1980s New York City had a lot going on, and unfortunately Eric tries to wrap all that together around a runaway child and his father's descent into mental oblivion.
Benedict Cumberbatch is a fine actor but his New York accent and and the magic realism of his psychosis combine to erase any subtlety. He's a shouty mess and defies any empathy.
His madness and failings as a father are meant to somehow reflect the stable of other forms of rot going on around him. Corruption and brutality in both the Police and City Hall. Child sex work. Racism. Mental health. Homelessness. Classism. Capitalism and 'progress'. Intergenerational family breakdown. Homophobia and AIDS. Even the garbage collection crisis of NYC in the 80s gets a bit-part. Even over 6-parts, there's not enough time to do any of these justice, and then the avatar of the lost child gets, well it gets even more lost.
To me, it felt like Eric was trying to go where Birdman and The Wire went, but that's a pairing that makes almost no sense and would have required a whole lot more finessing to make good.
Happy-ish endings abound though, so I guess the good guys got their garbage collected in the end.
I liked the sound track, and I thought McKinley Belcher III did a great job as the Missing Persons detective.
Benedict Cumberbatch is a fine actor but his New York accent and and the magic realism of his psychosis combine to erase any subtlety. He's a shouty mess and defies any empathy.
His madness and failings as a father are meant to somehow reflect the stable of other forms of rot going on around him. Corruption and brutality in both the Police and City Hall. Child sex work. Racism. Mental health. Homelessness. Classism. Capitalism and 'progress'. Intergenerational family breakdown. Homophobia and AIDS. Even the garbage collection crisis of NYC in the 80s gets a bit-part. Even over 6-parts, there's not enough time to do any of these justice, and then the avatar of the lost child gets, well it gets even more lost.
To me, it felt like Eric was trying to go where Birdman and The Wire went, but that's a pairing that makes almost no sense and would have required a whole lot more finessing to make good.
Happy-ish endings abound though, so I guess the good guys got their garbage collected in the end.
I liked the sound track, and I thought McKinley Belcher III did a great job as the Missing Persons detective.
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