Anya Taylor-Joy already had an impressive resume with film and TV roles when she played chess prodigy Beth Harmon in The Queen’s Gambit, winning Golden Globe and SAG awards. Whatever role she takes on, her talent and presence – that face! – dominates the screen and makes it impossible to look away. As Luciana “Lucky” Armstrong in the Apple TV streaming series, she creates a character that, while devious and manipulative, is also easy to root for.
John Armstrong’s version of a helicopter parent is to teach his daughter how to steal. The law caught up to John and he is now in prison, but that hasn’t stopped him from robbing others. John once stole $10 million and he’s shared with Lucky where and how to get the loot back. Lucky and her husband, Cary (Drew Starkey), pull off a heist that would make the Ocean’s Eleven crowd proud. They celebrate in a Las Vegas suite, but when Lucky wakes up the next morning, Cary is gone and so is the cash.
Annette Bening as Priscilla Masterson
Another theme for this seven episode series could be All in the Family. Lucky and Cary stole the money from Cary’s mother, Priscilla Masterson (Annette Bening), who is being threatened by the mob boss, Wayne Whittaker (William Fichtner) to retrieve the cash – or else. Since Cary seems to have disappeared, Priscilla focuses on finding her daughter-in-law, Lucky. John taught his daughter well. She manages to elude capture several times and even crashes a teen’s birthday party, stealing all the envelopes with cash and helping herself to a designer outfit in an upstairs closet.
In flashbacks, we see how John schooled Lucky in the art of the crime. If he had somehow used his creative energies to go in another direction, he might have been a Wall Street titan. But jumping from one grift to the next became his M.O. and his young accomplice had no choice but to participate. Isolated from others and dependent upon her father for her existence, Lucky has feelings for him, certainly not love, but maybe a warped sense of loyalty.
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor as FBI Agent Billie Rand
Priscilla isn’t the only one on Lucky’s tail. FBI Agent Billie Rand (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor) wants to find Lucky so she can take down Priscilla and her boss. Between fleeing criminals and the law, Lucky has her work cut out for her. Hoping to lure Lucky out, Rand arranges for John to be released from prison. Although the father and daughter reunite, Lucky is wiser now and sees the relationship for what it is. When she’s dangled as bait by the FBI, John, whose own freedom depends on Rand’s scheme working, never volunteers to take her place.
Based on Marissa Stapley’s 2021 novel and adapted by Jonathan Tropper, Lucky may be a tad too long (a criticism being lobbed at many streaming series these days). A lot is on Taylor-Joy’s shoulders to carry this story and she is more than up to the task. While there are plenty of the car chases and bloody battles, the one-on-one interactions between the main characters are compelling, particularly between Taylor-Joy and Olyphant. Bening seems to be leaning into grittier roles these days and her performance here is surprising and believable.
Photos courtesy of Apple TV
Top photo: Anya Taylor-Joy as Lucky
