Roar Review: Nicole Kidman's series is a 'ferocious' feminist win, albeit on an uneven storytelling road

Roar

Roar Cast: Nicole Kidman, Cynthia Erivo, Issa Rae, Merritt Weaver

Roar Creators: Liz Flahive, Carly Mensch

Streaming Platform: Apple TV+

Roar Stars: 3.5/5

"I really don't know how you ladies do it." "Witchcraft, mainly." For once, it's a 'Woman's, Woman's, Woman's' world in Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch's anthology series Roar, based on Cecelia Ahern's 2018 short story collection of the same name. With magical realism spun into real issues surrounding women, Roar tries its hands at exploring feminism and all its quirks with an aesthetic twist. But, does it succeed? Let's find out!

Starring eight incredibly talented actresses - Nicole Kidman, Cynthia Erivo, Issa Rae, Merritt Wever, Alison Brie, Betty Gilpin, Meera Sayal and Fivel Stewart - Roar features universal stories on womanhood and the struggles they face with overbearing expectations. Whether it be working mommy guilt as shown in Cynthia Erivo's episode The Woman Who Found Bite Marks on Her Skin or being a literal 'trophy wife' in Betty Gilpin's episode The Woman Who Was Kept on a Shelf. As mentioned above, there are literal symbolisms used to personify the 365 degrees of emotions that women feel on a daily. After each half-hour episode, these women have an epiphany and immediately journey towards what they feel is the right path for them.

As individual stories, Roar's episodes work wonders in understanding the complexities of what it's really like being a woman. An added plus point was that different women directors were given the captain's chair. Nobody understands women like women do, and to see the narrative from their POV is refreshing. However, the constant change in performers and helmers tends to lead to an uneven cumulative narrative, where you never truly understand what it is that Roar is trying to tell us. Nevertheless, you can't help yourself from an immediate binge-watching session.

Stylistically, Roar is every bit as visually appealing as you'd expect from the gifted GLOW creators, whether it be Nicole Kidman's gorgeous fireworks-laced nostalgia sequence in a motel room as she eats her childhood photographs to relive happy memories, at the brisk of losing her mother and son to outside factors, in her episode The Woman Who Ate Photographs or the horror-filled elements as Cynthia spooks us with the nasty bite marks in her episode The Woman Who Found Bite Marks on her Skin to Issa Rae literally not being heard amidst a bunch of privileged white men in her episode The Woman Who Disappeared. Even Roar's addictive short rock-infused opening credits with a flower blooming by a roar, there's a powerful motif aimed at the audience from the very get-go and throughout.

Roar's Production Designers Todd Fjelsted and Steven Jones-Evans have done a fine job in interlacing each character's mood board with thought-provoking, even on your face imagery to hit the nail, while cinematographers Chris Manley and Quyen Tran perfectly interlace everything. To be able to tell a story in 30 minutes is no easy feat, but Joseph Ettinger and Tyler L. Cook's editing manages to do just that, without rushing. However, as I mentioned above, there isn't unity in the storytelling of these episodes or a collective thought process. There's a ton of fun in the black humour elements and some solid punches in the emotional sequences, but it's everything we already know, just glaringly put across.

But, if there's one thing for certain, Roar derives plenty from the outstanding performances by a carefully curated ensemble, who manage to bring nuanced subtlety amidst bold chaos. Standout acts include Meera Syal, whose comic timing is meticulously savage in her episode The Woman Who Returned Her Husband, quite possibly the most heartwarming and even best episode of the lot. In her story, Meera's character quite literally returns her humdrum husband (an adorably tame Bernard White) and exchanges him for a new one to satisfy her palette, while getting out of a 37-year marriage. Similarly, equally enticing is Betty Gilpin, who even gets her own musical number as we introspect a woman, who's nothing but a beautiful showpiece to be admired in her episode The Woman Who Was Kept on a Shelf. Nicole Kidman, alongside a striking Judy Davis, delivers yet another eccentric performance and showcases why she's an acting force to be reckoned with while Fivel Stewart, alongside a delightful Kara Hayward, in her episode The Girl Who Loved Horses, delivers a meaningful performance about girls breaking away from the shackles of their fathers' hold on them.

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Issa Rae is boldly entertaining in her episode, which is quite possibly the spookiest because of the silence in the sound while Cynthia Erivo digs deep into her character traits, who is the most complex out of all the characters. With a few wins, there are also a few episodes that fail to hit the bullseye, in spite of terrific performances. This includes Merrit Wever's episode The Woman Who Was Fed By A Duck, which sees her character romance a duck in a toxic relationship. Merritt's acting prowess is as underused as Alison Brie's in her episode The Woman Who Solved Her Own Murder, which sees her character, well, solving her own murder. Again, this is in spite of some good performances, albeit with convenient conclusions. Roar is also equipped with a pleasing supporting cast featuring Jake Johnson, Hugh Dancy, Nick Kroll, Alfred Molina, Scott Lowell, and more.

At the end of the day, Roar is a "ferocious" feminist win, albeit not without a few road bumps along the way.