Camille and her mother, Adora the women at the center of Gillian Flynns 2006 debut novel,
Sharp Objects have a relationship so toxic they should be reported to poison control.
In the eight-episode adaptation developed by Marti Noxon (
UnREAL) and directed by Jean-Marc Vallée (
Big Little Lies,
Wild), their venomous connection only grows more potent when Camille (Amy Adams), a crime reporter fresh out of a psych hospital for her years of self-harm, returns to her hometown of Wind Gap, Mo., to investigate the murders of two little girls. The assignment lands her back in her childhood home under the critical eye of picture-perfect small-town socialite Adora (Patricia Clarkson), which forces Camille to confront personal demons, including spoiled half sister Amma, played by Eliza Scanlen.
Like Flynns other novels,
Dark Places and
Gone Girl which have both been
adapted into
films
Sharp Objects has no shortage of disturbing twists, but the author says this book most needed the extra TV screen time.
I was really nervous it would just turn into a horror movie and lose a lot of the nuance, she explains. The mystery is as much about who Camille is and what happened in this town as it is about the murders.
Diving into the unsettling world of Wind Gap hasnt been easy on the actors, either. I think its been a burden for [Amy] to carry that character, Noxon admits.
The same goes for Clarkson, who calls Adora the beauty and the beast, before adding, Its a very brutal part and one that can take a toll on you. Like mother, like daughter off camera, at least.
Sharp Objects debuts on HBO summer 2018.