Ozark
- Murdoch
- Joined: Sun Apr 20, 2008 11:59 pm
- Location: Upstate NY
Ozark
This show could easily be written off as a Breaking Bad clone - A middle-aged man with a mundane profession and a drive (or excuse) to provide for his family works with drug cartels to get a better life. For the first few episodes it doesn't rise above this impression, and despite some moments of sudden violence it feels very familiar. Not until midway through the season did I discover the show had grabbed hold of me.
When it's revealed that the town Bateman and his family flee to isn't some middle-of-nowhere refuge from the world but rather its own insidious web of corruption and false identities, the dull mechanics of a familiar plot give way to something more complex. Bateman, diving into the role of the manipulative and fast-talking financial advisor Marty Byrde, separates his character from that of Walter White. He's not the self-obsessed genius with a god complex. The writers don't paint him as down-on-his-luck and in need of a break. From the start he's talking himself out of trouble, his voice calm and desperate and demeanor cowering. It's hard to root for him since he has so few redeeming qualities, but at the same time watching him negotiate around people's misgivings makes for a compelling experience.
Despite Bateman giving a career performance, Julia Garner is the standout of the show. Her deadly teen that bounces between family matriarch and petty criminal toes a fine line between sympathetic and cruel. In fact, the characters of the show elevate it above the plot, which suffers from the ridiculous - Byrde being able to launder hundreds of thousands of dollars through an unpopular lakeside bar - and the familiar. A murderous couple that runs a heroin ring through their family farm, a born-again preacher that gives his sermon on a boat on the lake, Byrde's son who takes up stalking through the woods with a rifle to protect his family's new home. All these come together to form a shady underbelly that becomes more threatening the deeper into it Byrde delves. It's not perfect, but out of the avalanche of new Netflix shows this has become a favorite of mine.
When it's revealed that the town Bateman and his family flee to isn't some middle-of-nowhere refuge from the world but rather its own insidious web of corruption and false identities, the dull mechanics of a familiar plot give way to something more complex. Bateman, diving into the role of the manipulative and fast-talking financial advisor Marty Byrde, separates his character from that of Walter White. He's not the self-obsessed genius with a god complex. The writers don't paint him as down-on-his-luck and in need of a break. From the start he's talking himself out of trouble, his voice calm and desperate and demeanor cowering. It's hard to root for him since he has so few redeeming qualities, but at the same time watching him negotiate around people's misgivings makes for a compelling experience.
Despite Bateman giving a career performance, Julia Garner is the standout of the show. Her deadly teen that bounces between family matriarch and petty criminal toes a fine line between sympathetic and cruel. In fact, the characters of the show elevate it above the plot, which suffers from the ridiculous - Byrde being able to launder hundreds of thousands of dollars through an unpopular lakeside bar - and the familiar. A murderous couple that runs a heroin ring through their family farm, a born-again preacher that gives his sermon on a boat on the lake, Byrde's son who takes up stalking through the woods with a rifle to protect his family's new home. All these come together to form a shady underbelly that becomes more threatening the deeper into it Byrde delves. It's not perfect, but out of the avalanche of new Netflix shows this has become a favorite of mine.
Last edited by Murdoch on Tue Aug 08, 2017 8:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
- domino harvey
- Dot Com Dom
- Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm
Re: Ozark
I thought this show was ripping off Justified, not Breaking Bad? I was excited to see Josh Randall from Ed was in this, but it's my understanding he's not for long...
- jbeall
- Joined: Sat Aug 12, 2006 9:22 am
- Location: Atlanta-ish
Re: Ozark
I'm only a couple episodes in, but finding it a little formulaic. I was interested because the show was filmed at Lake Allatoona in north Georgia, and some of the in-town scenes were filmed in Lawrenceville, where I live (and which also happens to be the city where Larry Flynt was shot and paralyzed). But so far the main character is a lot less interesting than Walter White.
SpoilerShow
Walt at least became loathsome, but Bateman's character starts out that way.
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- Joined: Mon Jun 27, 2005 3:31 pm
- Location: Indiana
- Contact:
Re: Ozark
Don't mean to nitpick but it's spelled "Byrde".Murdoch wrote:Despite Bateman giving a career performance, Julia Garner is the standout of the show. Her deadly teen that bounces between family matriarch and petty criminal toes a fine line between sympathetic and cruel. In fact, the characters of the show elevate it above the plot, which suffers from the ridiculous - Bird being able to launder hundreds of thousands of dollars through an unpopular lakeside bar - and the familiar. A murderous couple that runs a heroin ring through their family farm, a born-again preacher that gives his sermon on a boat on the lake, Bird's son who takes up stalking through the woods with a rifle to protect his family's new home. All these come together to form a shady underbelly that becomes more threatening the deeper into it Bird delves. It's not perfect, but out of the avalanche of new Netflix shows this has become a favorite of mine.
I'll go you one better and suggest that the children are actually overshadowing their adult counterparts. If you did a show like this more from their perspective I think it would come off much more interesting, than having to be dealt with the comparisons the show naturally has been given.
Some very interesting casting choices, particularly Peter Mullan (playing a character not far removed one he did last year on TV, but a bit more nasty and overtly malevolent) and Harris Yulin. His scenes with the Byrde's son were some of the highlights for me.
Last edited by flyonthewall2983 on Sun Apr 26, 2020 10:54 am, edited 1 time in total.
- aox
- Joined: Fri Jun 20, 2008 12:02 pm
- Location: nYc
Re: Ozark
I'm only two episodes in, and there are certainly things to like here, but it can be really bad in terms of writing and a waste of lot of its time economy. Some of the convenient contrivances in the screenplay really irked me. Or, just nonsensical sequences.
My problem is mostly Bateman
SpoilerShow
The truck with the barrels of acid crashing. Bateman still using his AmEx. His attempted suicide. Why didn't he call his Chicago PI about life insurance investigations before telling Linney his plan? That was a complete waste of 10(?) minutes. How did the daughter know where the robbers would be? I must have missed some dialogue.
And of course, even though Bateman does address it, how did he not know about the skimming operation?
And of course, even though Bateman does address it, how did he not know about the skimming operation?
SpoilerShow
We're lead to believe he is a genius, but he seems so completely inept at being a tough guy like Walter White when he needs to be. I assume this may change over the next eight episodes. His character just doesn't seem consistent or congruent.
- Murdoch
- Joined: Sun Apr 20, 2008 11:59 pm
- Location: Upstate NY
Re: Ozark
Edited.Don't mean to nitpick but it's spelled "Byrde".
A lot of the criticisms I agree with. I struggled through the first episodes and the writing of the show remains flawed, with some things making no sense at all to me (Why does it matter whether the preacher is on a boat or in a church? How does that operation even work?). But the last few episodes set up an interesting arc, with the mix of Mexican drug lords and rural heroin pushers promising in its culture clash.
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- Joined: Mon Jun 27, 2005 3:31 pm
- Location: Indiana
- Contact:
Re: Ozark
Worse than that, it reminded me a lot of Bloodline, which I knew you couldn't stand.domino harvey wrote:I thought this show was ripping off Justified, not Breaking Bad?
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- Joined: Mon Jun 27, 2005 3:31 pm
- Location: Indiana
- Contact:
Re: Ozark
Not surprised. They've got to renew something!
- mfunk9786
- Under Chris' Protection
- Joined: Fri May 16, 2008 4:43 pm
- Location: Philadelphia, PA
Re: Ozark
This is exactly where I am and I fucking hate this show thusfar. How many times are we supposed to be expected to swallow long monologues by Bateman to people who have no plot reason to buy into his bullshit for longer than it takes to repeatedly beat him to a pulp?aox wrote:I'm only two episodes in, and there are certainly things to like here, but it can be really bad in terms of writing and a waste of lot of its time economy. Some of the convenient contrivances in the screenplay really irked me. Or, just nonsensical sequences.
My problem is mostly BatemanSpoilerShowThe truck with the barrels of acid crashing. Bateman still using his AmEx. His attempted suicide. Why didn't he call his Chicago PI about life insurance investigations before telling Linney his plan? That was a complete waste of 10(?) minutes. How did the daughter know where the robbers would be? I must have missed some dialogue.
And of course, even though Bateman does address it, how did he not know about the skimming operation?
SpoilerShowWe're lead to believe he is a genius, but he seems so completely inept at being a tough guy like Walter White when he needs to be. I assume this may change over the next eight episodes. His character just doesn't seem consistent or congruent.
SpoilerShow
The idea, for example, that he could talk millions of dollars out of the hands of a family of novice criminals is absolutely absurd. I could not believe what I was being asked to swallow.
- The Curious Sofa
- Joined: Fri Sep 13, 2019 6:18 am
Re: Ozark
The plotting is a little haphazard for the first couple of seasons but by season three, when it morphs into a deeply fucked up version of Kenneth Lonergan's You Can Count on Me, it goes from a decent show to a great one. That season is as good as any season of Breaking Bad.
People keep focusing on Bateman's character as a point of criticism in comparison to Breaking Bad but as the show goes on, it becomes clear that he isn't the Walter White of Ozark. He's the Skyler to Laura Linney's Walter/Wendy who is the central anti-hero of the show. Linney 's performance is something to behold as she turns increasingly ruthless and adept at manipulating others, taking her entire family to hell with her. Bateman's Marty becomes more cautious, even traumatised by the decend into a moral abyss, while his wife has found her purpose. There is an inherent warmth to Linney as a performer, so it's all the more chilling every time all humanity drains from her when she means business.
Of course this isn't social realism (and neither was Breaking Bad), its a pulpy crime drama and hardly profound but as such it made the time go faster as I worked my way through all three seasons during lockdown. As to the criticism of the "poor and disenfranchised characters" you need to get a little further into the show before writing them off. They all have surprises up their sleeves and they are well drawn characters who defy easy stereotyping. Ruth, the most prominent of the "redneck" characters and the show's third lead, has become the fan favourite and increasingly the closest to Ozark's moral center, at least as far as that's possible in a show where every character has blood on their hands.
People keep focusing on Bateman's character as a point of criticism in comparison to Breaking Bad but as the show goes on, it becomes clear that he isn't the Walter White of Ozark. He's the Skyler to Laura Linney's Walter/Wendy who is the central anti-hero of the show. Linney 's performance is something to behold as she turns increasingly ruthless and adept at manipulating others, taking her entire family to hell with her. Bateman's Marty becomes more cautious, even traumatised by the decend into a moral abyss, while his wife has found her purpose. There is an inherent warmth to Linney as a performer, so it's all the more chilling every time all humanity drains from her when she means business.
Of course this isn't social realism (and neither was Breaking Bad), its a pulpy crime drama and hardly profound but as such it made the time go faster as I worked my way through all three seasons during lockdown. As to the criticism of the "poor and disenfranchised characters" you need to get a little further into the show before writing them off. They all have surprises up their sleeves and they are well drawn characters who defy easy stereotyping. Ruth, the most prominent of the "redneck" characters and the show's third lead, has become the fan favourite and increasingly the closest to Ozark's moral center, at least as far as that's possible in a show where every character has blood on their hands.