Bored Now reviews Sharp Objects - Part 6

Sharp Objects Episode 6: Cherry 

This one picks up from the night after the previous episode, tracing the various characters at the start of the day.  Camille awakes with Richard having had another dream/flashback of Amma. We also see Vickery another important character in the episode, and Alan waking alone with no Adora in sight.  

The men all take different paths, which intersect in someway.  Richard feeling concerned about Camille's past and state of mind tries to find answers from the mental hospital Camille spent time in.  He also engages with Jackie over drinks, but despite some suggestive moments, Jackie still reveals very little about Camille's past.  At this point you have to question just how much she knows. Is she being coy to protect Camille or are there other reasons?  

Alan at the insistence of Adora pressures Camille to leave the house.  One nice touch about Amy Adam's performance in this one is how she suddenly seems a more confident and defiant swagger about Camille in the face of Alan and to her Mother.  As a result of the night with Richard and the sexual release it provided Camille is starting to control. The power is with her.  She'll leave when she's good and ready.  This swagger is a nice set up to the back half of the episode and the antics with Amma.  

The most concrete case development is the police finding Natalie's bike in the lake nearby to the Slaughterhouse.  Vickery and Richard are both on the scene, once again they both take alternative approaches.  Richard is interested in getting the DNA results off the bike.  Vickery questions some of the slaughterhouse workers.  Later Vickery tells Richard that a Mexican worker claims to have seen John dump the bike into the lake.  This is a call back to the casual racism towards Mexican's from a previous episode. Either way this story plays into the narrative portrayed by the town.  If the information from the immigrant worker proves wrong then it's own him, and after all what else do you expect from an outsider?  On the other hand if the information does prove true it again places suspension on John - the number one suspect according to folks around town.    

Speaking of John, Camille heads to his house to interview Ashley for a follow-up piece, only to find Amma in their pool in a bikini and flirting with John.  Another provocative scene, Amma again acts out and is growing up fast.  With Camille listening by the gate John says to Amma, "I'm watching you Amma. I am always watching you.  Your day will come." As Camille walks in the backyard Amma makes a crack about John not wanting anymore dead girls with teeth missing to show up.  I don't know if this means John is the killer as that would be too on the nose. But if there is something sexual with him and Amma there could be some significance to the case. 

This is the first time we've had anything strong to suggest that John has been unfaithful to Ashley.  Their relationship starts to unravel throughout.  When talking to Camille, Ashley appears to be confirming John's infidelities.  Later at the party she suggests that John sleeping around is fine as long as it's with popular girls and not losers.  Again its all about the image.  On that note during their interview Ashley even says that John wouldn't kill because it would effect his popularity.  Another juicy detail from this scene is that Ashley has scars on her ears, as John walks in there's awkward pause and a cut to the past with Camille herself as a cheerleader like Ashley is now. This powerfully switches the power dynamic in the John-Ashley relationship, with him appearing more the aggression and Ashley appearing vulnerable for the first time.  Another interesting thing about this on-going plot is that John is much harder to read than Ashley because of his brooding nature, and shyness. Yet as the typical pristine façade for their marriage, Ashley is taken for granted.  The pressure is on her to maintain the standards expected around the town.  As such Ashley is not allowed to show any weakness or human qualities.



The link between Ashley in the present and young Camille as a cheerleader links to more important background.  We later see a flashback of Camille in the woods with some jocks sleazing onto her.  We later learn that one of the guys was Amma's music teacher who apologizes to Camille for what he did to her...



This one packed in a lot, but none of it felt like filler.  Camille socialising with some old friends who are all Mothers and see having Children as the b-all and end all is another nice little example of how out of synch she is with the rest of the town and its culture.  The discussion with the African American friend was really good stuff, of course she is the most grounded of the friends, and forgives Camille for her bullying of her in the past.  Interesting that the friend says Camille had a lot of pressure on her (this was around the time of her sister dying).

Then the back half, with Camille and Amma cruising together like sisters, and like younger Camille is.  She's partly along for the ride to get close to her sister, but also protect her.  With Amma starting to show more interest in boys and becoming further sexualise, Camille is looking out for her.  One again the scenes between the sisters are just great.  They play off each other so effectively.  The tension during the party scene is wonderfully played.  Both Amma and Camille are on the edge, its a wild dance.  At times Amma seems supportive, at others she seems to be mocking Camille.  Earlier she joked about having scars like Camille's.  She brings this up again at the party in front of others.  Camille gets high.  There is a powerful exchange that is on the verge of becoming sexual.  This moment, and Camille allowing paints her as being more sinister.  Amma is out of control, but looking for love from her sister.

  The sisters skating together, high as a kite is a beautiful, poetic moment and again connects to the past for Camille.  These scenes playfully move between beauty and horror.  Camille's flashes of the dead girls as she looks at Amma once again sets the mind racing...  Another great episode.  Possible the best.  Watching the layers unravel is the most thrilling thing.  TWO MORE TO GO!!!





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NH0O9yU_Crg