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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
A trifecta of terrific TV options? Lucky us!
GUSMANO CESARETTI / HBO Enlarge Image
Nick Nolte, left, plays a crusty trainer in David Milch's new HBO series, Luck.
Some people define luck as what happens when preparation meets opportunity,
Well, if by preparation, you mean having your TV series written and produced by one of Hollywood's most brilliant creative minds, and if by opportunity, you mean finding two of showbiz's most enduring big-screen stars who are willing to work on an ongoing TV drama, then Luck is very lucky indeed.
Timothy Olyphant carries a big gun as Marshal Raylan Givens on Justified. (POSTMEDIA)
TV REVIEW
Luck
Starring Dustin Hoffman and Nick Nolte
Sunday night (check listings for times)
HBO Canada
4 stars out of 5
Justified
Starring Timothy Olyphant
Monday at 9 p.m.
Super Channel
4 1/2 stars out of 5
The Interrupters
Directed by Steve James
Tonight at 8:30
CBC News Network
4 stars out of 5
The new HBO series, created by enigmatic TV genius David Milch (NYPD Blue, Deadwood) and starring Dustin Hoffman and Nick Nolte, shows every sign of being one of those shows that breaks fast from the gate and maintains a winning pace all the way around to the finish line.
Set in the mostly shady world of horse racing -- specifically, at California's storied Santa Anita Park -- Luck is a complex, multi-layered drama filled with fascinating, uniquely damaged characters -- horse owners, jockeys, trainers and the gamblers who dissect the daily racing form -- and storylines that unfold slowly but offer plentiful rewards to those willing to ride along for a few furlongs.
Among the characters in the central web of stories are Chester "Ace" Bernstein (Hoffman), a high-level mobster who has just been released from prison and is eager to resume his profit-generating enterprises; his driver/bodyguard, Gus Demitriou (Dennis Farina), who's fronting as the owner of a $2-million Irish thoroughbred that Ace just purchased; Turo Escalante (John Ortiz), a gifted but prickly trainer guiding the new horse's progress; and trainer Walter Smith (Nolte), who may also have come into possession of a fledgling champion but is wary because he's had his heart broken by too many horses.
In the première, four degenerate gamblers -- Marcus (Kevin Dunn), Jerry (Jason Gedrick), Renzo (Ritchie Coster) and Lonnie (Ian Hart) -- decide to pool their limited resources to place a big bet that hinges on the day's biggest long shot paying off in the fourth race.
If they've guessed right -- and clearly, these guys pretty much never have -- the payoff is in the millions.
Like all Milch's TV projects, Luck is the product of intensive research (in this case, involving more than a bit of first-hand experience), meticulous attention to detail and its creator's unparalleled knack for inventing characters that are authentic, fully developed and fascinating to watch.
It might not appeal to everyone -- some might find its pacing a bit too deliberate -- but for those willing to invest time to let its storylines blossom, Luck is a gamble that will deliver a huge, entertaining payoff.
-- -- --
Backwoods cops, big-city problems: There's a very different, decidedly more well-dressed kind of evil awaiting Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens when Justified returns for its third season on Monday.
In its sophomore set of episodes, Justified pitted Raylan (Timothy Olyphant) and his Kentucky-based law-enforcement cohorts against a drug cartel run by a hillbilly clan headed by ruthless matriarch Mags Bennett (played brilliantly by best-supporting-actress Emmy winner Margo Martindale). She's a tough act to follow, but early indications are that imported evil-doer Robert Quarles (Neal McDonough) is up to the daunting task.
As the new season opens, Raylan is recovering from a gunshot wound suffered during Season 2's hail-of-gunfire finale, and control of Harlan County's pot and crystal-meth market is up for grabs. With childhood friend/grownup nemesis Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins) temporarily out of the picture, Raylan learns that a sadistic Dixie Mafia hitman has moved into the territory and is apparently taking orders from an outsider (who turns out to be Detroit mobster Quarles).
Justified combines an odd, rural-rooted charm with cop-show drama cranked up to the highest degree. Olyphant's measured performance hits all the right notes; Goggins provides a heartbeat-for-heartbeat counterpoint in one of the most complicated friend/foe relationships on TV. And new addition McDonough, who has always been able to add a shade of menace to a TV drama, ups his game significantly to keep pace with the cast he's joined.
Every moment spent watching this flawless drama is completely, well, justified.
-- -- --
Real life, real streets, real stakes: Scripted drama is one thing; life-or-death situations in the real world are quite another. And because of that, the acclaimed documentary The Interrupters (which airs tonight at 8:30 on The Passionate Eye, and also Feb. 14 on PBS's Frontline) might be the best drama you see on TV this year.
The film, directed by Steve James (Hoop Dreams), was shot over the course of a full year in one of Chicago's most violent, crime-infested neighbourhoods. It follows three former gang members who now work for an organization called CeaseFire, which applies the same strategy to inner-city turmoil that physicians do to treat infectious diseases. As "violence interrupters," they inject themselves into the most "infected" areas of their community and, using verbal bluntness, street-earned credibility and occasional blue-hued humour, stop the infection (violence) at its source.
Watching them work is as harrowing and inspiring as TV drama, scripted or not, gets.
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition January 28, 2012 G3
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