Three stars of the nineties return in a sinister series in which they share an unspeakable secret

In the nineties there was a group of actresses who renewed the Star System of cinema and impressed with the energy and strength of their roles. Daring to choose roles, without fear of the greats with whom they worked, these actresses left their mark. Then their careers evolved in different directions, but in yellowjackets three of them come back with everything and show why they achieved that initial impact. They are the true center of a series full of discoveries, one of the surprises of this year that has already confirmed that it will continue.

yellowjackets is a shocking series that follows the story of four women named Taissa, Shauna, Natalie and Misty who are linked by a terrible past in common. They were part of a women’s soccer team that suffered a plane crash on the way to a game, leaving them in the middle of nowhere for nineteen months. What happened in those months and how they did to survive is something that is not known in the first episodes. Twenty-five years later, they have moved on with their lives and drifted apart from each other. They refuse to talk about those months, sharing a secret that seems atrocious. Although they want to move on, the four women are marked forever by a terrible memory that haunts them, each of them in a different way.

The four main characters are played in each case by two actresses. teen shauna is Sophie Nelisse and its adult version is Melanie Lynskey; Natalie first has the face of Sophie Thatcher and then the one from juliet lewisMisty is played by Sammi Hanratty first and for Christina Ricci after. And finally, Taissa is left in the hands of Jasmine Savoy in its young version and Tawny Cypress when she is an adult. The series goes from one era to another and the characters are clearly defined, being consistent in their evolution, even when the actresses change.

But it is then that we must highlight three personalities of the nineties. Melanie Lynskey, whose work as a teenage killer in heavenly creatures (1994) by Peter Jackson with Kate Winslet made her one of the great figures of those years, starting a prolific career in film and television. Juliette Lewis, who rose to fame for her role in cape of fear (1991) of Martin Scorsesewhere he performed memorable scenes with Robert DeNiro and then continued to grow Murderers by nature (1994) from Oliver Stone Y Strange Days (1995) of Kathryn Bigelow. Finally Christina Ricci, the youngest of the three, although a child prodigy of the nineties with her roles in my mother is a mermaid (1990) alongside cher Y Winona Ryder, crazy addams (1991), wacky addams 2 (1992) and casper (nineteen ninety five).

The fourth member of the cast is Tawny Cypress, who although she has an extensive career, her work began in the following decade. It’s a shame they didn’t look for an actress who shared a generation with the other three. Her role is that of a successful politician married to another woman, both African-American. The diversity in the casts is not a whim, it is what correctly represents American society today, but without knowing it, by not putting a star of the same generation, they are denouncing that they did not get an African-American actress from the nineties. After the first episodes, the quartet gradually integrates, although at first this actress has less weight in the emotional memory of the viewers.

The soundtrack is also a spectacular recovery of the music of those years. All the great themes, but with special emphasis on female groups and singers, are present, closing this spirit of the nineties. There are songs by Alanis Morissette, Liz Phair, Hole, PJ Harvey, Portishead, Tracy Bonham, Kim Wilde, The Cranberries, Belly and many more. That selection connects the viewer at a faster rate than the costumes or other production details. Taking into account that a large part of that past takes place in the middle of the forest, the music becomes vitally important to be temporarily located in a series that has two timelines that coexist.

The so much acting talent is an important part but not the only one. In the ten episodes of the season, the initial questions, most of them revolve around what they had to do to survive so many months, become more complex and the plot has many discoveries that renew interest, even multiply it. The series is becoming addictive to finish off in a tenth episode that cries out for, and obviously has already achieved, a second season. With many characters, with an always interesting plot, with a luxury cast and with a spectacular soundtrack, yellowjackets It is one of the great surprises of the 2022 season.