Amy Adams noted in slow construction "Sharp Objects"

Camille Preaker, protagonist of "Sharp Objects", played by Amy Adams, is a woman with many emotional scars and subtleties

Preaker, journalist, packs for his small hometown of Wind Gap, Mo., with exactly three items: vodka full of airplane bottles, cigarette cartons and Butterfinger chocolate bars. And yet, she seems to be the less dysfunctional person in her hometown of 2,000, where she came back to report on two children who were murdered.

The HBO mini-series, which begins on Sunday, July 8, is a dark piece of Midwestern Gothic, which is laborious in its slow construction, especially in the earlier of eight episodes. (Seven were made available to critics.) But he succeeds, and sometimes flies, behind the artistic ambitions of Adams, the writer Marti Noxon and the director Jean-Marc Vallée [19659018] "Sharp Objects" is based on "Gone Girl" author Gillian Flynn's first book, of the same name. First filmed, the TV version keeps production values ​​on the big screen, with the time needed to explore the characters and take complicated paths.

Preaker is encouraged by his publisher to write about the horrendous murders. paranoid curfews and children carrying rifles. The more we see of the community, the more we perceive that the inhabitants feed on each other – more obsessed with who is in the decaying social structure than with the victims or the crimes themselves.

Gap of you, "tells Preaker to an outside detective in one of the few playful moments of the series." You learn the secrets of someone and then l & rsquo; use against them later. "

Everyone in this city seems to be in a bitter cycle of self-medication, commercial recriminations, giving up the simplest parenting tasks and drinking at all hours. Chief of the Wind Gap Life Police (Matt Craven) and a young detective from Kansas City (Chris Messina).

There are two mysteries and over time, finding the killer looks more and more like B.'s story through flashbacks. and a self-examination, we find out what happened to Preaker and if it is too far to find something like peace.

Adams is remarkable as Preaker, alternately emptying his veins and stabilizing himself sufficiently to advance the case. She travels a tortured path similar to her sadistic scholar in "Arrival" without supernatural intervention. There is no easy way out in this rotting city.

She has strong allies with Noxon and Vallee, who both serve with Adams as executive producers. Noxon fills the story with subtle characters, giving the small town a sense of time and space. Vallee directs each episode and keeps a steady momentum, despite one of the slowest stories in the recent history of television dramaturgy

The reporting parties are alternately detailed and infuriating.

Vodka, smoked and sweets is not a completely inaccurate diet For the 21st century print media reporter, Volvo, who beat Max Preaker in the 90s – with a soundtrack of Mr. Ward and "Led Zeppelin II" – could be the most accurate reporter of Hollywood history.

We will look beyond his occasional affair with a major source and his journal's willingness to let go of it for weeks to work on a single story.)

The plot of "Sharp Objects" begins again to float towards the finish. But the lack of narrative progress is a little frustration because the characters are so well designed.

Adams reaffirms himself as one of the strongest American actresses. And HBO proves once again that patient storytelling is worth the investment.

Peter Hartlaub is the critic of the pop culture of the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @PeterHartlaub