Luck

Luck is the kind of grand sociological series that creator David Milch and to a lesser extent HBO as a network are known for. It presents a cross-section of one out-of-the-way spot in the dying world of horse racing. That sense of death and decay pervades the entire narrative, which stars an assortment of broken-down men headed up by Dustin Hoffman and extending to the quartet of hard-luck gamblers that are perhaps the soul of the show. And yet there's a sense of hope that occasionally shines through and makes it all not just bearable but beautiful.

This all makes it sound arty and kind of dull, and indeed the series has a very deliberate pace that might turn some viewers off, although that's an essential part of its style. But even without the overdose of sex and violence you can get from other HBO series, Luck provides some exhilarating sequences, most notably the brilliantly-shot horse races. Add that to great writing and acting and you have a show that satisfies on every level.

Well, up until the end, that is. Luck is doomed to be a one-season wonder, cancelled not because of low ratings but because of a series of horse deaths on set. It still works as a whole, but with only nine episodes, it's hard not to wonder what could have been. Still, what we have is a gem of a series, and well worth checking out for any fan of high-quality drama.

There is an undeniably large amount of jargon used in the pilot episode, however with a little bit of careful listening the meaning of almost all of it can be easily 'sussed' out. The pilot stands out in my opinion for the creative use of camera angles which allow the viewer to immerse into the horse race. The editorial work is also quite slick. The performances of Nick Nolte and Dustin Hoffman are quite good and I am excited to see Patrick J Adams in the coming episode.

I terms of story-telling and plot lines, the last few minutes of the pilot do help clear up some of the prevailing confusion regarding the direction of the story. All in all the pilot is a solid effort and achieves its goal of setting up the stage for a potentially gripping series.

This was cancelled early, it's unfinished work, so that even after 9 hours of narrative time it feels like only the first few pages have been turned; but were we any better for having seen six seasons of The Sopranos rather than two, did it enrich that much more?

I came to it for Mann, one of the preeminent makers of the alert eye in our time, the finished thing turned out to be in the template of The Sopranos and Deadwood where the actors and word are the vessels for drama. It is complex plotwise and immersive enough because colorful characters articulately snarl at each other; but complex expression is not deep intuition, immersion is not concentration.

So it might seem like complex work if you get caught up in the schemes for money and ownership and here is where the lack of resolution will disappoint, it ends just as the stage has been set for conflict. But if you don't get tangled up in them, you can discern all that matters.

The racetrack as the stage of drama with desperate souls caught viewing by the sidelines at what they have chosen to have a stake in. The Jewish mobster who wants to buy off the racetrack will win against his rival but at what cost to his soul? Loved ones will perish, it could be a grandson or a horse, so that we finally awaken at what had been valuable all this time.

It's all in the horses and what they exemplify, magnificent creatures that everyone should spend some time with. Characters of course ignore the horses as anything more than ticket slips that buy them a seat in that arena of spectacle where their presence can be rewarded with the anxiety of winning or losing. To what purpose? So they can carry the drama with them in unfulfilled lives until another scheme the next day.

So this is the insight to leave this with, it's in Mann's pilot and the last episode. The horses race marvelously simply for having the exhilarating capacity to do it, there is no "horse race" for them and only running, doing without ego. The viewers watch from the sides transfixed. Would any of this have meaning for them had they not hedged a bet that imbues the beauty with the anxiety and drama of winning or losing? Would they be at all there? Would you?

So if you're disappointed that we don't get to find out how any of the schemes pans out (Turo's race fixing, the old man's legal trouble), you become like they are, bogged down in meaningless schemes. Meanwhile what has the capacity to enrich had been right under your nose all this time, simply being there to take care of something for its capacity to be what it is; the woman who arranges the horse caring program for inmates inserts this notion in the small portion we have.

But with the caveat that it will not always be there for you to postpone it. A horse might have to be put down. A show might be cancelled.

Although the first episode of this series was painful to get through, each episode thereafter gets better and better. After an inaudible beginning "Luck" just might careers and an industry.

As a horse lover and long time fan of Nick Nolte, I wanted to like this show but the first episode was loaded with track jargon, slang, broken English, low quality sound, and heavy accents. There also wasn't much seen of Nolte in the first episode. Fortunately I had the first 3 episodes programmed on the DVR so I had a vested interest in at least watching these recorded episodes. By the third episode I enabled closed caption so that I could follow better. I wish I had not deleted the first episode because I would have re-watched it in closed caption. This first episode is chock-full of information and innuendos, probably why it was so difficult to get through.

This is unfortunate because the series gets better with each episode and I'm sure the lack of clarity in the beginning has meant the series has lost viewers.

Viewers should know, however, that Nolte and Dustin Hoffman are not in this series for nothing. Nolte, whose notorious good looks is now replaced with grey hair and lots of character is a nostalgic owner/trainer brokenhearted over the past with a keen sense of a good race horse. Hoffman starts out stiff and almost out of place, but then his character is out of place due to a series of previous events.

Integrity and love is really what this series is about. The four gamblers, you find, after a few episodes, really love each other. The jockeys love to ride, Nolte loves horses, and Hoffman loves his right hand man. What seems evident is that some day soon, all of these characters will come together in an as yet unknown common experience.

The sound quality of this series is perhaps the only flaw and it's a big flaw. This seems to be common in today's movies and series. You understood every word Bogart said in Casablanca. It is called "projection." Old school directors and actors knew about this. I don't know what happened or why contemporary films ignores the need for people to hear and understand what characters are saying. It's almost as if they think this some type of technique but it isn't and is surely the reason, perhaps the only reason that this show may not get the viewers it deserves. Despite this,I rate this series high which says just how good this series could be.

If you love horses, racing, Nolte, Hoffman or Farina, I highly recommend this series, despite the audio issues which I hope, given a second season, they fix. If you love a good race, which there seems to be one in almost every episode, this series is also for you. "Luck," given the chance, may revive the horse racing industry. It reminds you of just why this sport is the "sport of kings." Hope they will fix the audio, first time I can remember sound being such a "handicap."

Minor? actor Richard Kind (as Joey Rathburn) in shorter scenes with just a few stuttering lines hits massive grand slams, basically stealing the entire series from giants Hoffman and Nolte. Everybody is excellent but Kind wins the 'race' by 20 to 30 links.