Life, loss, and the myriad of possibilities in the stratified mishmash of Hong Kong – the vague entry points into Expats instantly signify its heavy task of tackling more than its developing writer/director has yet handled in her career. Anyone who was a fan of Lulu Wang’s The Farewell will no doubt be first in line for her follow-up miniseries, finding plenty to latch onto in her signature balance of quiet space and meaningful human interactions. Despite Expats‘ occasionally inaccessible presentation, the indie crowd following the A24 director overlaps with the appeal for patient drama fans eating up Nicole Kidman’s movingly dynamic performance.
Mixed Online Outcry for ‘Expats’ Finds Impatient Audiences Looking for Tighter Narrative
The slowly unfolding nature of Expats is part of what sets it apart from other shows in early 2024, but at the center of this miniseries is Margaret Woo (Kidman), who navigates an impossible family situation with her husband, children, and nanny and stretches their stay in Hong Kong while reeling from tragedy. Two other American women, Hilary Starr (Sarayu Blue) and Mercy Cho (Ji-young Yoo), also get nearly equal screen time as their lives interweave and disconnect in typical expatriate fashion. Their partners, friends, helpers, and extended connections flow in and out of focus while Margaret, Hilary, and Mercy undergo a difficult chapter in their separate lives.
Like The Farewell, Expats takes dramatic and understated moments in equal measure to tell its free-flowing story. No one’s life has a traditional beginning-middle-end in Wang’s handling of the source material; the history connecting the three main characters is only shown later in flashbacks and discussions. Everyone gets some semblance of story resolution, but each is character-based and emotionally focused. Less of Expats is about what they do, instead exploring the nuance of who they are.
Nicole Kidman and Brian Tee in ‘Expats’ / Prime Video
All these qualities are the positives of Expats’ design, but they can sound like negatives to the wrong audience. Kidman, Blue, and Yoo all get time to show off their talents, but whether their characters each get enough fulfillment to warrant the time spent with them depends on the viewer’s perspective. At six episodes, Expats can feel complete and short, thinning out when spending notable time with compelling but unsatisfied side characters. Many will find all worthwhile characters getting a moving share of attention, but Hilary soon becomes a conduit for other compounding storylines, proving the challenge of this spread-out approach.
Actors and Wang’s Direction Shine Throughout ‘Expats’
Lulu Wang is an ideal filmmaker for the A24 brand that has become synonymous with groundbreaking modern film. Though Expats has no affiliation with the distribution/production company, Wang has concretely secured her title as a boundary-pushing creative when looking at her whole body of work. Though dedicated viewers of this style have seen semi-formless slice-of-life evocation on the TV screen before, Expats is still a satisfying if imperfect entry into this genre with praiseworthy work from the ensemble in each episode and Wang’s steady hand guiding each teleplay. This step-down from The Farewell may be divisive, but Wang will forever be a filmmaker to follow.
Expats is streaming now on Prime Video.
