Goliath

Binged-watched this one in 3 days and it was an absolute pleasure. It's not that the story itself is so thrillingly addictive, but mainly that almost all of the main characters are so fascinating, well crafted and brilliantly performed that you just keep wanting to go back and discover more about them. All of them deeply flawed, and yet vividly human and (for the most part) to at least some extent likable. Furthermore, the sheer amount of fully fleshed out, round and interesting characters that the show manages to create and build in just one 8-episode season is seriously impressive - there must be around 10 main supporting characters and by the end none of them feel under- served.

It helps of course that the cast is one of the most talented and charismatic ones put together for any show this year, with special mentions going to Thornton, Maria Bello and Nina Arianda, though literally everyone (down to even minor characters like the judge) is at the very least very good, if not excellent. It also helps that the show is masterfully written and beautifully shot, has a very strong visual identity and takes great advantage of LA as its location, particularly with the driving scenes and time- lapse shots.

Don't be fooled by people calling it a legal drama, it might have a lot of lawyers and a few courtroom scenes but the way it's shot and paced, the amount of detective work involved, the score and the atmosphere the show maintains make it feel much more like classy film noir than any legal drama I've ever watched.

Moves briskly despite the length, great courtroom scenes, amazing work from the actors, all of them. Nina Arianda, Tania Raymonde and Olivia Thirlby are standouts in a cast featuring Thornton, William Hurt and Molly Parker, and this is the first role I've seen Harold Perrineau in where I didn't see him, just his character. Maria Bello is quite good as well.

One of the best shows of the year, for me. Maybe 2-3 mildly preachy bits that dragged, but altogether solid. While there's not much actual action, a lot happens, but it doesn't feel clumsy or forced. I would be into a season 2.

Random Thought Review

This show, hopefully a limited run extended mini-series is a gritty, dirty, nasty "Good Wife" with a bad attitude.

Where "The Good Wife" was upscale and cast with beautiful actors and filmed in bright colors and light, "Goliath" is the opposite. Billy Bob Thornton would not have been cast at an attorney on "The Good Wife." Billy Bob Thornton is beat up looking in real life and plays a beat up burned out attorney living in a low rent apartment on the beach near Los Angeles.

Billy McBride's allies are fatally flawed and compared to "The Good Wife" unattractive. His associates look like ordinary people you'd meet in the supermarket. Great casting in other words.

The attorneys at "Cooperman-McBride" are simply over-the-top in their nastiness. William Hurt gave me nightmares. That man is a genius in getting into character - in this case, I hope he was able to shake Cooperman after wrapping on Goliath. I'd hate to have that character haunt me after the show wrapped.

Over all this gritty take on a legal drama is great simply because it is so different from the long running "Good Wife."

Just my random thoughts.

I'm not into courtroom dramas, & I don't have a particular interest in procedurals of any stripe. I did find "Goliath" to be very involving and entertaining. There are some clichéd tropes, as there are to some extent in ALL narrative fiction: the wastrel who has squandered his position of privilege and is handed the means to his own retribution, the big bad corporation pitted against the little guy, the 11th hour testimony to save the day for the plucky litigants...these contrivances in no way detract from what is at heart a good story with vivid, lifelike characters who suffer real consequences. There are a few "types", characters who fulfill a narrative function, but if you're THAT hung up on purity, screw it; you shouldn't be watching television, you should be writing stories and making your own truthful narratives. This is quality entertainment, and easily the best thing I've watched recently. Billy Bob Thornton is perfect, the supporting cast is top- notch, and while it does follow some genre formulae...it's artfully rendered GENRE, people. I suspect that the person complaining that it wasn't up to the standards of Chandler or Connelly (WTF?) suffers from ODC and likes having the last word in any discussion, whether it's regarding crime fiction or upholstery. I found it very entertaining.

Goliath is a pretty solid legal thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat throughout every season. As always, Billy Bob Thornton was terrific. He has proven time and time again to be a very good actor and this actually might be his best role of his career. Well, at least one of them anyways. Each episode ends leaving you wanting more. There are plenty of twists and turns during each season and they all pay off in the end. This series isn't anything that's not been done before, this show just does it little better. If you're into legal dramas and haven't seen this yet then I definitely would recommend giving this a chance. You won't be disappointed.