In Thewlis' hands, Christopher is kindly and finds fulfillment in safeguarding Susan, who he repeatedly calls "fragile."Ĭolman puts her liquid, expressive eyes and emotional range to good use as Susan, who has her own dark allegations against her parents and, eventually, comes to terms with what she's done to cope.īut Landscapers also boosts the impact of its stars' performances by avoiding or downplaying uncomfortable moments which might make it tougher to empathize with the couple. In addition to the direction and inventive staging, the real draw here is performances by Thewlis and Colman, who bring unexpected depth to playing a couple depicted as cold-hearted killers in much of their press coverage.
When police offer an alternative theory of the crime during an interrogation - they think Christopher shot both parents - the episode transitions into a reality-bending sequence where the detective leads Christopher and Susan to a film set depicting her mother and father's bedroom, politely requesting the older couple lie down in their bed so Christopher can kill them. The staging here is inventive and cheeky. One minute, they're gazing as each other lovingly in a black and white romantic comedy as their situation grows more dire, she imagines them as heroic outlaws in a western, shooting it out with lawmen who look an awful lot like the investigators handling their case. Where Landscapers truly excels is in depicting the fantasy world Susan escapes to during times of stress, when she pictures herself and Christopher as characters in the movies she loves. Television Netflix and Chappelle won't be canceled over 'The Closer' - but that's not the point Depicting a fantasy world created by avoidance Christopher is a doting, protective husband, played by David Thewlis, searching for work as an accountant in France, where the couple have moved from their native Britain.īut viewers soon learn they are hiding a deadly secret: The pair moved from England to prevent authorities from discovering they had buried Susan's mother and father in the backyard of her parents' home 15 years ago, letting the world continue to believe the older couple was still alive.
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Susan, played by Olivia Colman, is a bright-eyed, optimistic former librarian with a secret habit of paying too much for movie memorabilia – especially posters of the old Gary Cooper westerns she once watched with her grandfather.
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) As HBO's inventive limited series Landscapers begins, we meet mild-mannered couple Christopher and Susan Edwards – a pair cute enough to seem imported directly from a genteel British drama on PBS. (Fair warning: This review will dig up some spoilers from HBO's Landscapers. Olivia Colman and David Thewlis play Susan and Christopher Edwards in HBO's limited series Landscapers.