--- title: "Sharp Objects" year: 2018 kind: "series" canonical: "https://film.one/tv/sharp-objects" fi1m_score: 84 critics_score: 83 critics_reviews: 13 published: "2026-09-17T13:12:53.948774+00:00" updated: "2026-09-17T13:12:55.789248+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Sharp Objects (2018) Created by Marti Noxon · MPA TV-MA · Crime, Drama, Mystery **Fi1m score: 84** · Critics 83 from 13 reviews *In a sentence:* Eight hours in a Missouri heatwave with a woman who drinks vodka from a water bottle and a mother who notices > Jean-Marc Vallée’s adaptation of Gillian Flynn’s novel is the rare crime series in which the crime is the least of it. Amy Adams and Patricia Clarkson are superb, the cutting is nervy and exact, and eight episodes is about two more than the story needs. ## Synopsis Camille Preaker (Amy Adams), a reporter on a St. Louis paper, is sent by her editor Frank Curry (Miguel Sandoval) back to Wind Gap, the Missouri town she grew up in, where one girl has been murdered and a second has gone missing. She drinks vodka from a water bottle, keeps her sleeves down in the heat, and moves back into her mother’s house. Adora Crellin (Patricia Clarkson) owns the biggest house in town and sets its manners; her husband Alan (Henry Czerny) keeps to his headphones; Camille’s teenage half-sister Amma (Eliza Scanlen) roller-skates by day and plays the dutiful child at dinner. Detective Richard Willis (Chris Messina) and Police Chief Bill Vickery (Matt Craven) would rather she left. ## Review Gillian Flynn’s novel becomes eight episodes of television, created by Marti Noxon and directed throughout by Jean-Marc Vallée, and it is set up like a murder mystery. Camille Preaker (Amy Adams), a reporter with a St. Louis paper and a drink problem, is sent home to Wind Gap, Missouri, where one girl has been killed and another has gone missing. Then the series makes clear, quite early, that it is not much interested in who did it. It is interested in Camille, in her mother’s house, and in what the town did to her before she left. We think highly of it and we recommend it, with the warning that it is slow on purpose and, around the middle, slower than it means to be. Adams plays Camille as someone trying to take up as little room as possible. She wears long sleeves in a heatwave, keeps her hair over her face, and drinks vodka from a water bottle at the wheel. At the end of the first episode she gets into a bath and we see why the sleeves: her body is covered in words, cut into the skin over years. We had been told it was coming and it still stopped us; then we caught ourselves trying to read them, and felt ashamed of it. That is what the series wants. From then on we watch Camille the way the town does, looking for the damage, and Adams never once asks to be pitied for it. Patricia Clarkson’s Adora is the other performance people will remember, and rightly. Adora owns the biggest house in Wind Gap and sets its manners, and Clarkson plays her at a whisper, in ivory dresses, never raising her voice because she has never needed to. Eliza Scanlen’s Amma, Camille’s teenage half-sister, roller-skates through town in shorts and comes to dinner in a pinafore, and Scanlen makes the switch look like a habit rather than a trick. Henry Czerny, as Adora’s husband Alan, sits with his headphones and says almost nothing, which turns out to be a performance. Elizabeth Perkins, as the drunk neighbour Jackie O’Neill, is the only person in town who tells Camille anything. Vallée cuts the series himself with six other editors, Justin Lachance, David Berman, Émile Vallée, Véronique Barbe, Maxime Lahaie and Dominique Champagne, and the cutting is what sets it apart. The past arrives in flashes of a second or two: young Camille (Sophia Lillis) in a field, her sister Marian (Lulu Wilson) in a bed, a word on a wall that was not there before. Nobody announces a flashback and nothing is explained. Yves Bélanger and Ronald Plante shoot Wind Gap through windscreens and haze, sun flaring off every bonnet, so the whole town looks like a hangover. Alix Friedberg dresses Camille in black and Adora in florals, as if they lived in different climates. John Paino’s house for the Crellins is pale wood and cut flowers, every surface polished. Alexandra Stréliski’s piano is spare and used rarely; more often the music is whatever Camille has in her earbuds, and it stops when she pulls them out. The flaws are the ones the method invites. Chris Messina’s Richard Willis, the detective in from Kansas City, is there to ask questions the series does not want to answer, and his scenes with Camille feel like plot being administered. Matt Craven’s chief of police is a scowl and a hat. The subliminal cuts, thrilling in the first episode, are a mannerism by the fifth, and there is a stretch in the middle where the series sits in Adora’s house and waits for something to happen. Eight episodes is generous; six would have done. Vallée had made [*Big Little Lies*](https://film.one/tv/big-little-lies) the year before, with the same tools: a cast of well-known women, a story told through memory, and cutting that follows feeling rather than chronology. Here the story is smaller and nastier and the tools fit it better, because nobody in Wind Gap has anything to be proud of except Adora, and her house is the problem. Most critics agree with us that this is a series about a woman rather than a killing. The second half takes a turn we will not describe. Do not let anyone tell you how the last episode ends, and do not stop watching when the credits begin. The 18 certificate is honest. The self-harm is shown rather than discussed, and the drinking is constant. Watch it two episodes at a time, late, with the windows open; it is a hot series and it wants you uncomfortable. *Fi1m score 84, published 17 September 2026.* ## What the critics say All thirteen reviews are positive, and nearly all of them say the same thing first: this belongs to Amy Adams. Her Camille is described as wounded, restrained and against type, and several critics rank it among the strongest work she has done. Patricia Clarkson’s mother draws the next cluster of praise. Behind the camera, Jean-Marc Vallée’s direction and editing are credited with folding past into present, and most critics treat the result as a study of trauma and self-harm, not a murder mystery. The reservations are mild and mostly about pace. The Telegraph finds the opening episodes slow-moving, and Radio Times and Empire note that the crime itself recedes so far it barely registers as a plot. Several call it bleak, which is meant as description rather than complaint. The spread is narrow, from good to excellent, and nobody dissents from the general approval. ### Reviews we read (13) - **The Guardian**, Lucy Mangan (90/100, inferred): The series is much better than a mere follow-up to Big Little Lies, with a pedigree production that exceeds the sum of its parts. The critic singles out Amy Adams' mesmerising, career-best performance as Camille for particular praise. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/jul/09/sharp-objects-review-the-new-big-little-lies-its-much-better-than-that) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, Daniel Fienberg (90/100, inferred): HBO's adaptation is riveting prestige-pulp that functions as a fascinating fake-out, with tension arising from unraveling the heroine rather than the crime. It is made haunting by Amy Adams' ferociously wounded lead performance and Jean-Marc Vallée's confident visual language and direction. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-reviews/sharp-objects-review-1120547/) - **The Times**, Carol Midgley (★★★★☆): Adams is mesmerically good and the series elevates beyond typical crime drama thanks to its focus on Camille's body as the window to her soul. Patricia Clarkson also stands out as the Southern belle horror-mother. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/tv-review-inside-the-american-embassy-sharpobjects-fnl2dmxkf) - **Vulture**, Matt Zoller Seitz (90/100, inferred): The series transcends a standard murder mystery to explore psychological trauma, female self-harm, and small-town dynamics through nonlinear storytelling and strong performances, especially by Amy Adams and Patricia Clarkson. Vallée's direction and editing create a cinematic, Proustian effect that blends memory and present in a compelling way. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/2018/07/sharp-objects-hbo-review.html) - **The Telegraph** (4/5): The psychological thriller lives up to its title with a finely tuned sense of unease and Adams's compelling performance. It is set to be the show of the summer despite the first episodes being a little slow-moving. [Read](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2018/06/19/sharp-objects-thriller-set-show-summer-first-look-review/) - **Empire**, Amy West (70/100, inferred): The series is a bleak, slow-paced character study rather than a conventional murder mystery, centered on Amy Adams' superb performance as a journalist confronting trauma in her hometown. It delivers a hard-hitting, realistic exploration of mental health and unresolved scars. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/tv/reviews/sharp-objects-review/) - **Radio Times**, Ben Allen (70/100, inferred): Sharp Objects is primarily a raw, affecting study of self-harm and personal trauma rather than a murder mystery, with the mystery fading into the background. It benefits from brilliant performances, especially from Amy Adams, Patricia Clarkson, and Eliza Scanlen, and Vallée's dreamlike direction. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/sharp-objects-sky-atlantic-review-drama-amy-adams/) - **The Independent** (70/100, inferred): The episode has a muted, patient and sombre feel like a bleak crime mystery, but departs from the formula with its honest portrayal of the protagonist's depression. The critic highlights the talent in front of and behind the camera, including Vallée's auteurist direction. [Read](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/sharp-objects-s01e01-review-hbo-sky-atlantic-amy-adams-a8439001.html) - **Den of Geek**, Aliya Whiteley (90/100, inferred): The miniseries offers an intense, shocking, and moving character portrait of Camille while effectively showing how the past influences the present, with strong writing and acting that promise gripping twists. Directed by Jean-Marc Vallée, it mixes psychological discomfort with dysfunctional family drama in an evocative and atmospheric package. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/sharp-objects-review-an-intense-gripping-mystery-thriller/) - **Digital Spy**, Morgan Jeffery (90/100, inferred): Amy Adams delivers a powerful, restrained performance as the troubled journalist Camille in this bleak, atmospheric adaptation that surpasses Gone Girl in emotional depth and style. Vallée's direction and the naturalistic script create a rewarding slow-burn thriller focused on trauma, family secrets, and small-town misery. [Read](https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/ustv/a860995/sharp-objects-hbo-tv-review-episode-1/) - **/Film**, Chris Evangelista (90/100, inferred): The critic calls the adaptation a haunting, brilliantly constructed Southern Gothic miniseries with Vallée deftly blending past and present. Amy Adams gives one of the best performances of her career as the damaged lead in this hypnotic character study. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/559374/sharp-objects-review/) - **Collider**, Allison Keene (★★★★): The critic finds the HBO miniseries a dark, twisted tale of abuse and murder that belongs entirely to Amy Adams as Camille. Jean-Marc Vallée's direction creates an immersive, oppressive Southern Gothic atmosphere centered on the lead performance. [Read](https://collider.com/sharp-objects-review/) - **The Ringer**, Alison Herman (80/100, inferred): The critic finds Sharp Objects a successful dark turn for prestige limited series, with Amy Adams delivering a strong performance against type as the haunted reporter Camille. Vallée’s direction pairs effectively with the material to explore toxic family legacies and internalized pain. [Read](https://www.theringer.com/2018/07/09/tv/sharp-objects-movie-star-tv) ## Details - **Created by:** Marti Noxon - **Creator:** Marti Noxon - **Director:** Jean-Marc Vallée - **Writer:** Gillian Flynn, Scott Brown, Marti Noxon, Dawn Kamoche, Ariella Blejer, Alex Metcalf, Vince Calandra - **Novel:** Gillian Flynn - **Cinematography:** Yves Bélanger, Ronald Plante - **Editor:** Jean-Marc Vallée, Émile Vallée, Véronique Barbe, Maxime Lahaie, Justin Lachance, Dominique Champagne, David Berman - **Music:** Alexandra Stréliski - **Production design:** John Paino - **Costume design:** Alix Friedberg - **Producer:** David Auge - **Cast:** Amy Adams as Camille Preaker; Patricia Clarkson as Adora Crellin; Chris Messina as Richard Willis; Eliza Scanlen as Amma Crellin; Matt Craven as Bill Vickery; Henry Czerny as Alan Crellin; Taylor John Smith as John Keene; Madison Davenport as Ashley Wheeler - **Certificate (MPA):** TV-MA - **Release (the US):** 8 July 2018 - **Genres:** Crime, Drama, Mystery - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SGkL_Z3DbI ## Where to watch in the US - HBO Max: streaming, uhd - Amazon Prime Video: add-on, uhd - The Roku Channel: add-on, hd - Hulu: add-on, hd - Amazon Prime Video: buy, sd *Checked 2026-09-17.* Also available in: AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, HK, HR, HU, ID, IE, IL, IN, IS, IT, LT, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, TH, TR, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *Big Little Lies* (2017), Fi1m 78: Vallée’s previous series, same cutting on memory, bigger houses and more people to suspect. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/tv/big-little-lies.md) - *Top of the Lake* (2013): Jane Campion’s New Zealand town, a detective who grew up there and wishes she had not. - *Happy Valley* (2014): Sarah Lancashire polices the Yorkshire town that took her daughter; blunter, and just as bruised. - *Gone Girl* (2014), Fi1m 84: Flynn’s other adaptation, colder and funnier, with a marriage instead of a mother. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/gone-girl.md) - *Carrie* (1976), Fi1m 86: Another mother, another house, another daughter kept indoors; louder, and quicker about it. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/carrie.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/tv/sharp-objects