HBO strikes again with yet another gem with this new tragicomedy miniseries. With a precise writing, this one is a hilarious and satirical take on beneath the surface human behaviors and their outcomes. I laughed out loud on some of those well constructed circumstantial scenes. Its about a bunch of wealthy guests on a vacation to fictional luxury resort named White Lotus in Hawaii. The story focuses on three guest groups, first one a family of 5, second a newly married couple and third one a wealthy single woman. It starts off on a gloomy note showing a mysterious coffin being loaded onto a plane from the resort, but it never took a mystery route and they wont show until the last episode on who died and for what reason. Its a single roll forward narrative.
Beautifully cinematographed with an African BGM which has an extraordinary mad rhythm on its own. From the resort manager to staffs to guest have their own guilty pleasures and they have something or other to hide and confront. Their existential conflicts, their anger and confused state of mind are explored beautifully. There is also a story hope and its crush. Pay attention to dialogues and thats where it scores big. Its like typical chai pe churcha situations with topics ranging from politics, race, class ,love, sex and drugs. You name anything and its part of this absorbing mini series. The situation comedy is backed by some terrific strong performances. There is this cute little coming age and self reflection story along with good mixture of character and relationship study. The glaring socio-economic disparity between class is well told and it can resonate well with many audience. You get the feel of bad vibes and tension floating around in each episodes with tension escalating to the last one.
In the last episode, all the boiling tensions at a Hawaii resort ends in tragedy. I have to say it felt bit anticlimactic and i didn't enjoy the last episode that much, it was unsatisfying for my taste. It also had a very gross moment which was totally unnecessary. Having said that, the good news is, HBO already agreed to make Season 2 with a whole new cast, new locale and new story as the cycle of privilege continues. Its a like a perfect three course meal served hot. It has all the ingredients to make your watch a memorable one. Dont miss as this to me is the biggest surprise of the year.
Note - Viewers discretion advised. And watch the first episode and decide, as this kind of humor may not appeal for everyone.
Verdict - 3.5/5(Juxtaposition)
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