By Valerie Milano
Sharp Objects, a new eight-part HBO mini-series based on Gillian Flynn's novel of the same name, launched on Sunday, July 8th, 2018.
The psychological thriller was created by Marti Noxon and directed by Jean-Marc Vallé. Golden Globe-winning actress Amy Adams plays the leading role of Camille Preaker, a crime reporter recently discharged from a psychiatric hospital after years of self-harming.
Camille returns to her tiny hometown of Wind Gap, Missouri to investigate the murders of two young girls. Dogged by her own demons, she must unravel the psychological puzzle of her own past if she wants to get the scoop for her boss back on Chicago. Camille's oddball mother, Adora Crellin, is played by veteran Emmy-winning actress Patricia Clarkson.
It soon transpires that the killer is a Wind Gap native, not a stranger. As the investigation unfolds, Camille is distressed to find it coming closer and closer to home.
Sharp Objects was Gillian Flynn's well-reviewed 2006 debut novel. Her next two books were
Dark Places (2009) and
Gone Girl (2012).
All of Flynn's novels reach far beyond the usual requirements of the crime thriller and feature female protagonists who are as psychologically complex as the stories they inhabit. Dark Places and
Gone Girl have both been adapted into feature films.
Emmy-winning Canadian-born director Jean-Marc Vallée recently directed and executive produced the acclaimed 2017 HBO mini-series Big Little Lies starring Laura Dern, Nicole Kidman, and Reese Witherspoon. The great success of this earlier HBO series featuring top female talent bodes well for
Sharp Objects.