Pieces of Her Episode 1 Review: Toni Collette stuns in this intriguing and utterly gripping thriller series

Pieces of Her 

Pieces of Her Cast: Toni Collette, Bella Heathcote

Pieces of Her Director: Minkie Spiro

Pieces of Her Streaming Platform: Netflix

Most individuals in their 30s like to believe they know their parents rather well, from hearing recollections of their childhood and professional milestones to hearing grumbles about the dog next door peeing itself in their front lawn. But what if you found, three decades later, that your mother had a life you have no idea about? That's what happens in Pieces of Her which is based on the novel of the same name by Karin Slaughter.

The first episode opens with a mother and daughter enjoying lunch together one afternoon, with Laura Oliver (Collette) suggesting her aimless almost-30-year-old daughter Andy (Bella Heathcoate) to visit a therapist and/or acquire a job. They are interrupted by another mother/daughter duo, who are soon killed by a jilted ex-boyfriend, at which point Laura pulls off some pretty badass moves to kill him, which puzzles Andy since Laura is supposed to be just an ordinary mother and not Jack Reacher. However, Laura has a far deeper background than anybody realises, and the trouble is that someone had his or her camera running when her hidden abilities come out to play, and now she's going viral and Laura clearly doesn't want to go viral.

Unsurprisingly, Academy Award candidate Toni Collette gives an enthralling performance as the complicated Laura, proving once again that you can't go wrong with a drama in her capable hands. While the viewer is first led to believe Laura is your ordinary mild-mannered mother, Collette hints at the character's hardened past self when she incapacitates the restaurant gunman with an effective cut to the neck. She's an actor who can sell backstory with a look or a shiver of recollection in a manner that many others can't. She offers more of herself than the show around her knows what to do with.

ALSO READ: Toni Collette to star in a drama series titled Pieces of Her; Read details

Meanwhile, Heathcote, best known for her roles in Dark Shadows and The Man in the High Castle, is equally impressive as Andy – a 911 operator who moved home years ago to care for her ill mother and feels absolutely worthless after doing nothing during the diner shoot. These two Australian actresses do an excellent job playing a mother and daughter who have a number of challenges in their relationship. But there's also a lot of affection. Obviously, their connection is strained when Andy (Bella Heathcote) realises she doesn't know who her mother is. Or, more specifically, her mother's background and its mysteries.

Honestly, for me the first episode sets the tone for the whole series. It introduces all major actors, there's a lot of action, a lot of questions are posed, and the viewer is left wanting to know more about this developing drama. This seems to be a riveting thriller that everyone will be talking about, which is a really binge-worthy offering from Netflix. The first episode makes me hop onto the adventure of finding who this main character really is – and all of the secrets she has kept hidden. So I don't know about you guys, but my weekend plans are totally sorted for this week.