Perry Mason (2020)
Pupule rating: 3.8 (out of 4)
HBO
Been putting this off a bit, but the truth is that Perry Mason has a lot to teach.
The remake of the old TV show was a captivating work in each of its eight episodes. More than that, the direction and writing allowed viewers to focus on characters long enough to understand their gray areas. That’s something that was lacking in another ambitious program, Penny Dreadful: City of Angels.
City of Angels had extremely interesting characters, but even in TV series form, there just wasn’t enough time to really expand on the sub-plots. Characters like Santa Muerte — the one supernatural being who could have challenged Magda, the Nazis, the Los Angeles Police Department’s bad cops, and anyone else — were used just to tease.
I didn’t think that would happen, but the season played out in a rambling-wreck way and we never got real, satisfactory closure on many characters, including the charismatic Molly Finnister. It’s almost as if the writers wanted us to salivate over the potential of alluring characters, only to snub them prematurely or completely.
Perry Mason went the other way, slowing the tempo down and allowing us to bemoan each of the main character’s self-inflicted blows. Instead of a omnipotent circle of enemies led by a demon, this story played out in the courtroom after a nice, slow-burn crescendo in the investigative work of Mason (Matthew Rhys), Della Street (Juliet Rylance) and police officer-turned-investigator Paul Drake (Chris Chalk).
The brutality and gruesome nature of homicide investigation hits home immediately. So much for waxing nostalgic on a remake of a show based in post-depression America. That tension is delectable or disdainful, depending on the viewer.
PM had some holes that are forgivable. Was John Lithgow really used to his formidable potential? His character’s departure turned out to be a must as Mason converted from meandering, drunken private investigator into a quite persuasive lawyer.
Pete Strickland (Shea Whigham) was remarkable as Mason’s right-hand man who did much of the dirty work behind the scenes. The cast as a whole was strong, and though so many scenes were predictable, watching them play out was fun. More so for watchers who appreciate a period piece. And even with the predictability, the storytelling element left an element of surprise. Mason, the investigator, batted .270 with a decent glove for much of the series, but as an investigator-lawyer, eventually had an MVP season.
Season 2 can’t possibly top this one, but we’ll get to enjoy the try. There’s still plenty of 1930s and ‘40s Los Angeles to explore.
Comments