Hulu’s Tiny, Beautiful Things It lives up to its name, finding beauty in everything, from purple balloons on buses to glowing-in-the dark stars stuck to a bedroom ceiling. Kathryn Hahn’s performance is the best, and it shows how we deal with all the messes in our lives.
Hahn portrays Clare Pierce, a woman who is just inches from the bottom. Danny, her husband, and Rae, her daughter, have kicked her out. She doesn’t want to be with them, and she is struggling at her job as a retirement home manager. She continues to mourn the death of Frankie (Merritte Wever), her mother who died in Clare’s senior year. (In flashbacks, Sarah Pidgeon plays young Clare.)
The most unlikely of places offers Clare the chance to improve her situation: “Dear Sugar” advice column. Clare doesn’t get any life-changing information from Sugar. Clare actually takes over the column from an old friend. Clare discovered that listening and responding is the best way to heal.
Tiny, Beautiful Things Cheryl Strayed adapts the book of essays by the same name.
Cheryl Strayed, author of the memoirs, may be someone you recognize. WildShe shares her experiences hiking the Pacific Coast Trail. From 2010 to 2012 she wrote the advice column “Dear Sugar”, for The Rumpus online literary magazine. Her essays “Dear Sugar” were later published in a book. Tiny, Beautiful Things is based — somewhat.
Tiny, Beautiful Things It doesn’t try to adapt the essays. Instead, the show weaves their material through a fictionalized version Strayed’s life. Some aspects of Clare’s life are similar to Strayed’s such as her rural upbringing or the death of her mother. But, it is not a biography.
As Sugar, Clare receives letters asking how to handle marital problems, sharing worries about children, and more — all of which are issues plaguing Clare herself. Clare’s role as Sugar allows her to share her experiences and help others. Tiny, Beautiful Things Clare’s replies and letters to Sugar are voiced over a lot. This externalizes. These excerpts are taken almost word for word directly from the original “Dear Sugar”, giving each episode a fresh dose of deeply personal, moving writing.
Some voiceovers are too sweet or stale. Dialogue throughout is often melodramatic. However, Tiny, Beautiful Things The course rectifies itself with some truly funny moments, including Clare’s rant on Chick-fil A and later, Clare’s take on writing retreats.
Merritt Wever & Kathryn Hahn shine in Tiny Beautiful Things
Tiny, Beautiful ThingsHahn’s combination of humor, poignancy and charm would not have been possible without her. She plays the messiness of Clare’s life with staggering clarity, making her an open book we can’t tear our eyes from — even when she’s doing something that makes us cringe, like an ill-advised hookup or a sweaty breakdown in front of her daughter’s friend.
Pidgeon is a great choice for young Clare. Her performance mirrors Hahn’s, and establishes the important emotional connection between Clare (her mother) and Pidgeon. As Frankie, Wever is the picture of kindness and patience — almost to the point of being Too In some episodes, it is even idealized. Some of the most heartbreaking moments on the show are still the ones that Clare displays, like when she doesn’t like the coat Frankie gave her for Christmas. These moments are what break Clare apart in the present. This is evident in her scenes together with Rae. Clare clearly doesn’t want to make the same mistakes as her daughter, but with their difficult relationship, how can Clare make amends for them?
Mother-daughter relations, such as those between Frankie Clare and Rae make for the heart of Tiny, Beautiful Things. These episodes often use flashbacks to create parallels. Flashbacks can be frustrating as we don’t always have a clear idea of our past. But, it is possible to overcome these flashbacks. Tiny, Beautiful ThingsThis is why the emphasis on recollection and the absence of a temporal link makes sense. Memory is not linear. It is messy and heartbreaking but can also be cathartic. Clare gets some much-needed catharsis through “Dear Sugar”, and its conclusion is a relief. Tiny, Beautiful ThingsThe result is similar to the one achieved by the arduous exploration of griefs and loves.
