelters and controls Simone. Devon too gets sucked into that world. Simone tries to save face, under the barrage of her sister’s questions. Eventually her idyllic life begins to crumble.
The narrative reveals wounds of abandonment and the burden of sacrifice and responsibility. The series is an intense emotional confrontation regarding familial duty against individual aspiration, with class disparity adding another layer.
The complex dynamics between the three women forms the crux of this story. Sirens tells a complicated story that borders on satire and manages to offer mysterious thrills too. Fahy and Moore make the most of their roles. Moore is mesmeric as Micheala while Fahy does the hard work to make her presence felt with earnestness and verve.The luxurious surroundings are a feast for the eyes. The episodes are intriguingly structured and play out compellingly. The series explores potent themes through a narrative that bedevils with tonal unpredictability. This is a sharp satire exposing the working class mindset, the ultra-rich, and the nature of their existence.