Olive Kitteridge
Posted: Wed Nov 12, 2014 8:37 pm
I was waiting for someone to start a new thread for this, as I'm mostly just a lurker and enjoy reading you smart people's takes on film and TV, without feeling like I can add much to the discussion. Anyway, I strongly recommend watching this. Here is the synopsis, from HBO's page:
Has anyone else watched it? If so, what did you think?
It's also worth noting it's based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, which has been described in some of the reviews I've read for the show as being "unfilmable," due to its 13-short-stories structure. It feels better to call this a four-part film than a miniseries, but whatever one wants to call it, it's easily one of the best things I've seen all year in TV and film. It's rare to see marriage depicted the way it is here (i.e. mature, complicated, sometimes difficult, and not rife with cliches). The performances are top-notch, too, with McDormand and Jenkins, especially, giving the performances of their careers (I generally hate that description, but for once I think it's fitting). McDormand will almost certainly be winning some awards.OLIVE KITTERIDGE tells the poignantly sweet, acerbically funny and devastatingly tragic story of a seemingly placid New England town wrought with illicit affairs, crime and tragedy, told through the lens of Olive (Frances McDormand), whose wicked wit and harsh demeanor mask a warm but troubled heart and staunch moral center. Richard Jenkins portrays Olive’s husband, Henry.
The story, which spans 25 years, focuses on her relationships with her husband, Henry, the good-hearted and kindly town pharmacist; their son, Christopher, who resents his mother’s approach to parenting; and other members of their community.
The supporting cast features Golden Globe winner Bill Murray (“Lost in Translation”) as Jack Kennison, a widower befriended by Olive; John Gallagher, Jr. (HBO’s “The Newsroom”) as Christopher, Olive and Henry’s son; Emmy® nominee Peter Mullan (“Top of the Lake”) as Jim O’Casey, a fellow teacher at Olive’s school; Rosemarie DeWitt (“Mad Men”) as Rachel Coulson, a shut-in who is one of Henry’s customers at the pharmacy; and Zoe Kazan (“Ruby Sparks”) as Denise Thibodeau, who works at the pharmacy.
Has anyone else watched it? If so, what did you think?