Lulu Wang's new limited series begins with a breakdown of a series of tragic headlines. A doctor takes a nap behind the wheel, killing three pedestrians. A small plane crashes unexpectedly due to bad weather, killing many skiers. Elsewhere, a friendly argument between two siblings leads to serious health problems for one. These accidents change these people's lives forever.
Nicole Kidman and Brian Tee in Expats.The narrative of Mercy (Ji-young Yoo), whose life will also be forever changed due to tragedy, reflects that these news reports never question what led to the tragedy in the first place. What about the people involved? Will the weight of their guilt ever give way to a better tomorrow?
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Expats ask these questions with vitality and care, leaving room for perspective and revelation. It's a powerful, superbly performed show led by Oscar winner Nicole Kidman. (Also Read: In The Summers review: The passage of time shapes this great father-daughter drama)
The condition
The actor plays Margaret, a landscape architect. When we first meet her, we don't know what the reason for her overwhelming sadness is. She is married to Clarke (Brian Tee), whose job move took her from New York to Hong Kong. She's here with her son and daughter, planning Clarke's 50th birthday party. The party is just an excuse to lighten things up, but that fails when Margaret spots Mercy working there as a waitress. At least this brings Margaret close to her good friend and neighbor Hilary (Saraya Blue), an Indian-American expat who is having trouble accepting her husband.
Wang chooses to manage the suspense carefully, and it's only at the end of Episode 2 that we come to the conclusion of what actually happened. While in Mercy's care, Margaret's youngest son Gus (Connor J. Gillman) disappears one evening in the crowded market. From here, Expats connects the lives of these three women in concurrent storylines, questioning not only their response to grief and anger, but also the web of privilege that simmers beneath the surface. When the 2014 Umbrella Protest is also taken into account, the variety of ways in which the community finds ways to deal with suspicious forces doubles.
Final thoughts
Wang, working here with talented cinematographer Anna Franquesa-Solano, captures the cultural fabric of Hong Kong with an unbiased lens. There is a curious eye for gross excesses, marked by feelings of guilt and insecurity. The mesmerizing fifth episode, almost like a 96-minute independent film in a capsule, breaks away from the tension and follows the lives of the Woos and Starrs' nannies, Essie (Ruby Ruiz, in the series' most wondrous performance) and Puri (Amelyn Pardenilla) and their families. The change in perspective on the complaints and arguments about their work and decisions as activists is communicated in a wonderful way.
Kidman, who has now played far too many privileged women wracked by some sort of grief in prestige television dramas, is reliably fine as Margaret. But Expats finds his true power and light in the hands of Blue and Yoo. One of them has been working as an actress in supporting roles for some time and can now finally develop her figure. She is a force to be observed here. The other offers a true breakout performance: complex and gripping at every point. Together with these three women, Expats finds a nuanced examination of motherhood and grief that exists in the uncertain spaces of society.