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Rabu, 27 April 2016

TV Show Review: The Night Manager (2016)

UK, USA; 6 episodes; crime, drama, mystery, spy thriller

Channel: BBC1, AMC

Screenplay: David Farr, based on a novel by John le Carré

Cast: Tom Hiddleston, Hugh Laurie, Olivia Colman, Tom Hollander, Elizabeth Debicki, Alistair Petrie, Natasha Little, Douglas Hodge, David Harewood, Tobias Menzies, Antonio de la Torre, Adeel Akhtar, Michael Nardone

"Children grow up thinking the adult world is ordered, rational, fit for purpose. It’s crap. Becoming a man is realising that it’s all rotten. Realising how to celebrate that rottenness, that’s freedom." - Richard Roper

When putting together the schedule for this month, I was looking for a new and exciting TV show to dig my teeth into. My eyes fell on The Night Manager, a BBC miniseries based on the 1993 John le Carré novel of the same name. Both are centered on Jonathan Pine (Tom Hiddleston), a hotel night manager who signs up for an undercover operation of a joint British-American taskforce to bring down ruthless business man and arms dealer Richard Roper (Hugh Laurie). During its 6-episode lifespan, we see Pine assume multiple identities, become the lover of two beautiful women, befriend and defeat said arms dealer, and travel all over Europe and the Arab world. First broadcast in the UK on BBC1 in February to raving reviews, I figured The Night Manager must really keep what it promises. I mean an 8.4 score on imdb.com and critics gushing over the reinvention of the spy thriller don’t lie, right? Well, in this case they might have… or at least exaggerated quite a bit. Don’t get me wrong, The Night Manager isn’t terrible. It isn’t even a bad show per se. But in my opinion the miniseries just fails to live up to the hype. Yet, since it started in the U.S. last week, all I have seen are stellar reviews all over again. How can that be?

As a fan of intros, this usually is my first clue as to whether a show is going to make a good first impression and set the right mood. Here we have a beautifully designed opening montage that in style, visuals, and music right on made me think: Downton Abbey – but with guns… It’s Downton Abbey meets James Bond! Awesome – love Downton, love James! So far so good.

What really is brilliant about this show is its international setting. Taking place in an affluent environment in Egypt, Switzerland, Spain, Turkey, and London you get to enjoy secluded beaches, snow-clad mountains, as well as oriental 5 star hotels. The scenery is truly beautiful and (except for the Swiss mountainside and rainy London) might as well be a travel ad for the Mediterranean. To those of us, who don’t immediately associate Mallorca with drunk and raging Brits and Germans, Richard Roper’s island home might be somewhat out of a dream world. Kudos to the location scouts none-the-less. In fact, all the sets were absolutely breathtaking and detailed. Even if they weren’t postcard-worthy (i.e. supposed to be pretty) in a particular scene, the props and coloring were always to the point of what they needed to be. So well done set design and props departments.

Also, what could be greater for an exciting spy thriller than an international setting? Well, nothing really, but still The Night Manager tries a bit too hard here. You don’t have to include all the super spy drama hotspots except Moscow here. It is a Europa or even worldwide operation, we get it, but every single place they went to gave me an immediate association with and feeling of another movie or show: Spectre in the Swiss Alps, NCIS in the Middle East, and Ocean’s Twelve at the Mallorquian villa just to name a few.

Another job well done by the creative minds behind The Night Manager is that they stray a bit from the novel the show is based on. Admittedly, I haven’t actually read it, but I read enough about it to know that they changed the setting to the Arab Spring (the novel was published in 1993, so this uprising hadn’t taken place yet). Changing the setting to events everyone can distinctly remember and which deeply influenced the current global refugee crisis, gives The Night Manager an acute relevance. In the context of recent world affairs, the show’s storyline more or less asks for critical thinking regarding the topic of illegal arms trade and governments’ involvement in furthering the current plight of millions. In addition to the change in time, the writers changed the sex of the lead

investigator from male Leonard Burr to the female intelligence operative Angela Burr (Olivia Colman). While law enforcement is still mostly (portrayed as) a boy’s club, this gives nice credit to current discussions in film and society about equity at the work place. In quite a statement Angela Burr is not only a woman holding down the fort of truth and justice, but a pregnant yet still strong and career-driven woman with a stay-at-home husband.

Where it feels like the show strayed too far from the original is in plot and pacing. Again, I haven’t read the novel, but a lot of times, especially in the first two episodes, where the scene is set for the whole series, scene changes are perceived as jumps in plot. You get the distinct feeling of many pages having been axed in editing. What suffers most from this predicament are interpersonal relationships. Though you’d think that a six-hour series gives you more room for character development and interaction than a 90-minute movie, a lot of the encounters between strangers seem to come out of nowhere and then you jump to a deep and devoted relationship between characters two scenes later. This is especially the case for the first episode in which Jonathan Pine is approached by Sophie Alekan (Aure Atika), a woman-kept by shady business man Freddie Hamid (David Avery), to copy some incriminating papers. Suddenly there seems to be this immense attraction between the two of them and Pine gives up everything to get her to safety. When Sophie is murdered about 5 minutes later, it becomes the reason for Pine’s involvement in the Richard Roper case. The whole plot of The Night Manager and the main motivation of its protagonist stems from a brief encounter with a lady that, a few days before, Jonathan Pine didn’t even know. Now he’ll spend years trying to avenge her death – yeah, right. Storytelling elements like dreams, foreshadowing, and déjà vu are pretty conventional, too.

An admirable skill (yeah, right), when regarding the previous findings, is that even though a lot of plot elements and developments were rushed in the making of this series, the story is very slow to get going. It feels like nothing significant or plot-furthering happens in the first two episodes. For a spy thriller, there never really is much suspense to make you nervous and get your heart pumping. I am a bit of a fraidy-cat when it comes to crime and horror (even though I love it) and really there were only two occasions when I got slightly jumpy. One occurred in the middle of episode three when Jonathan Pine breaks into Richard Roper’s secret vault, the Citadel. That lasted about four minutes… The other occasion was in the middle of episode six, when Angela Burr sneaks into Roper’s hotel room to steal some papers from his safe. I really hoped the badass pregnant lady wouldn’t get snuffed by the enforcer Roper sent to secure his room. But really, not a lot of writers are that cruel and the whole endeavor was over in a flash. Kind of disappointing that the supposed re-inventor of the spy thriller genre turned out to not be such a thrill after all… That the grand finale basically played out as a neat 25-minute ride into the sunset for the good guys – Tom Hiddleston even got the pretty girl in the end, I mean come oooon – by then really surprised no one.

Performance wise The Night Manager has nothing to be ashamed of. Even though I still can’t really

decide if Tom Hiddleston got his poker face on for the entire series to save his character or if his acting is just that impassive, I choose to believe he does pull off Jonathan Pine. Although there doesn’t seem to be real depth to his performance, it is nice to see Hiddleston’s face for once. Hugh Laurie plays Richard Roper (what a brilliant sounding character name, come on!), ruthless arms dealer, lover, and father. As per usual, I was amazed that Laurie’s seemingly stiff Britishness allows him to play all range of emotions from gentle and loving to ruthless and scary, even if there is always a certain reserved-ness in his portrayal. Plus, whoever can pull off lines like “War’s a spectator sport,” or “Nothing is quite as pretty as napalm at night,” deserves some recognition.

The two female leads, however, are the ones who really know how to use the stage they are given. Olivia Colman portrays pregnant operative Angela Burr in a remarkably hands-on way. She isn’t overly dramatic. She doesn’t have to constantly stress her status as being pregnant, in fact she seems to ignore it most of the time or uses it as a “perfect disguise”. The only time Burr reverts from her “let’s just get the job done” attitude, is when she is almost caught in Roper’s room by his bodyguard. She breaks down in the elevator and we get to see, that Coleman really has a feeling for the character she is portraying. In this instance, her performance is positively rattled. Yet, her character is stone cold and determined, no matter the cost, when pressured by corrupt higher-ups. Elizabeth Debicki plays Jed Marshall, the young and beautiful lover of Richard Roper. She brings a woman to life that is very free in showing her body, while closing off her mind and heart. Debicki endows her character with an air of mystery that leaves the viewer wondering who Jed really is. When we find out she is keeping secrets and possibly even spying on her lover, Jed just gets all the more intriguing. Seemingly frail and emotional, there is still an inner strength and determination to her, that makes her risk her life for a good cause and withstand torture.

Overall BBC’s The Night Manager is a decent enough spy drama that, if you don’t have to watch it in one sitting, can be an almost pleasant pastime. Still, I believe a movie (or different writers) might have been the better option to ensure a fast-paced thriller. The basic idea of the story is intriguing and the show does a good job of relating back to our reality with its real problems, yet the spark of excitement never really catches on. The cast, on the other hand, is great and, if it wasn’t for the lack of developed personal relationships, I am sure they’d have been able to benefit from and play with each other nicely. The star of the show, however, is by far the scenery. The beautiful travelling shots over snow-capped mountains and blue Mediterranean lagoons are almost enough to justify sitting through six hours of spy blabbing – or at least enough inspiration to make you pick up your phone and look up travel destinations for your next vacation.

Rating:

Jumat, 08 April 2016

TV Show Review: American Crime Story - The People v. O.J. Simpson (2016)

On Tuesday American Crime: The People v. O.J. Simpson went out with a bang. The series penned by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski and produced by the minds behind American Horror Story is set to cover a major American criminal case per season, similar to how AHS tells a differently themed story each year. The ten-part first season, as the subtitle suggest, aims to recreate what Wikipedia calls “the most publicized criminal trial in American history”. As a person too young and also not American to have experienced the enormous fuss surrounding the Simpson case the first time around, I am surely missing some background info to understand every side mark and reference, but I am still going to put my two cents in and review the hell out of this miniseries.

L.A., Summer 1994, only a few years after some of the most severe race riots and police clashes of American history: Meet O.J. Simpson, all-American hero, former NFL star and actor, African-American. And now he could also add main suspect for the brutal murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and waiter Ronald Lyle Goldman to his résumé. Overwhelming evidence against a seemingly well-known model public persona guaranteed a high interest in the case from the start. But the actual media circus surrounding the case no one could have expected. O.J. Simpson was handled with celebrity gloves, which lead to special treatment and the ridiculing of the L.A. prosecution apparatus on more than one occasion (a widely televised low-speed car chase, that interrupted the broadcasting of game 5 of the NBA finals, is only one example). This spectacular case was to become a trial like no one had seen before. The prosecution, with evidence on their side, tried to tackle it straight forward like any other, while Simpson hired a team of high profile defense attorneys, who would do anything to get him off. With live media coverage allowed in court, the murder trial quickly became not about factual evidence, but about who could spin the better story to persuade the jury. Cheap shots on both sides, critical misjudgments, and attention-hungry protagonists set the tone for The People v. O.J. Simpson, which ended in the highly controversial acquittal of the defendant.

American Crime Story’s first season convincingly captures the uproar, chaos, and craziness of the

O.J. Simpson trial. From the beginning you have a number of different story lines and perspectives crossing, overlapping, and contradicting each other. Each protagonist is presented from a seemingly neutral point of view, but also by interactions with other players in the story as well as their reaction to them. In almost every scene the audience gets to experience the full on force of the media presence – be it through pushing masses of reporters and flashing lights or key witnesses selling out to the tabloids. Therefore, the well-known “highlights” of the trial are also recreated. Authenticity is one thing the show aims for and can rely on real old media coverage to bring home that message.

There is also a manifold of themes addressed in this miniseries, which back in the day ensured that this trial would remain anything but ordinary and charged with emotions and strong opinions. Intentionally staged against the L.A. Riots of the early nineties in the pilot episode, it becomes clear that race and police brutality would be strong factors in the trial as well as the series. Not only are these themes relevant to the everyday lives of many people involved and interested, but they become clear strategies to guide and influence the case. The series also draws attention to the questionable, yet undeniable, privileged status of celebrities and people sacrificing their integrity for 5 minutes of fame. On the other hand, loyalty, false loyalty, and their cost are also main motifs.

If you binge-watch all 10 episodes in one sitting like I did, you cannot help but be drawn into this circle of convincing chaos that American Crime Story recreates, even if it may have been dramatized a little here and there to strengthen the effect. To me the clean and clichéd division into black and white (both literally and metaphorically) was a bit too much at times, especially considering the murky waters we are treading in the O. J. Simpson case. Still, for viewers, who experienced this surreal spectacle back in the nineties, this must be a bizarre reliving of a guilty pleasure. After all, there are no real spoilers around and suspense comes solely from human interaction and clever writing rather than from actual tension of what’s to come.

The look and feel of the show is very retro, even if the nineties don’t seem like that long ago to most of us still, and even though this is the most hyped decade at the moment (fashion, remakes, …). Even if filmed in HD the coloring and style of what’s on screen reminds me a little of watching an old

FRIENDS episode. The costume designers and hair and make-up artists did an excellent job of catching the essence and that way-back-when look of the protagonists and also the stark differences between the old, conservative glamour and the nitty-gritty world of the common people – be it the people from O.J.’s old neighborhood, the protesters in the streets or the lawyers employed by the state. The visual separation of sides is not only reflected in the looks of rich vs. poor, but in the style of unfolding and cutting a scene. Private happenings are presented in wide-angle and long-held shots, while the public appearances and hysteria are reflected by quick cuts and close-ups.

A strong plus American Crime Story has going for it is its all-star cast. With ten people scoring starring credits it is obvious that the cast is bigger than in most shows, but every one of these people gets the screen time to shine while developing their respective character during the show as well. Cuba Gooding Jr. as O.J. Simpson is able to equally draw suspicion and sympathy. Rob Kardashian, his friend turned lawyer, is portrayed by David Schwimmer, who conveys desperate, emotional loyalty towards his friend, while still giving the impression of a certain doubtfulness convincingly. John Travolta’s brilliantly egocentric and arrogant Robert Shapiro is a star attorney, who is seemingly more concerned with his image than the success of the trial and subsequently gets debunked from lead defense attorney to mere team member. New leader of the defense team is Johnnie Cochran, portrayed by Courtney B. Vance, who is able to deliver honest and morally upright hostility towards white cops and the legal system, while at the same time revealing an ambivalent attitude towards hard facts in the O. J. case. He turns out to be media hungry and focused on winning no matter the price.

On the prosecution side Sarah Paulson excels as lead attorney Marcia Clark, showing both her emotional and personal side as well as the determined and fact-driven lawyer who has to deal with a

bunch of low blows and set-backs during the trial. She is criticized as being too hard for a woman, for not having a good rapport with black people, and for nude photos in the tabloids leaked by an ex-husband. Christopher Darden (Sterling K. Brown) is the second attorney of the prosecution and seemingly the only African American working in the District Attorney’s office. Brown in his performance highlights Darden’s status of someone between the chairs trying to prove himself: as an attorney, to the sceptic black community, as well as to the higher ups in the system. Kenneth Choi portrays Judge Lance Ito convincingly as a star-struck and attention loving player in the Simpson case. Christian Clemenson as William Hodgman, Bruce Greenwood as Gil Garcetti, and Nathan Lane as F. Lee Bailey complete the main cast. All performances show a willingness to understand and reflect the protagonists in The People v. O.J. Simpson as individuals with distinct personalities, convictions, and motivations outside of the characterizations given to them by the media decades ago.

With American Crime Story: The People v. O. J. Simpson Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski have created a phenomenon that not only the American nation is talking about. Walking the lines between true crime drama, 90s nostalgia, and celebrity scandal it certainly gives you plenty to talk about: You can compare the TV show to the real show that happened almost a quarter century ago, reflect once again on whodunit and discuss the performances of the actors. And in a vortex of mimicry and pop culture American Crime Story does not have to hide behind the real deal, which really was as much fabricated as a TV show could ever be. There are outstanding character performances and compelling and dynamic writing. While sometimes oversimplifying and over dramatizing situations, the show stays true to the actual trial and I for one can’t wait to see what case will be tackled in American Crime Story: Season 2.

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Rabu, 09 Maret 2016

TV Review: Downton Abbey Season 6 [Spoilers]

UK; 9 episodes; drama, romance, soap opera, period

Channel: ITV

Creators: Julian Fellowes

Cast: Hugh Bonneville, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter, Brendan Coyle, Michelle Dockery, Joanne Froggatt, Rob James-Collier, Phyllis Logan, Elizabeth McGovern, Sophie McShera, Lesley Nicol, Maggie Smith, Penelope Wilton, Kevin Doyle, Allen Leech, David Robb, Raquel Cassidy, Samantha Bond, Jeremy Swift, Douglas Reid, Paul Copley, Sue Johnston, Matthew Goode

"Sometimes it's good to rule by fear." -- Dowager Countess

It's time to get out your handkerchiefs and wave goodbye to Downton Abbey. The British TV show that charmed audiences around the world finally found its conclusion in the finale of its sixth season, and certainly had devoted fans shed some tears over the fact that, come autumn, there won't be any new stories to be told, no new Christmas specials to be had.

Centred on the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants living and working on the grand estate of Downton Abbey at the beginning of the twentieth century, the show has always served as a prominent means of escapism for those of us who like to dwell upon nostalgia and revel in the idea of a time gone by. The ridiculously romanticised glance at noble quirks and domestic toils allowed us to leave behind our own everyday troubles and, at least once a week, dive right into a life that seemed so much easier and more ordered on screen. In Downton, the blue bloods had us live vicariously through their fairytale-like experiences of grandeur and splendour, and the servants conveyed a sense of humbleness and bliss that, apparently, can be found in manual labour.

Realism, it became obvious, never played an integral part within the show. Downton was pretty much an expensive soap opera, boasting a spectacular, detailed set and costume design, a dedicated ensemble cast ready to make the most of their roles - even if the script wouldn't always let them -, and an invaluable amount of fun one-liners and precious witticisms certain to make your day. Especially when delivered by the impeccable Dame Maggie Smith. The show never took itself too seriously and embraced its melodramatic nature. Additionally, it always was what its die-hard fans needed it to be: a place of beauty and happily-ever-after endings, a place in which obstacles would always lead to something joyful and good. Bad luck, bitterness and intrigues, so it seemed, were temporarily invited in, only to be thrown out by the deus-ex-machina mechanisms of the Downton universe.

As sweet and lovely as such a setup may be, it is hardly enough to keep a show running for six entire seasons. Having lost most of its steam midway, Downton's season four and five already relied too heavily on repetitive plot patterns, an airy-fairy treatment of the rise of the working class and an aura of lovey-dovey feel-good moments. And while some kitsch and cheese are always enjoyable as a side order, they're bound to eventually bore your brains out when served as the main course.

This has never been more obvious than in the sixth and last season of the series in which any attempt at innovation, subtlety or suspenseful excitement is thrown overboard for uninspired, same-old-same-old storytelling. While, for example, Lady Sybil's sudden death in season three endowed the show with a well-needed sense of ill-fated consequence and heartfelt tragedy, season six is in desperate need of truly bone-shaking, sincerely felt moments of interpersonal drama. Every conflict arising from the individual storylines is solved within no time. Anna's (Joanne Froggatt) and Mr. Bates' (Brendan Coyle) struggle to have children, Lord Grantham's (Hugh Bonneville) health issues, Thomas' (Rob James-Collier) depression over the fact that nobody really cares about him - everything is rushed through, allowing no room to actually feel for the respective characters and their inner turmoil.

Add to this a whole bunch of redundant plot elements and your interest in the series is bound to fall below zero. Anna's conceiving issue is reminiscent of Lady Mary's (Michelle Dockery) same problem in season three. Baxter (Raquel Cassidy) and Molesley (Kevin Doyle) find themselves in a very poor man's version of the already sufficiently exhausted criminal plot surrounding the Bates family. Lady Edith (Laura Carmichael) still struggles with the farmers who functioned as foster parents to her daughter born out of wedlock and, in another plot, tries to FINALLY get married. Meanwhile, Lady Mary, as usual, finds herself chasing and abandoning the man of her dreams, and Daisy (Sophie McShera) exercises her talent in pushing away a boy who has an interest in her, only to run after him once he's lost all hope of winning her heart. Oh, and then there's also cousin Isobel (Penelope Wilton) running after Lord Merten (Douglas Reith), and the Dowager Countess trying to have her way. But it's Maggie Smith, so I'll leave her be.

Anyway, there really is nothing new this season, and maybe this wouldn't be such a big problem if the characters weren't so annoying while performing their well-established routines. Daisy, in an attempt to save the livelihood of her father-in-law (Paul Copley), certainly climbs to new heights when it comes to performing silly actions and babbling on when really her mouth should be shut. The married life between Mrs. Hughes (Phyllis Logan) and Mr. Carson (Jim Carter) is another sore sight. The fact that it only focuses on breaking established gender perceptions, doesn't do the two characters any justice and makes them appear rather flat. Thomas' journey from mean-spirited villain to perfect Mr. Nice Guy really comes out of nowhere and lacks proper character development. Mary's to and fro with her sweetheart Henry Talbot (Matthew Goode) is downright unbearable and their chemistry really non-existent. Goode definitely knows how to play charming, but there's hardly a moment in which I actually believe that Mary and his character are destined to be together. The drama surrounding their relationship only exists to prolong the road to happiness for a little while longer.

Yet, happiness it is that awaits all the characters in the finale. The happily-ever-after ending really is the only redeeming feature of the season, in which all the characters find what they were looking for all along. No realism, no subtlety, no bitterness - just pure kitsch and cheese on the side. But if the entire main course is already made of kitsch and cheese, a kitschy and cheesy finish is less likely to stand out.

Sadly, the last season of Downton Abbey was everything I came to dislike about the show: predictable, endlessly repetitive, allowing precious characters to go to waste. In the end, what's left is grand costumes and beautiful sets. And Maggie Smith. Always Dame Maggie Smith.

Rating:

Rabu, 05 Agustus 2015

TV Show Review: Banished Season 1 (2015) [Spoilers]


© BBC Two \| Source: change.org

UK, Australia; 7 episodes; history, drama, period

Channel: BBC Two

Creator: Jimmy McGovern

Cast: Orla Brady, Ewen Bremner, MyAnna Buring, Ryan Corr, Brooke Harman, David Dawson, Ned Dennehy, Cal MacAninch, Rory McCann, Joseph Millson, Nick Moss, Adam Nagaitis, Genevieve O'Reilly, Jordan Patrick Smith, Russel Tovey, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Joanna Vanderham, David Walmsley, David Wenham

Sin all you like but do not ask it of me. I am on this earth only to gain the Kingdom of Heaven for my immortal soul. I cannot do that by watching people eat each other.” – Reverend Johnson

And with this uplifting quote, welcome to a special edition of our regular TV Show Review segment. You might wonder, why-oh-why is there a need for a special edition, but desperate times call for desperate measures. And it is, indeed, a desperate time for Jimmy McGovern's Banished: It has been announced that the TV series will not be back for a second season, despite exceptionally high ratings for its home channel BBC Two.

The show sounds like a dream for fans of historic fiction, drama and beautiful Aussie coastal shots. Set in 1788, it deals with the first British penal colony established in New South Wales, Australia. The story revolves around the convicts as well as the officers and soldiers in charge of maintaining order within the involuntary community. It revolves around convict women who are meant to serve as sexual entertainment for the soldiers to keep the men's spirits up. It revolves around the logistical challenges that come with organising a settlement in the middle of nowhere, with not enough food, no infrastructure or places to demand help from. And, last but not least, it revolves around men and women who were pushed off to a foreign continent, for no plausible reason at all, to live there under degrading circumstances and at the mercy of those who are in charge.

Banished fell flat with critics, though. Sam Wollaston from The Guardian ridiculed the show by giving it the tagline "18th century Australia or I’m a Convict Get Me Out of Here?", and Ceri Radford from The Telegraph saw it as "a cross between Lost and the 'before' part of an advert for Aussie hair conditioner". Not really a shower of praise and enthusiasm, right? Although I can't help but applaud the creativity of these comparisons. Well done, Sam and Ceri.

Anyway, there may be some truth to all of the above, but I still can’t help feeling an urge within me to stand up for this little UK-Australian co-production. So, for this review, allow me to join the ranks of those who have tried their best to make Banished return to our tellies, either by showing support in a specially founded Facebook group, or by filing a petition asking for the renewal of the series. I, for my part, now intend to give you five reasons to #BringBackBanished.

Reason 1: Oh-the-Potential.

Banished deals with the British settlement of Australia. It is, of course, an uncomfortable topic within Brit history, and the show has been criticised for its neglect of indigenous characters so far. It is true, the colony seems like a teeny-weeny microcosm, completely unaware of its surroundings. We merely hear about 'savages' endangering the settlers, and that protection against those 'wild ones' is needed, but we never actually encounter native Australians within the show. To be honest, I think that leaving out the indigenous people in the first season is a clever writing choice. This way, we're presented with the ignorant and prejudiced nature of the settlers, and how they go about taking over the land like they have every right to. The absence of a native voice within the plot just goes to show the absence of a native voice within the minds of the British settlers.

Jimmy McGovern, who also is the writer of the series, has indicated that he does not want to use native characters as a mere plot devise, he wants them to be represented fairly. Now that the British view has been established, season 2 is the perfect time to bring in some fleshed-out indigenous characters to establish a different view on British colonisation. Television usually has a hard time putting native characters and their views into focus. Banished has the opportunity to offer marginalised perspectives. TV can only profit from this.

Reason 2: Why So Serious?There sometimes is a discrepancy between the look and the feel of the show. I enjoy how the crew manages to give the characters a dirty and dishevelled exterior. It's easy to sense the labour executed in tropical heat, and I even imagine that I can smell the sweat in the air from hard work as well as the salt water on people's skin after they've taken a refreshing dip in the Pacific. In this sense Ceri Radford is right, the whole thing does appear like an ad for a hair conditioner. But anybody who has ever been to Oz knows what the heat of the sun, constant bathing in salty water and the lack of a comb can do to your flowing mane. You're bound to look like Shock-headed Peter who just came out of a broken hood drier. So, yes, I'd say that Banished does a good job depicting the outward conditions of those characters, all set against the romantically beautiful backdrop of the Australian nature.

The tone of the first season is not quite as fixed yet. It's drenched with melodrama, exaggerated shouting and tears to fill the whole of Lake Macquarie with. And to this I say: So what? People seem to assume, since Banished can easily be categorised as a period drama, that the show is meant to be straight forward in its approach, leaving no room for fooling around or downright chewing the scenery. I admit, I was also irritated at first, but once I had accepted that the show was more a soap than a historically accurate educational program, I continued to enjoy the heck out of Banished. I'm not quite sure if McGovern and his team really wanted me to laugh every time I did, but I did it anyway. Convict Tommy Barrett (Julian Rhind-Tutt) repeatedly shouting "Are you an informer?" at his devastated best friend James Freeman (Russell Tovey), because he suspects him of having turned into a snitch for the guards and officers, is just so very over-the-top that not smiling over this kitsch fest would count as a wasted opportunity.

TV doesn't have to be serious all the time – even if it acts under the pretence that it is. I love myself some cheesy, involuntary ridiculousness. Whatever entertains, right? And Banished has managed to create, in midst of all its social criticism, an atmosphere which walks the line between serious character conflict and a hoot set somewhere at world's end. It's weird, really. A wild mélange of heartfelt sympathy for the characters and a whirlwind spiral of laughable what-the-heck moments, but it's good fun – and certainly never boring.

Reason 3: The Peeps Act Their Hearts Out.Banished is an ensemble piece and, luckily, has gathered a group of actresses and actors who work very well together but also are up to their individual challenges. David Wenham as Captain Arthur Phillip, the 1st Governor of New South Wales, channels the necessary authority for his role. Joseph Millson as the power-hungry Major Robert Ross shows his villainous qualities while, at the same time, embracing a softer, more innocent approach to his character. The way in which he tries to steal the convict Katherine McVitie (Joanna Vanderham) away from her lover, Corporal MacDonald (Ryan Corr), is utterly despicable. And yet, Millson manages to also bring out the Major's vulnerable side, his longing for honest affection. It’s a twisted portrayal, really. David Dawson is severely underused in his role as Captain Collins, but I like how he continues to let his growing insecurities about ethical questions shine through.

Tovey, Rhind-Tudd and MyAnna Buring, who plays the latter's wife Elizabeth, find themselves in midst of most of the melodramatic action, and I like how they embrace the style. They unleash all they have: They scream loudly, cry hysterically, suffer deeply and battle their inner conflicts for the world to see. While those performances are anything but subtle, they definitely fit into the context of the show and feed its deliciously soapy nature.

Genevieve O'Reilly's Mary Johnson is the character I enjoy the most. While her husband Reverend Johnson (Ewen Bremner) is busy seeking the moral high ground and usually ends up providing some – intended – comicality, Mary delivers honest heartbreak. I feel for her grief over her stillborn babies and her desire to finally start a family. Her blossoming friendship with convict Anne Meredith (Orla Brady) and her husband's inability to fully comprehend her emotional distress make for an engaging storyline.

Reason 4: After All the Exhausting To and Fro, We're Finally Good to Go!Plot-wise Banished is a rollercoaster ride. It has its moments. The general concept of the show is to portray the troubles of colonial life and, from a British perspective, the series succeeds in doing so. I also enjoy how power structures are uncovered and the way in which the show demonstrates how life under absurd rules and constant threat of punishment forces people to take inhuman measures.

However, a detailed look at the individual storylines shows that things have gotten a bit out of hand. In all the seven episodes which form the first season either Barrett or Freeman are in danger of being hanged, and most often they manage to escape their fate. The way in which this story goes in circles is rather tiresome, especially since other main plots also are trapped in repetition. Major Ross' attempts to lure in McVitie go back and forth, as does Macdonald's jealousy. Now that Barrett has finally met his fate on the gallows and Ross has captured McVitie's heart (as horrendous as it is), the show is ready to wander into some exciting directions. Rather than to constantly wobble through the character's repetitive actions, there now is room to explore the consequences of those actions.

Additionally, there's room to tread onto new exciting paths to further enhance the story. The wilderness is ready to be explored. The focus can shift from Ross' love life to his power ambitions. Captain Collin's wish to do right by the convicts can be expanded upon. The Johnsons’ marriage can be put under further scrutiny, and life in the colony in the face of a lower and lower amount of supplies can be further looked into. There's still a lot to be discovered.

Reason 5: What'll be the next Bushtucker Trial?Season 1 ends openly. Nothing's settled, the characters are left in grim states. This cannot be it. Freeman has come to terms with the fact that he had to function as the executioner at his best friend Tommy's hanging. His mind is in turmoil and he basically has all the other convicts against him. What are his options? Flee into the wilderness? Remain at the colony, always fearing for his life? And what about Elizabeth? She has lost her beloved hubby at the hands of a very dear friend. Will she forgive? Will she have sweet revenge by plotting to take out everyone responsible for her loss?

What will be the main policy at camp now that Captain Collins, in an attempt to free the convicts of old burdens, has burnt all their criminal records? Will Captain Phillip turn into a tyrant because he's simply fed up with all those convicts doing as they please and stuff? Will his alcohol supply go down? Will he finally start dating his housekeeper? And will anybody still deny that this is a soap?

Will Major Ross once again try to overthrow Phillip and seize power? Who will be the next one to beat good-for-nothing, whiney Private Buckley (Adam Nagaitis) into a pulp? Will Reverend Johnson find somebody who'll build him a church, while there still aren't enough houses for everybody? Will there ever be a ship bringing new supplies, or was this whole colony thing only an attempt to rid Britain of that nasty, Grumpy-MacGrumpypants blacksmith who had it coming in episode 2?

But, most importantly: Can McGovern come up with a decent explanation why, all of a sudden, Kitty McVitie has fallen head-over-heels for Major Ross, the man who forced her to have sex with him and continued to pick on her former sweetheart MacDonald? I mean, seriously? A bit of chatter, a gift and some extra food can't have made her develop sincere feelings of love for her violator. Get a grip, McGovern! And get a grip, BBC Two! We need some closure here.

Banished is far from being perfect – but then many shows aren’t, and they still continue to bring out new seasons. I won't deny that there is a huge amount of cheese and kitsch and plot stagnation going on but, despite all this, the series manages to entertain me both sincerely and involuntarily. The characters work well together and I'm definitely interested in their fate. The cast does a wonderful job bringing their respective roles to life, and, due to the temporal and spatial setting, Banished harbours the potential for fresh perspectives and stories that are seldom shown on television. I'd like to see the series continue, to see it improve and explore new ways and, yes, to be honest, provide some more soapy fun to my everyday life.

Please, BBC Two, reconsider your decision to end this show. Re-check your budget and other investments and give us the chance to travel back in time to witness the birth of a new nation. Let us be Banished, please.

Rating:

Rabu, 15 Juli 2015

TV Show Review: American Horror Story: Coven (2013)

United States; 13 Episodes (Season 3); Horror, Drama, Thriller, Teendrama

Channel: FX

Creator: Brad Falchuk, Ryan Murphy

Cast: Kathy Bates, Frances Conroy, Taissa Farmiga, Jessica Lange, Denis O'Hare, Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Lily Rabe, Emma Roberts

Fiona: You know why I got a female attack dog? Hank: Because bitches stick together?

It’s been a while since my last American Horror Story review, so it’s about high time to change that. Season 3 goes by the name of Coven and it reunites us with some of our favourite actors from previous seasons. It’s always thrilling to watch the title sequence of each pilot episode and look out for familiar names. And Coven doesn’t disappoint. The cast includes Sarah Paulson, Taissa Farmiga, Frances Conroy, Evan Peters, Lily Rabe and, of course, American Horror Story’s poster girl Jessica Lange. That alone should make every fan’s heart leap for joy. But apart from sporting great actors, can Coven also keep up with its predecessors in terms of plot?

The pilot episode with the brilliant name “Bitchcraft,” (which kind of captures the tone of the entire season) starts with young Zoe (Taissa Farmiga) trying to lose her virginity. Unbeknownst to her, she has a genetic affliction, dating back to her families’ Salem ancestors, which she knows nothing of either, that turns her into a kind of black widow with a killer vagina. Her partner dies of a brain aneurysm and Zoe is whisked off to a special school for people with a more or less similar condition.

And with that welcome to the AHS-version of Hogwarts, Ladies and Gentlemen. Granted, Miss Robichaux’s Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies is not quite as magical as Rowling’s School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but it nevertheless creates an atmosphere that is more fitting for a teen drama than a horror show. Governed by Headmistress Cordelia Fox (Sarah Paulson), the private school has only three other pupils aside from newbie Zoe: Madison Montgomery (Emma Roberts), a teen movie star, full of airs and graces and telekinetic powers; then Nan (Jamie Brewer), a girl with Down-Syndrome and the gift of clairvoyance; and finally there is Queenie (Gabourey Sidibe), an Afro-American girl, whose body works like a human voodoo doll.

Needless to say that with so many different (female) characters confined in one space we get to see witch- and bitchcraft in equal degrees – even more of both once Fiona Goode (Jessica Lange) makes her appearance. The mother of headmistress Cordelia is the Supreme, meaning the most powerful witch of all and head of the coven. And with so much power, of course there is nothing she fears more than losing it. Unfortunately, this is exactly what happens, now that her so far unknown successor arises and begins to drain the life force from her. To prevent all this, Fiona is not only determined to get her rival out of the way, before she loses her remaining strength, but she desperately and in vain struggles for immortality and eternal youth. Ironically enough, however, many of the lesser witches and even some muggles around her attain it without even trying, which doesn’t exactly throw a favourable light on the prowess of the grand Supreme.

Apart from the conflicts within the coven, a feud with the Voodoo tribe led by Marie Laveau (Angela Basset) and a rather unpleasant dispute with a secret circle of witch hunters add some more spice, gore and horror to the series. Still every scene of horror is interlaced with comic relief of various kinds. This serves to keep the tone lighter than it was in the previous seasons, which is entertaining enough, but hardly fitting for the genre.

As you can tell from my previous reviews, I really, really love Murder House, and I also very much like the Asylum arc and, surprise, I also like Coven, though in a much lesser way than the previous two seasons. Murder House was scary, it had an intriguing plot and characters to fall in love with. Asylum flaunted the scary, gloomy bits and added a lot of suspense and gore and WTF-moments, and Coven…

Well, Coven did have its good points, but those weren’t really connected to scariness, as you would expect from a TV show that carries its genre right in its title. The focus this season was rather a gory kind of comicality. Coven is filled with grotesquely hilarious moments. Take for example the scene in which the disembodied head of the immortal racist and former slave owner Madame LaLaurie (Kathy Bates) starts crying while watching Roots. Or another one of my favourite scenes that blew ridiculousness way out of proportion was when the tongueless butler Spalding (Denis O’Hare) shows off his doll collection and flashes his fancy nightgown with a cute matching cap.

Coven is without a doubt more straightforward and less twisted than its predecessors, Asylum in particular which is a paramount example of a show with too many aspirations to fit into the limited screen time. On a whole, Season 3 seems to distance itself greatly from Asylum, as though the producers meant it to be its polar opposite, so the fans that have been scared off by the gloom and harshness of the second season could be brought in again with this much more cheerful and light-hearted type of horror story. However, by doing so the show moves away from its former working principles and moves closer to something like Glee. Just a little more bloody.

Coven really didn’t live up to my expectations: It was entertaining, often absurd, gross and hilarious, so not bad exactly, but it didn’t have the potential to keep you on a hook and make you want to watch the whole season in a single sitting. It seems that my love affair with the first season keeps me loyal to everything yet to come, though I really do hope that Freak Show will return to the aspects that made Murder House so intriguing: the mixture of horror, a strong plot and especially strong, authentic characters.

Rating:

Minggu, 05 Juli 2015

TV Show Review: Fargo Season 1 (2014) [Spoilers]

USA; 10 episodes; crime, drama

Channel: FX

Creator: Noah Hawley

Cast: Billy Bob Thornton, Allison Tolman, Colin Hanks, Martin Freeman, Bob Odenkirk, Adam Goldberg, Russell Harvard, Oliver Platt, Glenn Howerton, Jordan Peele, Keegan-Michael Key, Joey King, Keith Carradine, Kate Walsh, Rachel Blanchard, Joshua Close, Julie Ann Emery, Susan Park, Kelly Holden Bashar

“Did you know the human eye can see more shades of green than any other colour? When you figure out the answer to my question, then you’ll have the answer to yours.” – Lorne Malvo

Emmys, Golden Globes, critical acclaim and universal praise – Fargo's got it all. The first season of the FX series seems to have convinced everybody and their grandmother. Something underneath the frosty, greyish, snow-laden Minnesotan setting has warmed the hearts of many viewers. The sketchy, philosophical dialogues and riddles seem to have everybody in a guessing mood and Billy Bob Thornton's portrayal of a devilish hired gun the world in awe. As a consequence, I was basically ready to be stunned by Fargo – blown away, thoroughly entertained, left with an exhilarant feeling like I'd just won the Salesman of the Year award. All I felt, however, was relief. Relief that, after ten episodes of Fargo, I could finally move on and dedicate my time to something worthwhile. Binge-watching Secret Diary of a Call Girl, for example. And, yes, I really just said that.

But back to Fargo. The pilot with the sounding name "The Crocodile's Dilemma" starts off quite nicely. As the title suggests, the show already sticks deep in philosophical subtext, just to show that it knows its paradoxes, I guess. But, well, whatever. Here's what's going on: Lester Nygaard (Michael Freeman) is a mousy and unsuccessful insurance salesman with a bossy and constantly complaining wife (Kelly Holden Bashar). After being bullied and punched in the nose by an old acquaintance, Lester meets a crocodile, uh, man named Lorne Malvo (Billy Bob Thornton) at the hospital who offers to kill the bully. Since Lester does neither accept nor deny the offer, Malvo, who happens to be a professional killer, goes on to murder Lester's tantaliser. After the first shock wears off, Lester, in a heated argument with his wife, feels powerful for the very first time and kills her by hitting her on the head with a hammer. This brings in Chief Vern Thurman (Shawn Doyle) and Police Deputy Molly Solverson (Allison Tolman), and forces Lester to go to considerable length to hide his own crime as well as his connection with Malvo.

If all this sounds kind of familiar, it's because it is. Fargo is loosely based on the 1996 film of the same title by Joel and Ethan Coen; a 98-minutes feature I hold very dear for its quirkiness and absurdities, its atmospheric setting, exaggerated characters and kick-ass female heroine. Since the TV version features the Coen brothers as producers, I really hoped that the Coen spirit would automatically flow into the project as well.

And, as I said, the very first episode is nice. It manages to capture the hazy, melancholic aesthetics of the source material, with a wintery landscape that is certain to make Jon Snow feel comfortably at home. With Bemidji, Minnesota as a main setting, it also conveys an element of small town flair, similar to the Brainerd-set movie. Additionally, it tries to give some new spins to the original. For example, Lester, reminiscent of William H. Macy's good-for-nothing car salesman Jerry Lundegaard, is endowed with more criminal and deceitful potential than his movie counterpart. I also enjoy how Molly Solverson, the equivalent to Frances McDormand's bad-ass Marge Gunderson, only becomes the main police officer pursuing the Lester case after an unexpected twist of events brings about the death of Chief Thurman. The pilot cleverly plays with the expectations of those who know the film, and this is all fair and well. Nothing groundbreaking or utterly spectacular, but a sweet set-up after all.

And then it all goes downhill from there. While the series is capable of maintaining the arresting optics, it severely lacks in tone. It's way too tame to truly embrace the satirical or absurd greatness of the film, yet it's also too weird to work as a traditional crime story. Scenes like Malvo being offered to buy a pink police scanner are occasionally thrown into the usual murder mayhem. Like show creator Noah Hawley wants to assure his viewership that, yes, we're definitely dealing with a black comedy here. Some might like to scream in my face: "But why does everything have to be labelled appropriately? Can't we appreciate the multidimensional aspects of the show?" No, we cannot. I cannot. Fargo, the series, seems too scared to take its humour all the way, to fully allow for absurdity, to really be wickedly funny amidst all the serious bloodshed. Rather than complex, it feels directionless, tumbling somewhere between quirk and graveness. Just like Lester, it wants to be special, badly, but ultimately fails to withstand its time in the spotlight.

I also hate how you can literally watch the show run out of steam. A case that Marge Gunderson most definitely would have solved in a 90-minute time span, drags on over ten episodes. And the creators must have known that their story just isn't rich enough to justify ten episodes. Why else plant that five-episode-long side plot surrounding supermarket tycoon Stavros Milos (Oliver Platt) into the series, when the whole things has absolutely no connection to the main plot? I mean, five episodes of seeing Milos slowly being driven into madness by Malvo – because the latter felt like it. Some call it character drawing, I call it sloppy character drawing. Seriously, if you need FIVE episodes to merely establish the mean spirit and mischievousness of one of your main characters, you should reconsider your plot outline. And then, to try and appease fans of the film with the fact that the money-filled satchel found by Milos in the episode "Eating the Blame" is the same as the one buried by Steve Buscemi's character in the movie... Come on. One tiny reference can't make up for the irrelevance of a five-episode-lasting side plot. And to waste Oliver Platt on such a storyline. Shame on you, TV Fargo.

But, no, it's not enough to fill time by establishing plots of no importance. In order to stall the investigation on the Lester case further, Hawley and his writing team rely on a bunch of beyond stupid characters. And I mean I-want-to-smash-my-head-on-a-desk-stupid; or should I say, Bob Odenkirk, anyone? In Fargo, the Better Call Saul star takes over the role of police chief after Thurman's death. Since he went to school with Lester, he absolutely cannot imagine that the inconspicuous guy should have anything to do with the murder of his wife. Even though Solverson presents him with more and more evidence demonstrating contradictions in Lester's testimony and, on top of this, his connection with Malvo, the police chief will hear no word of it. Sure. So he keeps on sabotaging Solverson's inquests until my eyes have spun out of their sockets due to all the rolling. Yet again, all this is not enough. Furthermore, two FBI agents, played by Jordan Peele and Keegan-Michael Key, chat in their car while Malvo walks into a building they're actually surveilling, shoots 22 people dead and leaves again, disguised in a group of bystanders gathered outside. While the murder spree has a nice Frenzy-Hitchcockian feel to it, the incompetence of the two agents overshadows everything.

Characters are a general problem in Fargo. Lester is utterly unlikable, as he should be, considering the things he does throughout the show. Unfortunately, he also isn't all that interesting. Once he's established himself as a spiteful, selfish little man, his act is predictable. Due to the stupidity apparently predominant in the Minnesotan law enforcement, we know that he won't get caught for a long time. Due to William H. Macey's fate in the movie, we know that his demise will certainly occur in the very last episode – and it does. The only fascinating thing left is Freeman's dedicated performance, the highlight of the series as far as acting goes.

Then there's Officer Gus Grimly (Colin Hanks), who serves as Solverson's love interest. I mean, all the people who are aware of the film know we have to get Molly pregnant somehow, don't we? Apart from his relationship with her, Grimly is rather annoying. His desperate effort to be good at his job, the little talks with his teenage daughter Greta (Joey King) – I don't care. For the most part, he really appears like an eventual sperm donor on two legs. With a firearm, unfortunately. In the episode "Buridan's Ass", in a misty pursuit, he mistakenly shoots Molly and has her end up in hospital, further stalling the investigation. Like we don't have enough silly characters boycotting the plot already...

Yes, appealing characters are scarce and few in this show. Molly Solverson is probably the one who manages to hold my interest at all. She still might pale in comparison to Marge Gunderson, but her heartfelt, no-bullshit style of going about things strikes a chord. Especially her scenes with her father (Keith Carradine) as well as the ones with Thurman's widow Ida (Julie Ann Emery) are lovely to watch. The fact that, in the finale, Grimly steals her thunder by killing Malvo is a huge disappointment. More shame on you, TV Fargo!

Most people agree that Thornton's portrayal of Malvo is the masterpiece of the production. And, again, I don't see the appeal. I think Thornton is a wonderful actor in general and perfectly Coen-savvy, as his stint on their film The Man Who Wasn't There proves. However, in Fargo he seems like a poor copy of Javier Bardem's Anton Chigurh from another Coen film. He's supposed to be enigmatic and intense, threatening and unpredictable, yet deliciously funny at the same time. In other words, he's supposed to be the personified equivalent to the coin flip scene from No Country for Old Men. While Thornton sports a similarly terrible hair style as Bardem, his performance comes across as so subtle that it is almost ineffective. I don't sense danger and wit from him. I only sense words from a script, told with either a playful smirk or serious countenance. Besides, his character is mostly shaped through action, not through turning emotions or intentions inside out. Malvo slits a throat, so we know he's brutal. Malvo disguises as a Lutheran Minister to set the police on a wrong track, so we know he is a trickster. Malvo tries to drive Milos crazy by bringing Biblical plagues upon him, so we know he likes to play mind games. There's not much else to be had, and the act gets old fairly quickly. And then, after ten episodes of congenial criminal activity without ever getting caught, Malvo is wiped from the surface of the Earth in an anti-climactic showdown. Being shot by dimwit officer Grimly – how could one's final farewell be more irrelevant?

Fargo obviously gave me a hard time. I forced myself through it, always hoping that it would improve at some point and become the show everybody claimed it was. But the truth is, I haven't been as bored and frustrated with TV since making my way through the first season of In Treatment. The plot drags, the philosophical allusions come across as clumsy attempts to bring depth to the storyline, almost all the main characters lack appeal and the stupidity of some of the supporting characters is just too much to bear. What remains is the look of the show, which is truly beautiful and captivating – but it's also a tribute to the look of the original Fargo movie. So, why should I force-feed myself ten hours of subpar storytelling, when I can watch the 98-minute source material featuring intriguing characters, sharp wit, hilarity and a compelling story?

Due to its massive popularity with critics and audiences alike, Fargo will return for a second season in September, starring Patrick Wilson (as a younger version of Molly's father), Ted Danson, Jean Smart and Kirsten Dunst. Just like the second season of True Detective, the whole thing seems like a mere attempt to ride the wave of success a little longer. In contrast to True Detective, Fargo has nothing to lose, though. It can only get better.

Rating: