Debuting with two episodes on Friday, Jan. 26, on Prime Video, “Expats” is a miniseries filled with drama and romance, with contrasting themes of isolation. It is directed by Lulu Wang, known previously for “Posthumous” and “The Farewell.” Wang is a credible source to comment on expatriatism, given she was born in Beijing while living most of her life in America. Lending to the name and Wang’s personal story, most of the main characters are not native to the show’s setting of Hong Kong, although the show does not detail their journey from the United States; rather, the audience is placed at a point of contention years after their move.
First presenting a minimalist collage of people who mistakenly caused life-changing accidents, the camera eventually pans to the face of the main character, Margaret Woo, although it begins facing the back of her head. Used a few times throughout the two episodes, this camera positioning provides a sense of mystique to what the character is feeling since the audience cannot initially see their face, yet a sense of tension can still be felt brewing within the character. It can quickly be assumed that Margaret is dealing with the loss of a family member and is upset by the solace her son finds in Christianity to help him cope with the loss. An emphasis is also placed on family life and how chaotic it can be, especially based on the family’s relatively new surroundings. Finally, to emphasize the region’s size and the droves of people inhabiting it, many transition shots film the masses walking along the bustling streets of Hong Kong. This could be an effort by Wang to proclaim how the dysfunctional lives of the few characters that are focused on during the series are just a small cog in the machine of modern-day society and a footnote in the daily happenings of this over-populated city.
Wang has previously spoken out against the gender discrepancies in Hollywood, claiming male film directors have an immediate advantage in the industry over their female counterparts. This phenomenon pervades itself in “Expats,” as Wang grounds her characters in a patriarchal society, not only painting men as the breadwinners in relationships, but also lessening the reliance the men have on their wives by way of housekeepers, a more widespread custom in China compared to the Western world. Although still a vital asset in the Woo family, Margaret feels their housekeeper is assuming too much of a maternal role in her children’s lives while also feeling overwhelmed by her family to the point of her renting a nearby apartment for herself to escape the confines of her current situation.
This sentiment is also shared by Hilary Starr, a close friend of Margaret’s, who is going through a rough patch in her marriage. Both women and their families live in the same apartment complex, so everyone mostly knows each other. Despite that, this dynamic is that of a clique, as the two complain to each other about their relationships and how they want to get away from it all sometimes. Nicole Kidman, who plays Margaret, and her likeness to Deborah Harry of the ‘70s rock band Blondie must have been recognized by someone in production, as it was quite entertaining to see Margaret and Hilary dancing to “Heart of Glass” before abruptly transitioning back to the main plot about Margaret’s missing son.
In light of this tragedy, Margaret appears spaced out during her outings in public, leading to other cliques gossiping about Margaret during her husband’s birthday party. This aspect of the drama is more petty and not as interesting, and it is somehow more formulaic than the spontaneous mystery of a neighbor’s death at one point in the show. I will complement that in many ways, the two-episode stretch, spanning one hour and forty-five minutes, essentially ends how it starts, which shows a level of self-awareness by the directors that most people will not return for the third episode that will premiere on Friday, Feb. 2.
In a similar style to another production distributed by Amazon, the South Korean film “The Handmaiden,” previous scenes are revisited with different camera angles and a newfound context for the audience. The impact of this technique on “Expats” is impressive, given the many twists and turns taken by the director. It is also a strength that this miniseries can tie most of its principal plot holes together by the end of “Mongkok,” the second and most recent episode. Series such as “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” and “Squid Game,” some of the biggest Netflix hits of the 2020s, asked a lot from the audience to watch several hour-long episodes just to reach a semblance of understanding of the plot. Even if those shows were excellent, the general public simply does not have enough time to watch the equivalent of multiple feature-length films when you can either look up spoilers, move on to another shorter show, or read Wikipedia articles to get the general premise of the show in the real-life example of Jeffrey Dahmer.
“Expats” is a fictional yet realistic portrayal of adapting to a foreign culture and the sacrifices that must be made along the way. If you have watched the first two episodes, the majority of interesting plot points have likely already occurred, but if it is on your radar, it may be worth the watch, especially while it is on Prime Video’s front page, and it could be a plot worth investing in for the remaining four episodes. I just doubt it will be.
Rating: 2.75/5