‘We Were Liars' review: Clandestine affairs, failed marriages, scandals and secrets – the TV adaptation of the wildly popular YA book is here

That changed in 2005 when JK Rowling's Harry Potter novels were reissued with so-called adult covers, presumably to spare the blushes of people who might be embarrassed to be seen in public reading the same books their children or grandchildren read.
The Potter books were reissued a second time in 2013 with a new, even more sober cover design. It might have been a cynical marketing exercise by a publisher eager to squeeze every last cent out of a successful property, but it had the effect of dissolving the line between adult and young adult (YA) fiction.
Television has been taking notice. Any bestselling YA novel judged to have the slightest crossover appeal to an older audience is now likely to be snapped up and given the lavish miniseries treatment.
We Were Liars (Prime Video, streaming from today) is based on a wildly popular 2014 YA book by E. Lockhart.
It has all the hallmarks of what you'd expect from a story about filthy rich, privileged, cosseted, mostly white people – in this case the Sinclair family – enduring the agonies associated with being filthy rich, privileged, cosseted and mostly white people.
There are clandestine affairs, failed marriages, scandals and secrets, closet alcoholism and drug use, and three bitchy, backstabbing sisters, all of them useless screw-ups who, despite the best education and opportunities money can buy, are unable to stand on their own feet without the cushion of inherited wealth.
It's difficult at first to tell who's who among the three generations of Sinclair women, since they all have identikit long blonde hair.
This is no Succession or The White Lotus. If there's any satirical intent towards the one-per-centers, it's completely undetectable. Aside from a few concessions to adult viewers (a bit of mild sex and a smattering of swear words), this is very much a routine YA mystery.
It centres on Cadence (Emily Alyn Lind), the eldest of the Sinclair grandchildren, who tells us in an incessant voiceover that the family are regarded (most probably by themselves) as 'American royalty'.
Every summer, the clan gather at the palatial vacation home on a private island near Martha's Vineyard, owned by formidable patriarch Harris Sinclair (David Morse, lending some undeserved class to the whole thing). Harris spends a lot of time glowering through his binoculars at the party boat full of 'drunk, trashy tourists' that's spoiling the lovely view.
For Cadence, however, summer on the island is an idyllic time. She gets to hang out with her cousins Johnny (Joseph Zada) and Mirren (Esther McGregor), who are both blonde, naturally, and their best friend Gat (Shubham Maheshwari), who's Indian. His uncle is the partner of one of Cadence's aunts.
She's been doing this every year since they were kids and named their happy little group 'The Liars'. One summer, something terrible happened in which Cadence was involved. The trouble is, she can't remember what it was.
The brain trauma she suffered during the incident has wiped out her memories.
The novel's teenage readers will no doubt eat up this adaptation
The story toggles between two summers: 'summer 16', the one when the awful thing happened, and 'summer 17', two years later, when Cadence, who was whisked away to recuperate in Europe for the summer, returns to the island, her hair now short and dyed black, to try to piece together the mystery.
Strangely, none of the adults will tell her what happened, while Johnny, Mirren and Gat haven't been responding to her messages for the last year and appear to have been cold-shouldering her.
She's dismayed to discover that the splendid old Sinclair house has been knocked down and replaced by a grim, modernist eyesore. What's going on?
All is revealed in the finale. You see, We Were Liars comes with – drum roll – A BIG TWIST. How much you're surprised by it will depend on how many of the numerous clues, some very obvious, scattered throughout it you pick up on during the eight drawn-out episodes.
The novel's teenage readers will no doubt eat up this adaptation, but with so much more substantial TV drama out there to choose from, the rest of us might prefer to put away childish things.
Rating: Three stars

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Irish Independent

5 hours ago

• Irish Independent

Haim switch dial from 1970s to '90s (and back) for their most eclectic collection yet

Besides the collective, each of the sisters has carved out their own particular niche: Lead singer and guitarist Danielle Haim is very much a go-to guest vocalist, most recently on Bon Iver's Sable Fable album; multi-instrumentalist Alana Haim has shown serious acting chops and took the lead in Paul Thomas Anderson's '70s-set feature Licorice Pizza; bassist Este Haim was the music consultant on TV drama series, The White Lotus. Haim are leading lights of LA culture now, almost as celebrated for their fashion sense as they are for their music. Their fourth album, I Quit, arrives freighted with considerable expectation, but can it live up to the highs of earlier work? Down to Be Wrong is vintage Haim. A sultry, evocative song that will remind many of Sheryl Crow It certainly sounds subtly different to their previous albums. While '70s influences continue to abound, the 1990s plays a significant part too. That's apparent on opening track, Gone, which liberally uses George Michael's Freedom 90. And it's there again, on closer, Now It's Time, which takes the abrasive beats of U2's Numb and does something intriguing with it. If I Quit doesn't have quite the proportion of strong songs as debut album Days Are Gone, or indeed a single to match that of the peerless The Wire, it's comfortably their most eclectic collection. While some may lament the lack of focus, others will delight in the way the songs hopscotch from genre to genre with abandon. There's plenty of classic West Coast pop, fey balladry, excursions into indie rock, dalliances in funk and some soulful leanings, too. And it's a reminder of what an affecting vocalist Danielle is. She sounds effortless and yet you hang on to her every word. Down to Be Wrong is vintage Haim. A sultry, evocative song, its chorus soars. Not for the first time, it's a Haim song that will remind many of Sheryl Crow. One could imagine it taking pride of place on her 1993 gazillion-seller Tuesday Night Music Club. It is one of several songs that explore relationship break-ups. Danielle may well be writing about personal experience. Her nine-year relationship with Ariel Rechtshaid ended in 2022: he produced each of the previous Haim albums, but beyond a writing credit on standout song, the playful, seductive Relationships, he's nowhere to be seen here. Instead, Vampire Weekend founder Rostam Batmanglij, who had a part in the production of their two most recent albums, steps up to the plate here. The siblings are in good hands with Rostam — as he is now mononymously known — at the tiller. Guest vocalists are eschewed, and it would have been intriguing if Bon Iver's Justin Vernon had lent his voice to the giddy, commercially smart Everybody is Trying to Figure Me Out. After all, he is credited as one of the song's writers and composers.

RTÉ News​

14 hours ago

• RTÉ News​

Ex-assistant to Sean 'Diddy' Combs says job included buying drugs, setting up sex parties

Sean 'Diddy' Combs's former personal assistant has testified at the hip-hop mogul's sex trafficking trial that he often bought drugs for his boss and set up hotel rooms for sex parties known as "wild king nights." Prosecutors hope the testimony by Brendan Paul, who worked for Mr Combs from late 2022 through March 2024, will help them prove their racketeering conspiracy charge against Mr Combs. Prosecutors say Mr Combs used his businesses' resources to coerce women into ecstasy-fueled sexual performances with male sex workers. Mr Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to all five criminal counts. His lawyers call the sexual activity consensual. The Bad Boy Records founder, a former billionaire who elevated hip-hop in American culture, could face life in prison if convicted. Prosecutors are winding down their case after six weeks, with defense witnesses expected to testify next week. Mr Paul, testifying under immunity from prosecutors, said he bought Mr Combs about $4,200 of marijuana and hundreds of dollars of ketamine during his employment. Jurors saw a text message in which Mr Paul asked Mr Combs's security staff to be reimbursed for his drug purchases. They also saw a 14 February 2024 text message in which Mr Combs wrote "You get me zans," which Mr Paul said was a request to procure Xanax without a prescription. Paul said Combs ultimately obtained Xanax elsewhere, and used cocaine and ecstasy in his presence. Under cross-examination by defense lawyer Brian Steel, Mr Paul said procuring drugs was a minor part of his job, and he thought the drugs were solely for Mr Combs's personal use. "You were not some drug mule?" Mr Steel asked. "Absolutely not," Mr Paul said. Mr Paul also said that before three or four "wild king nights," he stocked hotel rooms with lubricant, baby oil, liquor and a Gucci pouch filled with hard drugs. When Mr Combs was done, Mr Paul said he would put on gloves and clean up to avoid being billed by hotels for damage. Mr Paul said he was charged with cocaine possession after being arrested on 25 March 2024, at Miami-Opa Locka airport in Florida while traveling to the Bahamas with Mr Combs and other staffers. He said he put the cocaine in his bag after finding it while cleaning Mr Combs's room that day, but forgot about it and did not tell law enforcement where it came from. Asked by prosecutor Christy Slavik why he kept silent, Mr Paul said, "Loyalty."

The Irish Sun

15 hours ago

• The Irish Sun

Terence Crawford reveals why Canelo Alvarez fight is biggest in 20 YEARS… and lifts lid on sharing dinner with rival

TERENCE CRAWFORD says he is on the verge of boxing's greatest fight in 20 YEARS with Canelo Alvarez - after they broke bread over dinner. The unbeaten American steps up to super-middleweight to challenge Mexico's undisputed champion 3 Terence Crawford shares dinner with Turki Alalshikh and Canelo Alvarez Crawford compared the bout to one of boxing's biggest and said: "Over the last 20 years I can definitely say it's up there." UFC boss Dana White enters the boxing space to promote the fight and Netflix will broadcast. They debuted in boxing in November when over 100 MILLION But Crawford - a three-weight world champ with 41 straight wins - says he and 67-fight icon Canelo are the real stars of the show. READ MORE IN boxing He said: "Me and Canelo is the talent without me and Canelo this wouldn't be happening. "So me and Canelo are definitely making this event as massive as possible given the work and body of work that he's put in the sport the body of work that I've put in the sport. "The accomplishments that he has, the accomplishments that I have in the sport. "So when you look at it, we did this together with the work that he did and the work that I did." Most read in Boxing 3 CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS The mutual respect extended to a dinner together with Saudi boxing supremo Turki Alalshikh - a day before their Riyadh launch press conference. But Crawford promised to leave a bad taste in the ring as he said: "I don't need no dislike to fight Canelo. "I don't need to hate him, I don't need to dislike him. But come fight night, the dislike and the hatred will be there." Canelo has won titles in four divisions and remains the sport's biggest draw after 20 years as a professional when he started aged 15. Crawford meanwhile defends his prized undefeated record at the Las Vegas Raiders' £1BILLION, 65,000-seat stadium. And he dubbed it the most important fight of his life as he looks to replicate the same success he achieved at 140lb and 147lb. He said: "Everything is up for grabs. Three-time undisputed, three different weight classes, going up two weight divisions. "Undefeated in the 168 division in Canelo Alvarez. Another all-time great, Hall of Famer in Canelo Alvarez. Everything is on the line in this fight." Canelo won back his undisputed throne at 168lb in May with a laboured win over Cuban William Scull, 32, in Saudi. He faced off afterwards with Crawford, 37, who is yet to return since winning the 154 WBA belt last August against Israil Madrimov, 30. And the Omaha hero - who has a street named after him in Nebraska - warned the pressure is shared between the superstar pair. He said: "We both wanna win. I don't see why it's less pressure on me. I wanna win, I don't wanna lose! I'm not gonna lose. "I want to become undisputed in three weight classes." 3 Crawford facing off with Canelo Credit: Getty