Three tales about female desire are explored in the television adaptation of Three Women, written and repurposed for the screen by best-selling author Lisa Taddeo. From a wife longing to be touched by her far-from-affectionate husband to a student subjecting herself to an inappropriate relationship with her teacher out of misguided feelings, the Starz original makes it a point to show that women yearn for deeper intimacy, but such cravings often come with consequences. Through the perspective of Lina (Betty Gilpin), Sloane (DeWanda Wise), and Maggie (Gabrielle Creevy), all inspired by real-life figures, the series captures the nuances of the female gaze in the pleasure realm, but does so in an incredibly dragging manner.

What Is ‘Three Women’ About?

Broke after losing a book deal, Gia Lombardi (a character loosely based on Taddeo, played by Shailene Woodley) hits the road in an orange van in search of women across the country who are willing to share their sexual accounts with her. By putting up posters along the way and perching up her eyes and ears to anyone who might bring the fuel that she needs to write the novel she hasn’t been able to yet, Gia crosses paths with three distinct women who all share one thing in common: wanting to be loved. Lina (Gilpin) is a religious mother of two who enjoys kissing more than anything else, but her husband (Sean Meehan) dreads it. Untouched for months, Lina is devastated and desperate for physical connection, leading her to track down her high school boyfriend for solace.

Wise’s Sloane also opens up about her desires, explaining the inner workings of her open marriage to Gia. She and her husband (Blair Underwood) sleep with other people, but have a pact that they can only have relations with others if they are both aware or present when it happens. However, the man Sloane is hoping to sleep with (Blair Redford) isn’t someone her husband approves of, which only makes her even more compelled to pursue him. Apart from these two, Maggie (played by Creevy and the only one of the three women whose real name is utilized in the story) eventually opens up about being groomed by her English teacher (Jason Ralph) during a moment of vulnerability, believing at the time that what they had was a forbidden love similar to Bella and Edward’s in Twilight (which she cites as her all-time favorite movie and book).

Betty Gilpin Is the Highlight of ‘Three Women’s Tour de Force Ensemble
Image via Starz

With these three subjects at the forefront of the series, each having their experiences detailed in parallel with each other, Taddeo’s adaptation of Three Women demands raw and sensitive performances. Thankfully, the leading trio has what it takes to convey their characters’ wants and lead viewers to care for points of view they may not wholly agree with. Although Wise and Creevy are brilliant in their approaches to Sloane and Maggie, Gilpin is the real deal in Three Women as Lina.

Watching Gilpin navigate her character’s urge to be embraced, kissed, and wanted while in a dispassionate marriage is nothing short of compelling. When Lina’s eyes water in response to watching a kissing scene from The Princess Bride in the middle of a supermarket, it is heartbreaking to witness her desperation for something as simple as a loving touch from her partner. It’s impossible not to empathize with Lina, leading one to root for a potential rekindling between her and brooding old flame Aidan (played by Austin Stowell), even though that relationship is bound to go downhill. Gilpin’s performance is sensational, and part of what makes Lina’s story so much more captivating than the other two narratives.

‘Three Women’ Focuses on Too Many Stories at Once

As expected from a Starz original, and coinciding with the new adults-only messaging tied to the network’s programming, there are a handful of intimate scenes in every episode of Three Women — but that somewhat hinders the flow of the series. Despite attempting to capture the sexual lives of each of these women, and why they might subject themselves to the situations they’re in, the end result is less interesting. Although the show designates certain episodes to focus on a particular character so that their arcs can get fully developed, it still feels like there is more time dedicated to physical intimacy than emotional, which sometimes renders the sex scenes more overused than well-purposed. Slow-motion effects and closeups on faces help to paint a comprehensive picture of women experiencing pleasure (something that we rarely get to see onscreen), but they end up contributing to these moments seeming much longer than is necessary.

Apart from these overlong scenes, the series splits its focus between more than just its three titular women. Aside from Lina, Sloane, and Maggie, Three Women also takes time to develop Gia’s journey as a writer, the trauma that she carries from losing both her parents at an early age, and her avoidance of attachment. While she interacts with the subjects of the novel she’s trying to write, she also falls for Jack (John Patrick Amedori), but always runs from him when things get too serious. In addition to her narrative, there are also moments when the show tries to address her free-spirited mother through flashback sequences. The result is a lot of things happening at once, making the series feel badly structured. Instead of interweaving these stories in a concise format, the Taddeo-helmed adaptation becomes unnecessarily convoluted. Maggie’s trajectory from viewing her teacher as a first love to then unpacking the problematic nature of their relationship is incredibly misplaced in the story, never seeming to connect to Lina’s, Sloane’s, or even Gia’s lives. Although her arc is well told, it feels more like a standalone story in the middle of an already prolonged TV show.

Narrative hindrances aside, Three Women does do justice to the female gaze. Each character has her motifs and desires clearly laid out, and the ensemble’s excellent performances allow these fictional women to feel like real people (especially since they are based on individuals that Taddeo herself got to meet in person). Some will likely feel seen in these stories and somewhat empathize with the characters’ deep-seated fantasies. However, overplayed sex scenes and jumping back and forth between various points of view undercut the series’ positives, which could very well lead to either of the following outcomes for potential viewers: skipping through episodes to the parts that revolve around their preferred character, or moving away from Three Women to something more dynamic.

Three Women will premiere September 13 on Starz in the US.

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