'Daisy Jones and The Six' Review: Irresistible Rock 'n' Roll Fable – CNET
'Daisy Jones and The Six' Review: Irresistible Rock 'n' Roll Fable - CNET
The disappointing truth about most celebrity gossip is that the reality is rarely as wild as we imagine it to be. And on those few occasions it is? Well, we’d be fools to think we’re ever going to hear an unbiased, unfiltered and complete account of what went down.
But wouldn’t it be great if, just once, we could?
This is the premise for Daisy Jones and The Six, Prime Video’s much-anticipated adaptation of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s bestselling 2019 novel of the same name. Jenkins Reid took inspiration from one of the 20th century’s most legendary celebrity dramas – the story of Fleetwood Mac’s two lead singers – to imagine a biopic of a fictional band in which members forever toe the line between love and loathing.
The 10-episode miniseries is available on Amazon from March 3, and if you’ve ever watched Stevie Nicks sing Silver Springs to Lindsey Buckingham and really felt the lyrics “I know I could’ve loved you, but you would not let me,” it would be a huge mistake to let this show pass you by. But it’s not just Fleetwood Mac fans this irresistible rock ‘n’ roll throwback is trying to impress.
As with many adaptations of popular books, there’s a lot riding on the screen version’s Daisy and The Six. It would be an understatement to say that the Taylor Jenkins Reid fandom is emotionally invested in this story. In certain corners of Instagram and TikTok you’ll find pictures of quotes from Daisy Jones, along with another of Jenkins Reid’s novels, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (currently in production for Netflix), underlined or highlighted with annotations in the margins.
Even before the miniseries was released, the jump to the screen has given fans more material to romanticize on social media platforms. Montages of footage featured in trailers are being combined with voiceovers from the audiobook and Taylor Swift songs. The Instagram appeal is further heightened by the show’s sheer visual gorgeousness, which will have viewers pining over life in Laurel Canyon in the seventies.
From the vintage color grading to the ever-changing costumes that look like they’re straight out of Stevie Nicks’ wardrobe, to the rich retro details that run through every scene, the lush, cohesive aesthetics of Daisy Jones and The Six have the potential to fuel an entire vibe shift. In some respects, we’re on our way. Flared pants and curtain bangs are already back, but if in the coming months the kids embrace boho and there’s yet another Fleetwood Mac resurgence, you’ll know what’s to blame.
The music is another inescapable part of the entire Daisy Jones experience. Alongside filming, the cast recorded an album, Aurora, which is due to drop the same day as the show and be available across music streaming services. Reactions to the two folk rock tracks released so far have been mixed from fans online, but while it’s no Rumors, the music written for the show (by Phoebe Bridgers, Marcus Mumford and Jackson Browne, among others) is impressively catchy, and truly comes alive when the band performs it on stage.
Most important of all, it’s plausible. Without convincingly lovable music, the illusion that we’re watching a biopic about a band that was once the biggest in the world would have shattered and brought the entire show crashing down. But you can believe that people in the seventies would have fallen head over heels for these songs, and lost their minds at a show where the chemistry between the leads was this spellbinding.
Ingenious casting means that Daisy Jones, the fictional star, is played by a descendant of real-life rock ‘n’ roll royalty. Riley Keogh as Daisy is none other than the granddaughter of Elvis Presley, and the pedigree shines through in her performance. As has become glaringly apparent during the ongoing nepo baby debate, talent and star power aren’t always genetic, but Keogh is a magnetic frontwoman — as much Florence Welch as she is Stevie Nicks.
Whenever Keogh, and Sam Claflin, who plays Billy Dunne, leader of The Six, lean in to share a microphone, you don’t know whether they’re about to kiss or tear each other apart with their bare teeth.
Beyond the stage, Keogh continues to embody Daisy – the selfish, charming, headstrong woman who has developed both independence and dangerous vices as the victim of earlier neglectful parenting. We feel her fury when she tells a lesser-talented love interest she’s not interested in living only to be his inspiration. “I’m not the muse, OK?” she yells. “I’m the somebody.” And she is.
Until Daisy and Billy meet face to face in episode 3, the show lacks a little in energy. The spark between them lights a fire not only under their fictional careers, but under this entire adaptation, sending them and their bandmates spiraling into the chaotic, creative whirlwind that flings them to stardom. From here the tension continues to build more rapidly throughout the season to an explosive finale that’s well worth going on this wild ride for.
Meanwhile, Claflin is every bit the arrogant, talented artiste, grappling throughout the show with drugs, alcoholism and how to reconcile the dizzying, unsustainable love he feels for Daisy with the deep-rooted, enduring love he has for his winsome wife Camila, played by Camila Morrone.
Considering she’s the only central female character who doesn’t get up on stage to perform, Morrone gives something of a show-stealing performance. Even in emotionally heavy scenes, there’s a prevailing freshness and openness about her, so much so you can’t help but root for her. This feels like the breakout performance of a future star.
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While the love triangle between Daisy, Billy and Camila is ostensibly at the show’s core, dig a little deeper and the real heart of Daisy Jones and The Six seems to be the enduring relationships between the female characters. As Daisy’s disco pioneer friend Simone Jackson, Nabiyah Be brings such a mix of warmth, strength and star power to her performance that it’s a shame we don’t get to see even more of her. Just like Daisy, Simone feels like a “somebody,” and her story, one of career struggle and queerness, is worthy on its own merits.
Suki Waterhouse, as the band’s aloof British keyboardist, brings balance both to the male-heavy band and the female cast lineup. But she has her own heartache to contend with and there are tender moments in which Waterhouse betrays her character’s underlying softness with a light touch. It’s to the show’s credit that it manages to achieve that rare feat of allowing each of the female characters to make very different decisions about how they want to live their lives without casting judgment on any of them.
Some differences between the novel and the show mean the most hard-core Daisy Jones and The Six fans may have to set aside their preexisting attachment to the plot to get the most out of this adaptation. These changes, however, have very little material impact on the storyline of this ambitious, big-hearted show, which has so much to offer romance, music and celebrity gossip fans alike.
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