In a previous article, I said that “Daisy Jones & the Six” by Taylor Jenkins Reid was a disappointment. I stand by that statement. But the new Amazon Prime series adaptation of this book is far from that.
On Thursday, March 2, the first three episodes of “Daisy Jones & the Six” were released hours before the planned Friday drop, allowing long-awaiting fans, like myself, to see the show that’s been years in the making. It was an easy binge — I sprinted through the episodes like they were 20-minute sitcoms.
The cinematography is fitting, with a slight grainy tint on all of the shots, fully immersing one in the era of the ’70s. The low-contrast but high-colored scenes add light and dark to the actions going on — a dark tint over Billy’s breakdown in episode 2 and a white-yellow spotlight over the “Honeycomb” recording in episode 3. The camera’s movement brings the viewer into the scene with the characters, but the settled, unwavering focus on the actors themselves puts a bit of distance, a way to look into the characters.
The obvious standout performances are from the main three: Riley Keough as Daisy Jones, Sam Claflin as Billy Dunne and Camila Morrone as Camila Dunne.
Daisy Jones is a strong-willed, emotion-filled, independent girl that craves validation by any means she can get. She wants to know she’s good. She wants people to love her, to listen to her music over and over again until the record breaks. Keough does a beautiful job of bringing this vulnerability to Daisy’s character, an aspect that wasn’t touched on enough in the books. Keough makes Daisy a more relatable character, more in tune with her emotions so the audience can be more in-tune with her. Daisy is still fun and fresh, though — none of her sparkling personality was dimmed. But the harsher aspects of her character, like the drinking and the drugs and the need for validation, are more easily shown when they occur next to her bright moments.
As always, the king of book-to-screen adaptations deserves his flowers. Claflin delivers a brilliant portrayal of Billy Dunne, the elder of The Dunne Brothers and the frontman of The Six. In the novel, I had a difficult time sympathizing with Billy, as his perspective lacked the emotions that could have been present. Claflin, however, brings vulnerability and heartache to Billy, giving him a complete character arc within only the first three episodes. The subtle build-up of Billy’s addiction is key to understanding his character; In the novel, it is only hinted at until it reaches the breaking point, but the series shows his dependence on alcohol growing slowly over the course of the second episode until he reaches his breaking point. If there’s anything Claflin was put on this earth to do, it is to take already well-established characters and elevate them into a completely new version of themselves.
Lastly, Morrone shines as Camila Dunne, the wife of the frontman. In the novel, I felt that Camila was passive, lacking a voice and letting Billy walk over her love and trust. In the series, however, she is so much stronger than any of us could have predicted. She truly shines in episode two, heartbroken yet still going forward. Morrone does an excellent job expressing Camila’s anger over Billy’s betrayal directly alongside her sadness over Billy’s addiction. She never strays from his side, but she is not dependent on him either. For this, I can only applaud Morrone for adding depth to a character that lacked.
There’s been some criticism over the songs released prior to the show. “Regret Me” and “Look at Us Now (Honeycomb)” were the two lead singles, both of which had changed lyrics from the original. But here’s the thing: there’s a big difference between the lyrics a novel author writes and lyrics written by actual songwriters. The contributors of the album are trained in songwriting, and after listening to these two singles over and over, the essence and meaning of the song were kept as pure as they possibly could, and I cannot imagine another version of these songs.
The companion album “AURORA” is nothing short of pure ’70s beauty. Each song flows from one to another, all blending together while still standing apart on their own. I expected a few tracks to be written and recorded alongside the film, but an entire album by Daisy Jones & the Six was a welcome surprise.
In the following week’s release on Thursday, March 9, we got to see the recording process of this album from the characters’ perspectives. Daisy and Billy in their tension-filled, twisted romantic montage of writing, the comedy sprinkled throughout in Daisy and Eddie’s characters, and the companionship and collective love each of the characters has for the band and their work.
What I love most about musical series or movies is when it is obvious that the actors are performing songs live when they sing rather than lip-syncing the previously recorded song. While I have no clue if this is confirmed for “Daisy Jones & the Six,” their performances, rehearsals, and clips of preparing the songs sound as though the viewer is in the room with them rather than listening to the show through a pair of headphones. I adore the way we can hear Warren’s drums a bit louder than the original, how we can hear each keyboard note Karen plays or the base strings Eddie plucks. Most importantly, we can hear the differences in Daisy and Billy’s voices — none of the blending of the voices like in a record, but pure, unfiltered harmonies.
All in all, I cannot express how much I adore Amazon Prime’s “Daisy Jones & the Six.” The producers took a book that is flat on so many levels and elevated it into something entirely different, entirely its own. Now, I anxiously wait for the next three episodes to release while I listen to “Silver Spring” by Fleetwood Mac and “AURORA” on repeat.
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