'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Netflix just added to its library of great mini-series with Frédéric Garson's The Perfect Mother.
The four-part mini-series was one incredible thrill ride, with abundant mysteries, layers of revelations and a great premise that held itself well in the rather short duration of the show.
Apart from the well-paced premise and brilliant lead performances, the series also managed to raise some crucial questions about modern-day family relationships. It highlights how the means of communication are instantaneously increasing, but the distance between people is rapidly increasing. The show also put a big emphasis on the burden of parenthood and the price of acceptance.
The four episodes of The Perfect Mother dropped on June 3, 2022, on Netflix.
The Perfect Mother takeaway: The increasing burden of secrets
The Perfect Mother follows a desperate mother, Helene (Julie Gayet), in her attempt to save her daughter, Anya (Eden Ducourant), from a murder accusation that she claims she's innocent of. Through a number of revelations, investigative and otherwise, the show slowly unravels a thick layer of mysteries.
As the story progresses, the newly revealed storyline reveals a lot of scarring details that could make one question the distance between a family that has lived together for years.
For instance, Lukas (Maxim Driesen), Anya's brother, told their father, Mathias (Andreas Pietschmann), about his sister's s*xually and physically abusive relationship in Berlin. Despite the brutal way she was treated in the past, neither Anya nor Lukas said anything to their parents.
This initially seemed like a small moment, but looking back at the show, the entire ordeal of the murder was a result of the initial negligence of Anya's state. Anya faced terrible abuse, which resulted in her turning out the way she was when she stayed in France.
Anya was not the only one in the family that was distant from the others. All the members of the family seemed to be in a little world of their own that they could not or did not share with the rest of the family. This distance was a major reason for the underlying tension that was prevalent throughout all four episodes of the show.
In the same way, Helene also seemed to be slowly distancing herself away from the family. Her infidelity was a result of this passively growing distance.
The cost of being a perfect parent
The perfect parents are supposed to stand by their child at any cost. Helene's moral struggle at the end of The Perfect Mother was visibly a result of this dilemma.
After Vincent (Tomer Sisley) told Helene the real story of Damien's death, Helene still asked him to go in front of the judge and defend her daughter.
At this point, Vincent does tell her that it would be difficult to live on with this weight, but her motherly instinct is stronger than her sense of reasoning. She ended up asking Vincent to do her this favor.
Vincent did manage to get all charges against Anya dropped, with the sole blame resting on the innocent Kamal (Julien Lopez).
In the final shot, Helene is seen standing on the stairs of the court with her family, and Vincent is walking away from her as she slows down to perhaps contemplate her choice. But that is the price of being the perfect mother.
All episodes of The Perfect Mother are now streaming on Netflix.
