Cleo is often heard recounting the story at hand through narration, but after the first episode she takes a much larger role. Ingram and Portman share almost as much screen time as the other, and the show is all the better for it. Her character’s name, Cleopatra, is one that commands power and it’s fitting for a character played by Ingram, who feels revelatory to watch. With each tear that leaves her eye and each broken word that leaves her mouth, you feel as if you’re watching a star be born. The series is at its most interesting when she’s on screen, and thankfully, it’s apparent that Har’el and her camera both know this.
The camera also frames its surrounding actors and set pieces exquisitely. There are an abundance of club scenes throughout “Lady in the Lake,” but there is a singular sequence featuring Ingram in Episode 3, that is a series standout. After witnessing something she shouldn’t have that begins to haunt her every move, Cleo takes to the club to release her inhibitions. Ingram throws her body around as if she’s exorcising demons, feet thumping on the club floor until it almost drowns out the singer on stage. Har’el frames the surrounding bodies on the dancefloor as if she’s filming churchgoers at a sermon, understanding this inherent link between dance and freedom.
This is where “Lady in the Lake” is the best version of itself: when winding plotlines are abandoned for striking sequences that showcase the talents of everyone from the music supervisors to the actors on screen. And this only increases as the show goes on. While its pilot is quite weak, Har’el and everyone involved up the ante with every episode, until it becomes one of the most interesting limited series in a post-“Big Little Lies” world. In a streaming climate filled to the brim with series like this, it takes a lot for them to stand out. Thankfully, it feels as if everyone involved with this project gave it their all, and the result is fascinating to watch.
