Flesh and Bone

The series deserves a standing ovation, it's a masterpiece.

Each episode got better and better, the final episode was breathtaking. It's a dark, disturbing story on all fronts, but so compelling. The acting is very good, the characters are fully developed - faults and all. The score is amazing, the sets are beautiful and it's filmed in such a way that you feel you are there watching. I didn't expect the show to be so captivating, and it actually took a couple of episodes before I felt invested in the series, but each episode built upon the prior, and the series will drawn you in. While watching the final episode, I began to understand the story itself was like a ballet performance - beautifully executed in a tragic sort of way. The final ballet is amazing, and worth watching the entire series just for that.

It seemed some critics panned the series - but in my opinion, it's a masterpiece - the best of the best. If you liked Black Swan, Fame, Flashdance or other similar themed movies, I think you'll find Flesh & Bone as amazing and enjoyable as I did.

The year was 1995 and Joe Eszterhas, the top of writer of the day for mainstream exploitation films, released (unleashed) his most exploitative script of all time -- Showgirls.

At the time, it seemed like a slam dunk. It had something to push everyone's buttons. It was about strippers. It had dancing and sex. It had backstory. And just as additional insurance to guarantee greatness, the casting director deliberately picked the female star of a popular teen sitcom for the leading role -- guaranteeing a "shock" factor as the world watched a sweet teen icon go down the darkside.

It should have worked but it didn't. The mass audience, the gestalt, seemed to belatedly develop a conscience and punished the film, presumably, as payback for all the earlier works of of Eszterhas' they enjoyed but probably shouldn't have.

A major TV comic talking about the film (which was a flop within weeks of release) said "I haven't seen so many poles abused since WW2."

Ironically 20 years later, with TV in full-on stratification and everyone with a video camera offering a new series, the writers of Flesh and Bone have taken the ideas comprising Showgirls and fixed them and repaired them.

It is exploitative but does not make you feel guilty.

Pretty good TV.

Ballet is like an obsession. If Black Swan did teach us one thing then it clearly was that. And the show that ran for a season on Starz is clear in its intentions to be a somewhat spiritual successor or at least in the same ballpark. Having one of the dancers from that movie playing the main role here is a start. And Sarah Hay learned Ballet as a young girl, something you can tell by watching her move (though I'm not sure if you can tell more as the teacher/director and some others seem to be able to).

So with a limited knowledge of the art itself, I can say that it is riveting and it looks phenomenal. But the show also dares to explore darker themes and backstories of the characters. You may be able to guess the connections between them (or rather their relationship), but there will be surprises along the way.

If you don't mind complex characters, blood (sweat) and nudity (including lewd acts as some might proclaim), this is really interesting. The character journey is really something and while you can guess to a certain extend where this is heading, the performances make it more than worthwhile

"Dark side of the ballet world" stories are always pretty intriguing, and "Flesh and Bone" is the ultimate take on that concept. I was thoroughly hooked from the first episode, but with each subsequent one, new twists were revealed that made the wait for the next episode (because, y'know, life gets in the way of TV-watching) interminable. I couldn't wait to see what would happen next.

I have a high tolerance-- and appreciation-- for twisted stories. This one, even by my standards, is super dark. Part of what makes it that way is that the darkness isn't contrived-- it isn't like these people are fighting literal demons or enduring the apocalypse or something. Instead, several of the characters are dealing with fascinatingly complex emotional stuff that motivates all their behavior, all their choices, and provides an understandable context for behavior that would be incomprehensible if it weren't for that. But you DO understand it, and there are numerous moments when you watch what a character is doing and think, "wow, something is really, really wrong with you."

This is helped along by very good acting. I've seen varied reviews on the acting, but I found it extremely impressive, especially when the actors were sometimes given material (i.e., dialogue) that wasn't necessarily the best. Sarah Hay as Claire is terrific. She is not only a technically skilled dancer, but she shows the vulnerability and toughness that this character needs to carry the show. She's completely believable in the role-- and I have to say, having looked her up, I love that one of her few acting credits is for the "Mary-Kate and Ashley's Ballet Party" video (when she was much younger). Given how skillfully she handles the screwed-up material of this show, it's kind of delightful that she got her start in an Olsen Twins video.

People have talked about how good Ben Daniels is in his role as the guy in charge of the ballet company, and he is, but I want to talk about Josh Helman, who plays Claire's messed-up brother Bryan. There's a moment, toward the end of the season, when the father smacks him, and he turns to him with a look that sent an actual chill down my spine. I watched that moment three more times just for the pleasure of seeing acting that good.

Damon Herriman in the role of Romeo, the homeless guy, is very good too. I didn't love this character conceptually, but it was Herriman's acting that made it work for me. The "homeless guy living in an aesthetically pleasing little fairy den on the roof" thing is not exactly believable and vaguely insulting, and when you add in the "mentally ill guy as prophet" aspect, it's even harder to love. But that's not Herriman's fault, and he gives the character a vulnerable appeal that I could appreciate.

The only thing I really found fault with was the final episode. I should have seen those resolutions coming, but it drew attention to how the whole "fairy tale as allegory for Claire's story" aspect was clumsily written all along. I get what they were going for, but in order for it to work, you had to buy into the idea that 1) all these people would let Romeo get that involved in their personal lives and that close to their physical selves in the first place, no matter how obviously crazy he was, and 2) agree that Claire was not complicit in her own problems to some degree, when-- I'm trying to avoid spoilers here-- the show had been asserting the idea that she was. There are plenty of moments when Claire is presented as a victim of her circumstances, but there are lots of others where she goes out of her way to keep the fire of those problems burning. Which is psychologically interesting, but makes it so that when Romeo sets out to be her champion, I thought, jeez, if you're so perceptive about people and their lives, shouldn't you have noticed that Claire is causing this guy the same problem he's causing her?

Overall, though, the season was more than enjoyable. I was sorry that it ended in so few episodes, because the conflict was good enough for a season three times as long.

Although this series is very dark and gritty, there's some interesting issues brought to life here. I felt like this never gave into stereotypes, featured some marvelous dancers, and gave the women in this show some really meaty parts.

I have seen some bitching about it not being feminist enough, which is baseless. The men in the company serve mostly to fill out the company. Which makes sense really, this is NOT a show about ballet - this is a show about our main character, Claire, and her messy and dark life.

I wouldn't recommend this for anyone under 18, mainly because of the deeply dark subjects that are explored in the show. The nudity and sex is part of life, as a former dancer I definitely relate to the dancers not being modest. But I guess many people are still very prudish in 2015.

I really enjoyed the show, from the beginning to the very end it kept me very entertained and dance shown is gorgeous - not surprising as it was choreographed by Ethan Stiefel!!!

Sadly, it seems there won't be a second series - so I guess I will have to re-watch the first series.

If you're ready to dive into the darkest secrets and ugliest parts of a character (this is no rom-com), then you'll be very satisfied with Flesh and Bone.