Let’s hear it for women of a certain age. As Nicole Kidman’s “unstoppable” ex-husband defies gravity in the last Mission Impossible movie, the actor and producer continues her quest to champion Liane Moriarty, the best-selling Australian author whose zesty and complex dialogue offers such fabulous opportunities for actresses over 40 – as showcased in Big Little Lies, Nine Perfect Strangers, and now The Last Anniversary on BBC One.
True, the second series of Big Little Lies was only fitfully gripping and, so far, season two of Nine Perfect Strangers is a twaddle-ridden drag. Still, this new six-parter isn’t milking a franchise, it’s launching one. Adapted by Kidman’s company, Blossom Films, from a novel Moriarty wrote in 2005, the result is thought-provoking, hilarious and scrumptiously well-acted. Though there’s no part for Kidman, the script provides luscious roles for 67-year-old Brit Miranda Richardson and 57-year-old Aussie Helen Thomson.
