There are warning signs that relationships just aren’t working out, but the parties involved may be too committed to projecting an image of happiness that they don’t want to acknowledge them, or too resigned to the notion of failure that they feel hopeless to do anything to stop it. But there are also those who have become accustomed to the way things are and have grown extremely bitter, determined not to be the one to blow things up so that the other has to be the villain. The Miniature Wife opens on a such a couple and gives them a complicating twist which proves even more difficult to navigate than everything they’ve endured and thrown at each other so far.
Les Littlejohn (Matthew Macfadyen) is a scientist on the brink of his next great idea, while his wife Lindy (Elizabeth Banks) is a celebrated author. Their marriage has taken a worse for the maliciously competitive, and things blow up when Lindy accidentally becomes a test subject in Les’ latest experiment. Shrunk down to just six inches tall, Lindy navigates a smaller existence as Les struggles to find a way to make her big again while also meeting the demands of delivering what he’s been working on, and the two realize that this is just the latest – and most significant – obstacle they’ve had to face in their quest to return to the marital bliss they can only distantly remember.
Based on the 2013 short story of the same name by Manuel Gonzales, this series comes from showrunners Jennifer Ames and Steve Turner, whose past collaborations include Boardwalk Empire, Banshee, Goliath, and Ash vs Evil Dead. Its sci-fi storyline sets up the possibility of this newfound power dynamic, with Les learning to whisper as he looks into a dollhouse where Lindy uses a megaphone so that they’re able to hear each other without Lindy having her ears devastated by the much louder sounds that are now capable of knocking her over. How it all happens is defined by formulas that Les and his team concoct, and there’s no time wasted on understanding the backing or reasoning behind it, simply seeing whether or not it actually works when they give it a try.
While this show’s plot description might conjure up memories of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, the better comparison, cited by Ames and Turner in discussing it, is The War of the Roses. Both Les and Lindy are very driven but are also quite different from one another in how they approach their work, and their agreement to alternate supporting each other through various phases of their careers hasn’t exactly worked out. Les shrinking Lindy is merely the last straw after a series of unfortunate choices and missed opportunities, and the fact that he doesn’t know how to immediately reverse the process is the tip of the iceberg. This couple is not in a good place, and the gravity of their discord has reached a new and unprecedented level that has grown exponentially as their physical sizes have moved so far apart.
Macfadyen brings his signature off-kilter energy to this part that served him so well in his two-time Emmy-winning role on Succession and in another superb series this season, Death by Lightning. Banks is full of sarcastic passion that works so well opposite Macfadyen’s more restrained turn, and it’s marvelous fun to see the two of them explode at each other when the moment calls for it. They’re an exceptional duo, perfectly cast for these parts and infusing them with a formidable amount of memorable personality.
The supporting cast is just as rich, highlighted by O-T Fagbenle and Zoe Lister-Jones as colleagues of Les’ who are both very much into the science but put out opposite vibes into the world. Fagbenle’s RPW is hilariously overeager, while Lister-Jones’ Vivienne is terrifyingly straight-laced and by the book. Sofia Rosinsky shines as Lulu, Les and Lindy’s daughter who gets her own story arc, and the always terrific Sian Clifford enhances a small role as Lindy’s frustrated editor.
There’s so much fun to be had watching how worlds big and small come together, with Lindy carrying around an AirPod that’s nearly the same size as her and figuring out how to operate an iPhone to be able to communicate with those who are now much larger than her. The script is clever and witty and the resulting visuals are just as creative, making for a superb viewing experience. The Miniature Wife takes a simple premise and expands marvelously upon it, delivering rich entertainment that allows its sci-fi concept to take it to truly great heights.
Season grade: 8/10
