I binged Long Bright River over the weekend. It's a police procedural thriller about a serial killer preying on the women on the "Ave" in Philadelphia, and it packs quite a punch. It's brilliantly acted -- especially by Amanda Seyfried, who first became known in Big Love, and then in Mamma Mia, and is now clearly a world-class, unique actor -- with a supporting case that includes Dash Mihok (one of Ray Donovan's brothers), Nicholas Pinnock (Counterpart), and John Doman (who has starred in everything).
But that's not what I liked most about this short series on Peacock, which had the good sense to put it all up at once, because that's the way it needs to be seen. [And here I'll say that there are no spoilers ahead, believe or not.]
But what I liked most about this series is the human side of its story. All serial killer stories -- true or fictitious (which I read is the story on Long Bright River) -- have an inescapable human side, if only in the impact that the killings have on the victims' families. But Long Bright River really goes into this in-depth, with a brilliant boy on the spectrum (Thomas, superbly played by Callum Vinson), his great-grandfather (John Doman's role), a former nun (played by Harriet Sansom Harris) who makes a simply wonderful babysitter, and all manner of tangled parent-child, and sister relationships.
And the story ain't bad, either. Why is this current Jack-the-Ripper going after drug-addicted women who work in the sex-trade to pay for their addiction? Is the killer really a cop, and, if so, which one? There are no shortage of cop suspects in this narrative.
Now, I actually guessed who the killer was in the very first episode of this eight-episode series. And I'm still raving about what an excellent series Long Bright River is, powerful on so many levels. That's an indication in itself of why I say don't miss this series, you'll be glad you watched it.
There were lots of good scenes, savvy dialogue, wonderful locales (my favorite: Sal's apartment on Wadsworth Terrace in Manhattan), and a pretty good twist at the end (which I won't tell you), but Anon nonetheless lacked, I don't know, a certain depth and profundity, even though that's exactly what it was trying to convey. Anyone, especially police detectives, having access via your brain to what you see and do is a pretty traumatic and revolutionary development in human life, and for all the characters' remonstrating about that in the movie - or, in some cases, celebrating it - the ambience fell short of kicking you in the cosmic gut. Probably there was a little too much emphasis on the murders and the police work. Perhaps seeing scanning in other contexts a little more would have given Anon a more universal grounding.
Just saw Anon on Netflix, where it debuted just two days ago. The movie's by Andrew Niccol, and I'd say it's better than The Truman Show but not as good as Gattica, for whatever that's worth to you.
Well, I have no idea what tonight's insane episode 1.5 of Twin Peaks is called, or even if it has a name, but I might entitle it, "The Mod Squad Meets Big Love in the Diner".
