‘Expats’ series review: Lulu Wang’s exquisite drama is sometimes lost in translation

Wang’s direction is intimate and striking, but Nicole Kidman’s presence as a privileged woman at the centre of a mystery evokes a sense of déjà vu

If nothing else, Expats should make the case for Nicole Kidman to cement her reign as the queen of current-day prestige television dramas. 

After Big Little Lies, The Undoing and Nine Perfect Strangers — she has two more of the ilk in the pipeline — Kidman is back in another lavish adaptation in which she plays a privileged woman at the centre of a mystery. 

This time, it’s the case of a missing child in Hong Kong; a sudden, unfortunate incident that sends shockwaves into the interconnected lives and families of three American women in the city, and disrupts their existence as they know it.

Helmed by The Farwell filmmaker Lulu Wang, the six episodes, which swing back and forth between multiple timelines, detail the lives, loves and lies of these expats in 2014 Hong Kong (during the time of the Umbrella Movement protests) wading through a dense sea of cultural reckonings. 

There’s Margaret (Kidman) and her husband Clark (Brian Tee), who have moved to Hong Kong with their children due to the latter’s high-paying job, and now reside in a luxurious apartment that’s appropriately named The Peak. Margaret, who has given up her career as an architect in the US, longs to return home, but still enjoys the many comforts of their expatriate life such as having a full-time nanny (or “helper” as they are referred to) to take care of the kids. 

Tragedy strikes when she loses her youngest son Gus at the night market, after he is left in the care of Mercy (Ji-young Yoo), a young Columbia graduate in Hong Kong, who befriends the family by chance. Reeling from the incident, Margaret spirals out of control from the guilt, as she desperately holds on to the hope that the police might track down Gus; her husband and two other kids are shattered by Margaret’s erratic behaviour, as they struggle to keep things together while she falls apart.

Meanwhile, Mercy, already dealing with a lifetime of being told that she’s “unlucky” and “cursed” by her family, embarks on a series of self-destructive decisions in the horrific wake of the pain she’s caused Margaret. From fluctuating between unsteady jobs to having a terribly-timed affair with an older man, her casual demeanor belies the anxiety and trauma she’s fighting internally. Yoo, in her first major starring role, is superbly cast as the 20-something Mercy who is lost in translation, and holds her own against the other seasoned veterans, even outshining them occasionally.