‘Lucky’ series review: Anya Taylor-Joy keeps things stylishly moving

This handsome mini-series is propelled by a riveting Anya Taylor-Joy and a strong ensemble led by a hard-as-glass Annette Bening

Published - August 20, 2026 05:36 pm IST

A still from ‘Lucky’ | Photo Credit: Apple TV

Through the seven episodes of Jonathan Tropper’s (Your Friends & Neighbors) Lucky, apart from the always watchable Anya Taylor-Joy, the thing that snagged my attention was haircuts. How do characters manage to turn out these perfect cut-and-dye jobs when they are just sawing off hunks of hair in a spotty washroom with a pair of blunt scissors?

Here is Lucky (Taylor-Joy) chopping off chunks of her gorgeous long red hair in a washroom and turning up with perfectly respectable blonde corkscrew curls. How did that happen? Well, never mind, once you get past the hairdressing conundrum (remember Matt Damon’s Jason Bourne giving the lovely Marie a sexy haircut in The Bourne Identity?), you plunge right back into Lucky’s chaotic life.

Lucky is an intelligent, resourceful young woman who has managed to steal $10 million. She is enjoying the win in Las Vegas with her husband, Cary (Drew Starkey). They are celebrating the last six hours of their old life before going off into the sunset on a plane with new identities and everything.

Then it all falls apart as Lucky wakes up alone in the hotel room with no money or Cary. Through the episodes we learn that Lucky’s father, John (Timothy Olyphant) a con man, is in prison and stole the money off a scary mob boss, Priscilla (Annette Bening), who also happens to be Cary’s mum.

There always is a bigger fish so the money actually belongs to a scarier gangster, Wayne (William Fichtner), and Priscilla needs to return the money. There is a driven FBI official, Billie Rand (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor) who hopes to arrest Priscilla and Wayne by following Lucky. Lucky has been trained since she was a child by her father, a charmer, who is always on the lookout for the next hustle.

The episodes go by in a flourish of exquisite, saturated frames, and lovely music starting with Fiona Apple’s gritty rendition of ‘Horns of a Bull’ theme song. The black-and-white title sequence with a vivid splash of red is stylish too.

A still from ‘Lucky’ | Photo Credit: Apple TV

The sets are dressed beautifully with the stylised horseshoe on Priscilla’s stable wall and the final confrontation atop a water tank giving definite western vibes. There are lovely visuals of a ribbon of coast road or the top shot of a train beside the road and the ocean, which calls to the wanderer in us.

While there are double crosses, duplicity and graphic violence aplenty, the sense of Lucky being in real jeopardy is not very pronounced as she manages to get out of evil situations without breaking too much of a sweat.

Based on Marissa Stapley’s eponymous novel, Lucky coasts along on Taylor-Joy’s commitment and Bening making for a steely adversary. Apart from being a noir in the best tradition of such stories where there is dirty money, a charming con man, a beautiful woman and slightly unstable mob bosses, Lucky is also the story of parents and children.

Wayne was abused as a child (“everything was beaten out by puberty”) and so does not wish to be a father, Lucky is forever bailing her father out from each of his bad ideas that he is convinced is the next big thing, Priscilla loves her son but also needs to return Wayne’s money, Billie is so focused on arresting Wayne and Priscilla that she ignores her daughter and on and on the list of neglected children and parents goes.

Lucky is a bingeable crime thriller delivering its byte-size thrills and mantras through its extremely well dressed (Priscilla’s trousers and jewellery and Lucky’s white dress or cigarette pants are to die for) cast.

Lucky is currently streaming on Apple TV

Published - August 20, 2026 05:36 pm IST

cinema / English cinema / streaming / reviews / television

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