This is a new series from Netflix, starring Kyle Chandler (from the tv series Friday Night Lights) that takes place in Florida. I was thinking of giving it a shot, anyone else seen this? The trailer looked intriguing.
Ive watched it all. Im kind of torn. There is a whole lot of stuff they did well but it just didn't have that little extra that would make it a water cooler hit. I think revealing the ending during the first episode was a mistake on the producers parts. Finding out the families big secret piece by piece was great but working through it knowing the ultimate conclusion lessened the impact over all of the secrets and the ending. Where can this show really go now unless they pull a True Detective with a whole new cast and story? With that, after reading some of the criticisms for True Detective this show as a whole does the same thing. Weak story lines saved by great acting and a half decently executed overall mood. The biggest winner hear has is Ben Mendelsohn. Man put some great layers on his character and deserves an Emmy for sure. He is like a coiled rattle snake shaking his tail you can never tell when he is going to strike. He is also severely wounded and you can't help but feel for the guy given what had happened to him. He is the center piece of the show and is such a strong character everyone, save the middle brother John, feel like almost unneeded ancillary characters. The sister's affair, the youngest brother's marriage and business feud, even John's investigation of the human trafficking, all stories thrown in to give side character some depth but with no real impact with the magnitude and acting class of Danny's storyline. The weakest I think was the mom. She is curiously absent from most of the main drama in the present day, shielded from it by her children I guess. Her role that sparked "the big secret" doesn't resonate. One it seemed reasonable to want to leave her husband, two why'd she'd let him off the hook and initiate the lie which became "the big secret." Living with it and letting her husband/kids treat the oldest child like dog shit doesn't make any sense at all if she truly cared for Danny. All the more confusing since Sissy Spacek is probably the biggest star the show has. Wasted talent. They did a good job creating the sun bleached under belly that is Florida. Danny's girlfriend, a surprisingly non bitch role for Chloe Sevigninggglygly, and her loser brother could pull some only in Florida headlines at any moment. It's a good contrast the show draws between Danny's seemingly idyllic family life at a mom and pop resort and his life as a scum bag drug runner. It's odd that Danny's girlfriend's character was one of the more interesting side characters even though she isn't given that much. Her motivation to stay with Danny despite everything is interesting. All the good doesn't add up to great.
I'd give it a 4/10. Huge parts of this show just drag by, making it painfully slow to watch when you know everything that is coming. The writers made no attempt at keeping the viewers guessing at what was going to happen, they laid 80% of it out in the opening episode. With that decision made the show has nothing left to reveal but how it the events happened and no matter how well acted the twists are so telegraphed that they may have just as well aired this on CBS.
God damn it I hate when someone comes along and summarizes my exact thoughts much better than I can so precisely. Revisiting my thoughts on it more, the over all story telling was complete shit and the show is saved by excellent acting by 1.5 characters and cinematography. The plot can be summarized thusly: (spoilered if you haven't seen the first friggin episode) Spoiler: #not really a spoiler Terrible family with no redeeming qualities ruin a son's life and end up killing him and covering up his murder.
I watched the whole series, and I will play devil's advocate, if for no other reason than I'm ornery. I liked this series, a lot. What this series comes down to is the following: If you believe the story is the ending, then yes, this series will be a disappointment for you. If you, like me, believe the story is just as much how you get there, then this series is fantastic. Frankly, this is the same debate that goes on in the GoT threads. If you're concerned about the 'end,' then yes, GoT does a fairly decent job. If 'how you get there' matters to you, then no, it is a bit of a disappointment, like this series. Either viewpoint is fine, and justifiable, but just a heads up: if you don't care for how things become the end, this series is not for you.