Olivia Colman & David Thewlis Duo Is So Brilliant, This True Crime Drama Received 98% on RT

In 2021, HBO released Landscapers, a unique miniseries that stands out as one of the most unusual crime projects in recent years.

Starring Olivia Colman and David Thewlis, it features some of the finest performances of their careers. Rather than merely recounting the actual events of the crime, it transforms them into a meta-narrative about cinema, love, and the ways we construct our own worlds to cope with reality.

What Is 'Landscapers' About?

Susan and Christopher are a British couple living in France. They love each other, but they are struggling in a foreign country. Susan spends their last bit of money on movie memorabilia while Christopher can't find work because of the language barrier.

One day, Christopher calls his stepmother to ask for money and admits that he was once an accessory to murder. She reports this to the police, who discover the remains of Susan's parents in the backyard of the couple's home.

The series opens with a title card stating that Susan and Christopher were sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2014, and that this is a true story.

The Olivia Colman & David Thewlis Duo Accounts for Half of 'Landscapers' Success

Olivia Colman shines here as a vulnerable woman suffering from emotional abuse at the hands of her parents.

Susan has spent her life trying to please others, ultimately finding love with Christopher. Colman's performance is so nuanced that you cannot help but empathize with her character, even knowing about her crime.

David Thewlis, a supremely talented actor best known for Mike Leigh's Naked (and Harry Potter, of course), has faded into the background in recent years.

Here, he gives a powerful performance, alternating between naive bewilderment, timidity, and aggression whenever he feels his wife is under attack. Their partnership is the heart of the series – without it, the story would lose half its impact.

'Landscapers' Is Far From Your Typical True Crime Drama

Landscapers is a postmodern experiment that challenges viewers' perceptions of what a modern TV series can be. Director Will Sharpe stylizes the characters' fantasies to evoke old Hollywood cinema, elegant melodramas, and heroic Westerns.

Sharpe projects images onto walls, incorporates surveillance footage and interrogation recordings, moves the characters through theatrical sets, and makes no secret of the crew's presence onscreen.

This approach creates a unique atmosphere in which reality and fiction intertwine, drawing viewers into a strange yet touching world.

Landscapers is built on two contrasting principles: it tells an old-fashioned, deeply human, tragic tale of criminal lovers while simultaneously serving as an experimental project that defies conventional form.

What Did Critics & Viewers Think of 'Landscapers'?

• Landscapers has 98% from critics and 75% from viewers on Rotten Tomatoes.

• On IMDb, the series has a score of 7.0/10.

Where to Watch 'Landscapers'?

Landscapers is available to stream on HBO Max and Hulu.