In Sharp Objects, Camille an alcoholic reporter goes back to her hometown and dysfunctional family to investigate the murder of two teenage girls.
The premise of almost every thriller, am I right or ‘amirite’? Occasionally girls go missing in a forest near a small town but never a city. Small towns are the murder capitals of the world.
I don’t usually do snuffy stuff cause I don’t wanna see the mutilated bodies of females (and sometimes boys) as they search for a deranged serial killer who is usually the town priest or local doctor or…ta-da… a policeman.
Sharp Objects proves you don’t have to exploit women’s bodies to shock. There are cleverer ways to get the mind to do it’s own grim imagining.
It has a bangin’ twisty story based on the book by Gillian Flynn, she who wrote Gone Girl. If you don’t know Gone Girl, you’ve been living under a rock in a tiny murder town.
The acting from the main threesome is fucking stunning.
Amy Adams (Camille) 
Patricia Clarkson (Her mother) 
Eliza Scanlen (Her half-sister)
And killer direction by that French dude who also did Big Little Lies – Season 1. Don’t get me wrong, Big Little Lies is crap on toast.
But what doesn’t work in that glossy generic chick flit (the intense soundtrack, the fragmanted flashbacks) is perfect with the styalised ‘Southern Gothic’ meets gritty authenticity of Sharp Objects.
I do have complaints.
Firstly it’s shockingly racist. The few women of colour are sympathetic background characters like the rehab nurse or the wife of Camille’s boss/father figure. And then there is Gayla the maid. She is just blank.
This is the only thing that makes sense. (If you don’t know about the sunken place in Get Out then you deserve to die under your rock in your tiny murder town.) Gayla isn’t even remotely fleshed out, she just supplies food and comforting hugs. Someone said online “That’s just how racist the South is” but that’s no excuse. The creators could’ve easily shown how Gayla feels even if she can’t voice anything to her white employers. I’m really ashamed of this. WTF happened?!
Also the finale is hella rushed. Sharp Objects is a slow burn and then they bundle the end up like a small child in a big scarf leaving important questions unanswered. Bold directorial choice? Nah it’s sloppy and unsatisfying.
*SIGH*
Still in the dearth of decent content that is lockdown land, it is the only thing that has hooked me hard and kept my brain buzzing,
It came out in 2018 so you’ve probably already watched it.
Can we please discuss?
Howling at the screen 