Clarice

Wow. The writing on this, in terms of plot and dialogue is cringeworthy throughout. The acting as well is simply flat.

Clarice is an entertaining watch as long as you don't sit there comparing the main lead actress with the portrayal of the character by the legendary Jodie Foster in Silence Of The Lambs. Just enjoy it for what it is, the main actress does a fine job in the role. Although the pilot episode was not that gripping, I enjoyed it and I really feel that this series could well get better as it goes along, I will defitely keep watching it.

Silence of the Lambs was a character study and thriller that was hauntingly directed. 'Clarice' is a superb homage to the original and to the title character. It picks up one year after the Buffalo Bill case and it addresses the PTSD that still impacts the young Clarice, who is played by the excellent Rebecca Breeds. She nails the part, which is daunting considering that Jodie Foster was iconic in the role. She is subtle in showing the character's enormous strength, deft at trying to politically maneuver through the male dominated FBI power structure while showing her brilliance, and honest in showing Clarice's human vulnerabilities.

The directing is way above average for a TV 'procedural'. It has an art-house feel. Maybe too many flashbacks. Some of the male leads are stereotypical and too overbearing, but we are only 4 episodes in. Hoping for more development for those characters, but TV is longform.

And by that I am of course referring to the excellent series featuring Mads Mikkelsen's amazing portrayal of Dr. Hannibal Lecter. That series had great style, fantastic atmosphere, and stellar directing, editing, and acting. They planned to tell the ultimate Hannibal Lecter story but only were able to make three seasons out of a seven season plan. So, here we have a Clarice Starling series that had been in the works for years but didn't get the train running till now.

So the premiere - Meh. Rebecca Breeds makes a very good Clarice but nothing else is up to her level. The cinematography isn't bad but the atmosphere is lacking, the characters are none too memorable, and the storyline isn't attention grabbing enough. I give it about a season at least.

Overall this series is underwhelming, the storylines are disjointed and the subplots/tangents are unnecessary and distracting. The show tries way too hard to be 'Edgy', painting the main character as a psycho loose cannon who can do nothing right, which doesn't seem true to the character. A great premise that went wrong.