Upamanyu Biswas
Prime Video’s ‘We Were Liars’ essentially takes place on a private island known as Beechwood, owned by a wealthy New England family known as the Sinclairs. The show is told through the eyes of Cadence Sinclair, the oldest grandchild of Harris, the family patriarch who rules over Beechwood as its “king.” Every year, the Sinclairs gather on the Island to celebrate their summer vacation, enjoying its luxurious and peaceful environment and the wide array of outdoor activities. This includes multiple tennis courts, beach areas, four lavish houses, and diving points. Meanwhile, a contingent of domestic helpers keeps the Island’s various properties in spick and span quality, letting the Sinclairs enjoy their days in abundance. To that end, the Island serves as a pivotal part of the show, both as a setting and informing the story’s social dynamics.
Beechwood Island is a Fictional Island at the Heart of the Story
Although it plays a significant role throughout the narrative, Beechwood Island is a fictional place crafted by novelist E. Lockhart, whose eponymous 2014 book was the basis for ‘We Were Liars.’ It is a privately owned island with four majestic residences scattered across the landmass, offering total isolation from the rest of the world. Lockhart stated that it was this isolation and remoteness that she was striving for, as it lends a tense atmosphere to a thriller narrative. Intriguingly, Lockhart herself has a special connection to islands because, around 1970, she and her mother visited Martha’s Vineyard, a Massachusetts island with a longtime summer colony. Not long after, her grandparents bought land and built a house in Chilmark, a town in Martha’s Vineyard. As a result, the writer started spending her summers on the Island.
Thus, when developing the narrative, Lockhart likely took loose inspiration from her own summertime experiences when creating Beechwood. The Vineyard itself is mentioned and appears in the background in the show and book alike. In an interview, she explained the places she drew from when building her setting, saying, “I wanted a chance to render some of the things I love about the Vineyard in my book — Murdick’s Fudge, the Edgartown bookshop, and so on.” Some of these elements come into play when the story leaves the confines of Beechwood Island. However, when it comes to the fictional Island in particular, the novelist expressed the advantage of setting a mystery story on a remote island, specifically because it makes it difficult for law enforcement to make it across the water instantly.
For filming the show, the production crew set up base in various spots, including Nova Scotia and California. Meisners Island, a small island situated at the tip of Lower East Chezzetcook near Long Beach, plays a pivotal role in embodying one of Beechwood’s grand palatial homes. Other regions in Nova Scotia that likely feature as various parts of Beechwood Island include Dartmouth, Chester, and Halifax. The team also shot scenes in Los Angeles, using a studio facility for likely some of the more intricate interiors, such as the insides of the various mansions on Beechwood. Therefore, a collection of locales plays a critical role in bringing Beechwood to life authentically. However, despite its larger-than-life nature, it remains a fictional island that cannot be found in real life.
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