The acting may be brilliant in the horrible real-life story of a family whose sordid tale ends in a double murder. But when everything about the subjects is so rotten, why on Earth would you want to watch?
H
ow fascinatingly horrible were the Murdaugh family? Very, according to how much true-crime content they’ve generated. There’s already been a hit podcast about them, untangling a narrative that began in enviable luxury and ended with a sordid double murder. There’s already been a TV documentary. Now the Murdaughs complete the set with Murdaugh: Death in the Family, the plush fictionalised drama retelling the same awful tale.
At its heart is a trio of strong performances, primed for awards season. Jason Clarke – also currently excellent as a different kind of alpha male in The Last Frontier on Apple TV+ – is Richard Alexander “Alex” Murdaugh, a powerhouse personal injury attorney and member of a South Carolina dynasty whose men have been the biggest beasts in the courtroom for generations. Over the years, the Murdaughs – their name looks like “murder” but is pronounced “Murdoch” – have built up a network of acolytes who owe them a living or a favour. Their legal acumen and wealth, combined with a gangster-ish propensity for exploitation and bullying, give them a level of impunity that Alex blithely pushes to its limit. Patricia Arquette is Alex’s wife Maggie, who worries that both his philandering and his opioid addiction have returned – and on the second point at least, she is correct.
