This Amazon Original is aptly titled, as it shows the partnership of TV sitcom pioneers Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz and their tempestuous marriage using the successful frame of a single week that traces the making of one episode of their classic show from table-read to recording, whilst also compressing some of the major issues they faced (racism, sexism, network and tabloid pressure, etc) into that time-frame. An issue with condensing big events into the short time period means that there is a near-constant level of high melodrama, enhanced by the vivid flashbacks that trace the story of their relationship from its early days, but it certainly makes for an engaging and watchable movie. Indeed, the welcome and beautifully-played lower-key moments balance the expected high-speed sharply-honed firecracker-dialogue scenes (Aaron Sorkin wrote as well as directed). Nicole Kidman is at her best here in an impeccable realisation of Lucille Ball (not a full impersonation, but her use of voice and eyes is uncanny at times), well-matched by Javier Bardem's Latin-machismo energy, and there are many supporting roles to savour, notably J.K. Simmons and Nina Arianda as series co-stars William and Vivian. The film ably recreates the glitz and glamour of the golden age of TV and Hollywood as well as its harsher realities, but at its heart the film conveys a truly fiery, creative and ultimately destructively passionate relationship very well indeed.
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