mparris-90592

Spies, London, Keira, Ben, quality cinematography, lovely soundtrack - what could go wrong? Plus I already know this is my favorite genre and will overlook whatever deficiencies may come. But when Episode 1 dialog ran slow, several moments lingered too long and scenes with attempted Quinten-esque dialog left me flat, I tried to console myself. Surely they are just developing characters and setting a unique tone. I was wrong. As the episodes dragged along, I realized this series was not going to deliver. Not just disjointed, but with few-to-no characters I really cared about. I honestly don't know how the magic happens, but I was drawn in deep with the stories and characters in Slow Horses, The Americans, Le Bureau, the Diplomat, and even The Old Man - despite all their flaws. Add to that a lack of stakes and numerous misses on basic details, and the annoying:intrigued ratio became too high to be enjoyable. Yes, all the core spy elements are here in Black Doves, but somehow there was no salt in the recipe and by E03 I was already increasing playback speed. I'm so sad at what could have been.

I started the series three years ago and gave up after two episodes. I'm so so glad I came back as I find myself contemplating this series more than any other show I've seen. I've been told it is important to know that it's helpful to think of this as two shows: the first season, then seasons 2-3. I think I agree. I would tell my 2019 self to just cruise through season one and wait for it...the payoffs are numerous and well worth it.

Given the premise, I was surprised that after S01E01, I rarely thought about the departure of the 2%. I did, however, find myself in regular contemplation of the persistent, inevitable, soul crushing experience of loss. And its implications on hope for tomorrow, and my willingness to let that hope inform my vulnerability today. I have to admit I was skeptical about how it would handle the question of faith. Many writers will just ignore it or explain it away or lean too hard into it. But our writers here are far too sophisticated to put faith into the neat box. In the real world, I've observed that faith is wild and will not be tamed. Oh how it roams beautifully and dangerously free in The Leftovers - right where it belongs. That authenticity becomes a foundation to build on so that when the story goes three levels past my expectations, I'm still in, experiencing life and love and loss as if I'm in the house next door with a grief of my own.

I grew up on the Twilight Zone and love the genre - even when the delivery falls short. So when I see a low budget film like this, I just imagine I'm putting on a modern Twilight Zone episode and just enjoy it for what it is. There is something lovely about a closed set and a variety of actors with diverse motivations and a Cube or Usual Suspects flavor that is just fun for its own sake. You can't watch this hoping for a Fincher outcome and then ding it when it doesn't meet that expectation. That said, if they had tightened the script a bit more and done a few more takes for some of the emotional moments, it would have landed better. Give Mucci some dollars and let him make another one. I kept thinking I saw flashes of inspiration that might prove profitable next time around.