The Leftovers Triumphs In Season 2

It began with a miracle.

It ended with a miracle.

Earning the trust of a viewer is paramount to a successful show. We want to be taken places we didn’t think possible, but have it make sense creatively, while having it make an impact emotionally. Recently concluding what some consider an all-time great season of television, Season 2 of The Leftovers took me there and then some. We watch the show from a fresher perspective this time around, one that the show so successfully employed in season 1’s ‘Guest’, by using a single person POV. It narrowed the focus of each episode while sharpening the edges.

(SPOILERS: I will be touching on some plot points of the season, so if you want to watch the show spoiler-free, your eyes need go no further)

This season began with the Garveys + Nora leaving Mapleton for a place that was virtually unharmed during the Departure – Jarden, Texas, otherwise known as Miracle National Park. This is not a reboot. It’s more a contemplative continuation of the seeds that were planted in season 1. Their move breathed new life into the series. It instilled the feeling of hope that was there in season 1, but not prevalent. (Full disclosure: I’m a staunch defender of Season 1 despite it’s issues.)

“There are no miracles in Miracle,” says John Murphy early on. The Murphy’s, long-time Miracle residents, and new neighbors of the Garveys, have a checkered past of their own. We witness their journey from comfortable on the surface – a strong contrast to what the Garveys often present – to confused and lost, just like many outside their sanctuary of Miracle. In the finale, we see Erika Murphy and her husband John in separate scenes make clear that they don’t understand why their world has crumbled around them. Their daughter Evie, who disappeared towards the end of the premiere episode, has reappeared under peculiar circumstances unwilling to even speak to her parents.

“I don’t understand what’s happening,” says John.

“Me niether,” replies Kevin.

There’s a magic to this show, as Alan Sepinwall of Hitfix.com writes. A feeling that every time you watch, something profound is about to happen. We sit on the border of real and surreal, living the show through the eyes of the cast. In those eyes we must figure it out along with them.

Taking a page from The Sopranos playbook, the eighth episode, ‘International Assassin’ forces Kevin Garvey (Justin Theroux) to navigate his way through a sort of Hell in order to find peace. Or was it purgatory? It doesn’t matter because what we got was one of this year’s finest hours of TV. When he wakes up back in the Hotel Hell in the finale, we’re once again blessed with a moment not soon to be forgotten. Kevin must karaoke Simon & Garfunkel’s ‘Homeward Bound’ in order to leave this place. To go back to his family, the people he loves, the life he feels is not yet complete. The gut-wrenching is agonizing; the confusion and pain pouring out of Theroux’s face was something to marvel. In a show filled with poignant musical moments, this topped them all.

The Leftovers is a metaphor for death. What happens when you lose someone? How do you react? How do you move on with your life? Co-creators and writers Damon Lindelof and Tom Perrotta (author of the novel, The Leftovers) are going for maximum emotional impact with this series. Home run.

As season 2 wound down, it was unclear whether there would be a third. Ratings dropped precipitously from season 2, and though it was critically acclaimed, that’s no guarantee. The Leftovers has found itself on many year-end top 10 lists, including #7 in the HitFix critics poll (a cumulative poll of more than 50 television critics.) The reviews were not as kind for the first season making it more than apropos that the turnaround seen in the next would take place in a town called Miracle. HBO issued a press release last week announcing that The Leftovers would return for a third and final season next year. The trilogy will be complete. THANK YOU TV GODS.

This is an experience. A show that thrives off insanity. As engrossing as it powerful, as sad as it is beautiful, there are very few experiences that compare. In this age of peak TV, we’re lucky to have a show like this. It takes risks and goes for broke. It grabs you by your heart strings and keeps tugging. Lindelof and Perrotta have my utmost trust and respect. They can take this in any direction and I’ll follow. In the words of Iris DeMent, “I think I’ll just let the mystery be.”

Miracles do happen in Miracle.

Oscar Season in Full Swing

It would be difficult to characterize 2015 as a banner year in film. Take a look at the top 10 box-office hits of the year and we find sequels, reboots, and superheroes. A box-office list doesn’t necessarily show us the good in film. Most often, it’s quite the opposite. These are major-studio-produced projects that have big budgets, and major dollars in advertising campaigns behind them, most of which are released in the summer months. We’re past that now. October began the season of more serious fare. Indie, art-house, supposedly award-worthy films.

We’ve reached an unfortunate lull in November where nothing has moved the meter in weeks, but let’s break down some of the early hopefuls already in theaters. Perhaps this post helps some of you who aren’t sure what films are worth your time and money this season.

SICARIO – 3.5/4

My favorite of the early awards hopefuls, Sicario is a tense thriller that takes a look at the frightening drug wars on the border of the United States and Mexico. Director Denis Villeneuve (Enemy, Prisoners) has established himself as a man so adept at tension in even the simplest of scenes. Shot beautifully by Roger Deakins (DP – The Shawshank Redemption, Fargo, No Country For Old Men, Skyfall), and led by a quiet, but powerful Emily Blunt, and Benicio Del Toro in his most chilling performance in years, Sicario is an ambitious, and compelling thriller that at times will leave you breathless.

THE MARTIAN – 2.5/4

I couldn’t help but feel disappointed walking out of this one, feeling as marooned as Matt Damon’s character on Mars. While critical praise is almost universal, The Martian left me cold. Damon gives a fine performance, but the rest of the cast—that for whatever reason needed to be someone recognizable in each role—was distracting at best, and annoying at worst. At times, the science is fascinating, and the imagery wonderful, but it was too Hollywood-by-the-books. A neatly wrapped up film where the end is never in doubt.

BRIDGE OF SPIES – 3/4

Steven Spielberg is no stranger to war-time film-making with movies such as Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan, Munich, and Lincoln under his belt. While Bridge Of Spies may not be a major Spielberg work, and at times feels like it’s a film more settled than ambitious, it’s well done. With a tight, at times humorous script by the Coen Brothers (of course!), and one of America’s most beloved actors (Tom Hanks) leading the way, it’s a drama about morals. About doing what’s right instead of doing what’s asked or expected. Mark Rylance as Abel, the Russian spy, is scene-stealing.

STEVE JOBS – 2.5/4

It’s another slam-you-over-the-head with quick, witty dialogue Sorkin-fest. Think The Social Network, but not as good (and I didn’t love that, either). There isn’t a lot of revelatory information here. Jobs was a difficult person to work with and be around, but this is known, and there are better sources for that information. The film, and script are more concerned with showing you how bad a guy this was, rather than the visionary who inspired it. This gets the extra half a star for Michael Fassbender’s immersive title performance as Jobs. He’s so good, you forget they look nothing alike.

A bonus pick for those of you who enjoy documentaries:

JUNUN – 3/4

For my money, Paul Thomas Anderson is the greatest working filmmaker today, and of the last 18 or so years. Writing and directing the fabulous Boogie Nights at 26 years old, and creating what I consider to be the only masterpiece of the past decade (There Will Be Blood), PTA is known for his flair behind the camera, his close-ups, and getting the best damn performances of actors a director could dream of. He sets most of that aside here to film his friend, and regular collaborator Jonny Greenwood (lead guitarist of Radiohead) creating an album in India with a group of Indian musicians. There is almost no dialogue, and very few interview moments we’ve become accustomed to seeing in documentaries, but the connection of these musicians, and the feeling conveyed by each shot left an impression on me. It might not be for the average viewer, and maybe you need to be a fan of PTA to get it, but for the wonderful music alone, and that it’s less than an hour, it’s certainly worth the look.

Something to keep an eye on going forward is women in Hollywood taking the lead this season; a refreshing and exciting trend to this year’s films (as well as television). I’ll come back in the coming weeks and post my thoughts on that and more hopefuls including: Spotlight, Carol, Room, The Revenant, Brooklyn, and The Hateful Eight.

Tweet me @BobbyJDaniels!

The Leftovers Changes Location For Season 2 Premiere

The Leftovers, HBO’s drama based on the novel of the same name written by Tom Perrotta, returns this Sunday for its second season. Season 1 focused primarily on the people of Mapleton, a fictional town about an hour drive north of Manhattan, and their dealing with the mysterious disappearance of 2% of the world’s population. In season 2 the story shifts to Jarden, Texas, appropriately nicknamed Miracle National Park, as not one person was taken from them in the Sudden Departure.

There is a bleak nature to The Leftovers, unlike anything else on TV at the moment (perhaps the only thing close in the “dark” department is, oddly enough, Review, which is great, but a comedy) that sucked me in entirely midway through last year’s first season. It’s grim. It’s depressing. Add that to a level of despair that will undoubtedly turn people off. It’s a divisive show, with a view of the world most people wouldn’t dare tackle nor one they want to be a part of.

Damon Lindelof, co-creator/writer, is no stranger to polarizing television. When LOST ended it’s 6 season run in 2010, many were unhappy, feeling they were left with more questions than answers. I was not one of those people, but I can’t argue with those who thought the show should’ve gone in a different direction. I didn’t agree with all the decisions made regarding the final couple of seasons, but I believe no less in Lindelof, who helped create something wholly original and unique, unlike anything else on TV then and with its failed copycats in the years since.

Alan Sepinwall, excellent TV critic for Hitfix.com, posted a wonderfully candid interview with Lindelof that gives great insight into the process of creating such a show, and the pitfalls of controlling something the magnitude of LOST.

The Leftovers is a show about grief, but it’s also a show about hope. A hope that these people can move on with their lives. Maybe not to rebuild the lives they once had, but to expand on lives they never thought possible. The departed are not coming back. We, the viewer, have been told by the creators that we won’t ever find out what happened to them. That focuses us entirely on what’s happening on-screen, right in front of us. There’s a supernatural aspect of the show that’s exciting in a non-alien way. No matter what your religious allegiances, it’s a show that tests your faith.

Mapleton has burned, figuratively, and to a point, literally. The Garveys, along with Nora (Carrie Coon’s performance as Nora Durst is transcendent and one of the great new TV finds in recent memory) are leaving that behind to start anew. I can’t wait to join them.

Here’s a beautiful piece of music from season 1’s Soundtrack. Part of a deep, emotional, and often contemplative score:

Twitter: @BobbyJDaniels

True Detective – The dumpster fire has finally been put out

The conclusion to the most underwhelming season of TV in recent memory reached it’s conclusion on Sunday night, and it did not disappoint. That is, if you thought it would be as bad or worse than everything that preceded it. I gave up the search for a silver lining after the nonsensical shootout in episode 4, a scene that seemed to be about blowing shit up for the sake of blowing shit up. A scene where the only survivors were those with contractual obligations as the “star.” The self-seriousness of it all played as unintentionally funny. There was no reason to care about anything that was happening leaving any potential payoff as lifeless.

Sure, Rachel McAdams had her moments, as did Colin Farrell. That’s more than I can say for Taylor Kitsch, and especially Vince Vaughn. When the cast was announced, I wanted to be excited. I wanted Vince Vaughn to prove that he could act, instead of just playing Vince Vaughn. I wanted to think of Kitsch as something other than Riggins.

Most importantly, I wanted Nic Pizzolatto to be the writer of the first 6 episodes of season one, instead of the writer of the final 2. Not only is he the latter, but I pine for at least that version of him. It’s possible, in hindsight, the writing wasn’t all that good last year, either. Perhaps McConaughey and Woody were great enough to elevate to a level high enough that I didn’t care about how clunky or overwrought the dialogue was. In his quest to stick to his themes and nothing else (how about telling us who anyone is, ever?) he’s been vilified by critics, and created mass confusion amongst even those of us with half a brain. The plot was so dense and complicated at times, that even the most attentive viewer could lose track of, well, everything. Enter the danger of auteur television. With full autonomy and creative control, there’s no policing bad decisions in both casting and writing. Had he earned that off just 1 season?

In a post exceeding 4,000 words, Willa Paskin did her best to make sense of this season. The who’s, the what’s, the where’s, and the what the fucks. She described it as an excruciating breakdown. It’s come to this. A television show, one that I greatly enjoyed in season 1, required an explanation so extensive, you might forget what you read two paragraphs before. This isn’t a Kubrick film. There are no hidden meanings that deserve to be uncovered, as we learned when Pizzolatto abandoned any and all supernatural possibilities towards the end of season 1.

When you didn’t think it could get any worse, we arrive at the finale. Clocking in at 90 minutes, the episode had no business being that length. None. The extra half hour tacked on at the end did nothing, but add insult to injury. It’s ability to be completely confusing, while being downright predictable is quite the feat. I could go on about the various thematic points Pizz was trying to drive home, the convoluted plot, and the holes all over the narrative, but there’s enough hate in this blog already.

I’d give anything to hear an explanation of why Chad Velcoro had his grandfather’s police badge during recess at school other than because the show needed Ray to have a moment of “happiness.” He even smiles when talking to Ani! But, this is the type of thematic point I’m talking about. There wasn’t any reason for that to be there, just as it could’ve been anyone wearing that bird mask. It didn’t matter. Having it be a character that we saw for 5 minutes in episode 3 – yes, I am aware the killer in season 1 was introduced and found out in a similarly disappointing fashion – was as mindless as Ani and Ray sleeping together, when their best character moments came together as detectives on the job.

Much was made early on about the departure of season 1 director, Cary Fukunaga. Rightfully so. The show suffered through mediocre direction not strong enough to boost the self-serious, and at times self-indulgent writing. I saw enough aerial shots of LA to never want to see an aerial shot of LA ever again. Did anyone come up with a final tally? The directorial choices made in season 2 shine an even greater light on the work he did last year, not just in the steadicam, but in setting the tone and mood of the bayou both in 1996 and in present day. Given his falling out with Nic Pizz, Fukunaga is one of the few winners of True Detective season 2.

HBO is in a tricky spot. The ratings are still strong, and execs have said they’d like to bring back True Detective if Pizz is still on board. Do they ask him to add additional writers? It’s not an easy question, but I hope he at least acknowledges that another voice – or several – in the room could help. I’ll miss you Stan. I hardly knew you.

Girls Finale in Which I Didn’t Hate Anyone

It’s an irregular occurrence when I’ve watched an episode of Girls, and don’t find at least one (usually several) of the characters to be deplorable. Perhaps there is a growth and maturity to these women that hasn’t been present before. It’s possible the growth in maturity lie completely with Hannah, but I shouldn’t jump the gun on that either.

In any case, Girls took an inconsistent road this season to get to that point. Beginning with Hannah leaving for Iowa, struggling to work in connection with her classmates or to make it feel like home, only to come back to Brooklyn to find Adam living – in their apartment – with another woman. It took this move back for me to feel any real connection to this season, but even with that said, as I view it as a whole, I didn’t dislike it.

Girls often suffers from a lack of things to do with some of its characters. Jessa meandered through the entire season, and I’m still not sure what she did (not much), though I generally find her way of dealing with things to be funny in her own distasteful way. Jessa as a therapist isn’t the worst idea, however harsh she might be, but when there’s no set up for that payoff, it comes off as more of a joke than something we could ever take seriously.

I DIDN’T HATE MARNIE IN THIS EPISODE. Sorry for the caps, but I can’t remember the last episode of this show in which I was able to say that. As she was left to go up on stage alone without Desi, her singing was, compared to the rest of her “work”, lovely. Interesting to note the season premiere in which she’s heckled off stage at a jazz brunch, by children no less. To go from that moment, to the finale where she’s able to take charge of her life and career and put forth a credible performance is something I’m sure she’ll try to expand on going forward. Also, any Spike Jonze cameo is one I can get behind. Spike Jonze gave us the greatest music video of all time!

Speaking of Desi, THANK YOU RAY! Desi is certainly a douchebag, certainly full of crap, certainly pretentious, and for sure if I were at a bar, or a venue of any kind and he were up on stage, those are the exact thoughts that would be going through my head. Ray hasn’t gotten over Marnie (why?) and says as much in the course of this season. Even his take down of Desi is followed with a stern testament to Marnie’s worth as a woman and companion.

Adam losing his temper, Caroline being crazy-pregnant in the tub, Jessa imparting her therapeutic wisdom to Laird lead to what is likely the funniest moment of the season: Adam fainting. Admittedly, that got a big laugh out of me.

After the birth of Adams nephew, Adam tells Hannah, “I don’t think I really knew her,” in regards to Mimi-Rose. No kidding. Adam, a creative guy in his own right, is attracted to creative women, but in no way does that make them right for each other. Not really knowing her was just one of the issues, albeit a troubling one.

When Hannah speaks to Adam about the end of a relationship, she was speaking for us and to us. When a relationship ends, all you can do is ask yourself, “who was that person? Why was I with that person?” Then a few months go by and you can remember all the happy things, all the happy times you spent with them. Once those memories come back, you’ll move on and be ok. Such an effective conversation to save for this moment. It’s something I know I’ve felt many times over.

It was a graceful, and at times hilarious finale. I wonder what the six month time jump will mean for everyone. Hannah is now dating her co-worker, that much we know. Hard to understand that just yet considering all the things Hannah did for this guy to completely run the other direction. Did Shosh go to Tokyo or did she stay with the man who thinks he’ll be in love with her soon. Does Jessa have her own practice or is she still being Jessa? Ray and Marnie? Sometimes a time jump works. Parks and Recreation instantly comes to mind. For all its inconsistencies, Girls remains a show I enjoy. I accept it for what it is, but a show set in Brooklyn about people in their late 20s trying to figure it out continues to speak to me as someone who is going through the same.