Natalie Portman’s First TV Series Debuts With Underwhelming Reviews(Photo Credit –Instagram)
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Natalie Portman’s first-ever TV series, Lady in the Lake, debuted on Apple TV on July 19. However, based on the 2019 novel by author Laura Lippman, the series debuted with an underwhelming critical reception compared to Jake Gyllenhaal’s Global Hit Drama Presumed Innocent.
Lady in the Lake stars Natalie Portman as Maggie Schwartz, an aspiring investigative reporter in 1960s Baltimore who butts heads with a local activist ( Moses Ingram) during a murder investigation. The show marks Portman’s first leading role in a TV show.
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On Friday, July 19, 2024, Lady In The Lake debuted with a certified Fresh 75% score and 12 reviews. However, the score went down in the ensuing days and garnered an underwhelming response from Top critics, scoring 53%. However, the overall critic rating stands at 68%, which is still way low compared to Jake Gyllenhaal’s new Apple show Presumed Innocent.
Presumed Innocent has a 70% rank among top critics, and the overall critic rating stands at 76%.
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Here’s what top critics had to say about Natalie Portman’s Lady In The Lake
The New York Times was not too impressed with Natalie Portman’s Apple TV series, saying, “Throughout, Har’el does not succeed in reconciling her noirish period mystery with her elaborate, musical-style social-justice fable. Her “Lady in the Lake” is a shiny, attractive bauble, but its artificiality wears you down.”
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Variety also criticized the show, writing, “Despite intriguing characters and settings, Lady in the Lake never becomes the noir thriller it could have been. Har’el buries the tale in puzzling surrealist moments.”
Meanwhile, ABC News praised Natalie Portman and Moses Ingram’s performance but was disappointed with the show’s direction. They wrote, “Jewish housewife Natalie Portman and Black activist Moses Ingram, both terrific, fight to stand on their own in racially torn 1960s Baltimore. Too bad this admirably ambitious series is never more than a valiant effort, a haunting story haltingly told.”
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Globe and Mail also praised Natalie Portman’s performance in the show, writing, “Portman’s precise and nuanced performance (in yet another predatory but more sympathetic role following her stunning work in May December) gives us everything we need to understand her character.”
The seven-part mini-series is now available to stream on Apple TV.
