(“Ozark” and “True Detective” Are Missed)
Review
By
Carol Schaye
| Philipp Meyer | Author, “American Rust” |
| Jeff Daniels | Chief Del Harris |
| Maura Tierney | Grace Poe |
| David Alvarez | Isaac English |
| Julia Mayorga | Lee English |
| Alex Neustaedter | Billy Poe |
| Mark Pellegrino | Virgil Poe |
| Rob Yang | Officer Steve Park |
| Kyle Beltran | Detective Ramon Fisher |
| Emily Davis | Sue Herlitz |
Anyone who gets to be fifty years old and has nothing to hide has been living a truly boring life. The reality of being human is what all three shows don’t shy away from. Heros with faults, love interests who are less than beautiful, lack of control over one’s heart, all these things endear the viewer to the characters, rather than being a turnoff. We can take it, we get it, we are also human.
Longing for “True Detective” with Jodie Foster, to return as a longer series, or “Ozark” to return, the creators of “American Rust” read my mind. The series disappeared in 2021 after one season, due to low viewership. Picked up by Amazon Prime, “American Rust” returned for season two, in 2024, much to my viewing pleasure.
I recommend viewers watch season one to follow the story-line of season two. As in the other two series mentioned above, there are many characters, with interrelated issues and stories. This series is also a gritty crime story. All three of these series commit to the story, which is part of what makes them smart and compelling.
The other compelling reason to watch is the acting. Just when I think the acting world has become about plastic dolls, (Barbie) and endless superhero movies, these shows deal with real-life issues, with complicated characters played by first-rate actors.
Jeff Daniels, playing police chief (Del Harris), in small-town Pennsylvania, is the same actor who starred in “Dumb and Dumber”. Not so dumb Daniels is the founder and artistic director of, “The Purple Rose Theater Company”, where one of the plays he has written is currently on the boards. Daniels is perfectly cast in the role of a prescription drug dependent, good cop, with some bad backstories. Daniels knows how to defend his character so we are on his side even when he makes unconventional decisions to protect people he cares about.
Not a tough guy, his character is driven at times by his love for a local woman Grace Poe ( played by Maura Tierney). Tierney is no stranger to acting either, with extensive credits on television and a graduate of the New York University School of Drama. Crucial to this story-line’s working is the excellent chemistry between these two lead actors.
Listening, and taking their time together, they create a relationship that explains decisions they make to protect each other as well as their loved ones. Their believable relationship establishes a foundation for other actors who play their family members (their children) and neighbors.
There is a through-line of love lost and love wanted, of yearning and confusion.
There is a through-line of unfulfilled life expectations, all of which are familiar stories in real life small-town Pennsylvania.
The writers treat these topics with respect and honesty. The characters are trapped by the dying of the mills, the lack of income, and the poor choices made at young ages. Daniels says he knows these people and I do as well. Having lived in small-town Pennsylvania (Scranton) as a child, these characters are real people I knew before I escaped to college and the big city.
The supporting actors are all good.
Especially noteworthy is Mark Pellegrino, playing Grace Poe’s ex-husband, with absolute abandon. He demonstrates childish behavior and lack of insight into consequences. Mark is an acting teacher at “Playhouse West”, which was founded by Robert Carnegie and the late Sanford Meisner.
The production settings are perfect for the lower middle-class struggling folks who go from paycheck to paycheck.
There is a feeling of oppression due to the almost constant dark lighting. We need some relief from the hardships these characters we care about are suffering and that is a problem for me. There is a structural element missing in the story-line, leaving us with no evident bad guy our less-than-perfect heroes are fighting. The bad guy is the endless loop of low wages, mills closed and the economy crashing.
Daniels and Tierney are so believable as the lead characters that this series is worth watching even if, like the characters themselves, it is flawed.
Carol Schaye has had several short stories published by McFadden’s Women’s Group, Sierra Nevada Ally and other publications. Carol has written for two west coast newspapers and has worked extensively in television. A fan of Flannery O’Connor, Carol studied acting with Lee Strasberg and Austin Pendleton and writing with Salem Ludwig. She attended Marymount College majoring in theater.
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