‘We Were Liars' review: Clandestine affairs, failed marriages, scandals and secrets – the TV adaptation of the wildly popular YA book is here
That changed in 2005 when JK Rowling's Harry Potter novels were reissued with so-called adult covers, presumably to spare the blushes of people who might be embarrassed to be seen in public reading the same books their children or grandchildren read.
The Potter books were reissued a second time in 2013 with a new, even more sober cover design. It might have been a cynical marketing exercise by a publisher eager to squeeze every last cent out of a successful property, but it had the effect of dissolving the line between adult and young adult (YA) fiction.
Television has been taking notice. Any bestselling YA novel judged to have the slightest crossover appeal to an older audience is now likely to be snapped up and given the lavish miniseries treatment.
We Were Liars (Prime Video, streaming from today) is based on a wildly popular 2014 YA book by E. Lockhart.
It has all the hallmarks of what you'd expect from a story about filthy rich, privileged, cosseted, mostly white people – in this case the Sinclair family – enduring the agonies associated with being filthy rich, privileged, cosseted and mostly white people.
There are clandestine affairs, failed marriages, scandals and secrets, closet alcoholism and drug use, and three bitchy, backstabbing sisters, all of them useless screw-ups who, despite the best education and opportunities money can buy, are unable to stand on their own feet without the cushion of inherited wealth.
It's difficult at first to tell who's who among the three generations of Sinclair women, since they all have identikit long blonde hair.
This is no Succession or The White Lotus. If there's any satirical intent towards the one-per-centers, it's completely undetectable. Aside from a few concessions to adult viewers (a bit of mild sex and a smattering of swear words), this is very much a routine YA mystery.
It centres on Cadence (Emily Alyn Lind), the eldest of the Sinclair grandchildren, who tells us in an incessant voiceover that the family are regarded (most probably by themselves) as 'American royalty'.
Every summer, the clan gather at the palatial vacation home on a private island near Martha's Vineyard, owned by formidable patriarch Harris Sinclair (David Morse, lending some undeserved class to the whole thing). Harris spends a lot of time glowering through his binoculars at the party boat full of 'drunk, trashy tourists' that's spoiling the lovely view.
For Cadence, however, summer on the island is an idyllic time. She gets to hang out with her cousins Johnny (Joseph Zada) and Mirren (Esther McGregor), who are both blonde, naturally, and their best friend Gat (Shubham Maheshwari), who's Indian. His uncle is the partner of one of Cadence's aunts.
She's been doing this every year since they were kids and named their happy little group 'The Liars'. One summer, something terrible happened in which Cadence was involved. The trouble is, she can't remember what it was.
The brain trauma she suffered during the incident has wiped out her memories.
The novel's teenage readers will no doubt eat up this adaptation
The story toggles between two summers: 'summer 16', the one when the awful thing happened, and 'summer 17', two years later, when Cadence, who was whisked away to recuperate in Europe for the summer, returns to the island, her hair now short and dyed black, to try to piece together the mystery.
Strangely, none of the adults will tell her what happened, while Johnny, Mirren and Gat haven't been responding to her messages for the last year and appear to have been cold-shouldering her.
She's dismayed to discover that the splendid old Sinclair house has been knocked down and replaced by a grim, modernist eyesore. What's going on?
All is revealed in the finale. You see, We Were Liars comes with – drum roll – A BIG TWIST. How much you're surprised by it will depend on how many of the numerous clues, some very obvious, scattered throughout it you pick up on during the eight drawn-out episodes.
The novel's teenage readers will no doubt eat up this adaptation, but with so much more substantial TV drama out there to choose from, the rest of us might prefer to put away childish things.
Rating: Three stars
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Irish Independent
5 hours ago
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That changed in 2005 when JK Rowling's Harry Potter novels were reissued with so-called adult covers, presumably to spare the blushes of people who might be embarrassed to be seen in public reading the same books their children or grandchildren read. The Potter books were reissued a second time in 2013 with a new, even more sober cover design. It might have been a cynical marketing exercise by a publisher eager to squeeze every last cent out of a successful property, but it had the effect of dissolving the line between adult and young adult (YA) fiction. Television has been taking notice. Any bestselling YA novel judged to have the slightest crossover appeal to an older audience is now likely to be snapped up and given the lavish miniseries treatment. We Were Liars (Prime Video, streaming from today) is based on a wildly popular 2014 YA book by E. Lockhart. It has all the hallmarks of what you'd expect from a story about filthy rich, privileged, cosseted, mostly white people – in this case the Sinclair family – enduring the agonies associated with being filthy rich, privileged, cosseted and mostly white people. There are clandestine affairs, failed marriages, scandals and secrets, closet alcoholism and drug use, and three bitchy, backstabbing sisters, all of them useless screw-ups who, despite the best education and opportunities money can buy, are unable to stand on their own feet without the cushion of inherited wealth. It's difficult at first to tell who's who among the three generations of Sinclair women, since they all have identikit long blonde hair. This is no Succession or The White Lotus. If there's any satirical intent towards the one-per-centers, it's completely undetectable. Aside from a few concessions to adult viewers (a bit of mild sex and a smattering of swear words), this is very much a routine YA mystery. It centres on Cadence (Emily Alyn Lind), the eldest of the Sinclair grandchildren, who tells us in an incessant voiceover that the family are regarded (most probably by themselves) as 'American royalty'. Every summer, the clan gather at the palatial vacation home on a private island near Martha's Vineyard, owned by formidable patriarch Harris Sinclair (David Morse, lending some undeserved class to the whole thing). Harris spends a lot of time glowering through his binoculars at the party boat full of 'drunk, trashy tourists' that's spoiling the lovely view. For Cadence, however, summer on the island is an idyllic time. She gets to hang out with her cousins Johnny (Joseph Zada) and Mirren (Esther McGregor), who are both blonde, naturally, and their best friend Gat (Shubham Maheshwari), who's Indian. His uncle is the partner of one of Cadence's aunts. She's been doing this every year since they were kids and named their happy little group 'The Liars'. One summer, something terrible happened in which Cadence was involved. The trouble is, she can't remember what it was. The brain trauma she suffered during the incident has wiped out her memories. The novel's teenage readers will no doubt eat up this adaptation The story toggles between two summers: 'summer 16', the one when the awful thing happened, and 'summer 17', two years later, when Cadence, who was whisked away to recuperate in Europe for the summer, returns to the island, her hair now short and dyed black, to try to piece together the mystery. Strangely, none of the adults will tell her what happened, while Johnny, Mirren and Gat haven't been responding to her messages for the last year and appear to have been cold-shouldering her. She's dismayed to discover that the splendid old Sinclair house has been knocked down and replaced by a grim, modernist eyesore. What's going on? All is revealed in the finale. You see, We Were Liars comes with – drum roll – A BIG TWIST. How much you're surprised by it will depend on how many of the numerous clues, some very obvious, scattered throughout it you pick up on during the eight drawn-out episodes. The novel's teenage readers will no doubt eat up this adaptation, but with so much more substantial TV drama out there to choose from, the rest of us might prefer to put away childish things. Rating: Three stars
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