3113
Hello Summer!
- Joined
- Nov 1, 2005
- Posts
- 13,823
I'm pretty amazed by the American Movie Channel's foray into tv series. First there was Mad Men, and now there's Breaking Bad: the story of a mild-mannered chemistry teacher who, on learning that he has cancer, goes through a startling transformation into becoming...no, not a superhero but...a dealer of crystal meth! Like Mad Men, this series was done on a shoe-string budget, but AMC seems to understand that few studios do these days. They don't re-write things to death nor do they try to funnel a ton of money into anything. They let the show's creator give them a tight, well-budgeted vision that makes good use of every penny on spare settings, great story telling and phenomenal acting.
And I do mean phenomenal acting. This show is a an actor's dream and Bryan Cranston makes the most of it.
Theme-wise, they also seem to really know their audience; in both Mad Men and Breaking the primary question is manhood. What is it? And when modern life throws a man curve balls, how can he regain or assert his manhood? In this case, provide for and protect his family? This is a fascinating character study of a man who has spent his life getting such curve balls and making due with what they required of him, no matter how they've un-manned him, from a disabled son to a loss of professional prestige and hopes for the future, even to losing one woman and settling for another. Now, with that last curve ball of imminent death in sight, he wants to assert himself. He wants to decide how he's going to go out and provide for his family when he does, and we see him not only making that decision (which requires a complete compromise of all he's been and done, not to mention his morals and ethics), but also taking responsibility for that decision--the harshest possible responsibilities, as the drug world doesn't allow anyone to be a neutral pacifist.
I'll admit that part of my fascination in this show is that it IS a celebration of the chemistry geek using his brain to get the better of bigger, stronger bullies. The weaker this man gets, the stronger he becomes. We see him using his mind as we're sure he hasn't been using it in years. And Bryan Cranston is amazing in this role. He's sure to win an Emmy for it.
And yet I do have one complaint: the women are poorly drawn, the wife, especially, is little more than a foil for her husband, right out of some stereotypical cartoon of the insensitive and domineering spouse. She was clearly created more to cause problems and drive her husband in certain directions rather than as a real wife that one would imagine this guy would really love.
Still, if you can accept the premise (and I'll understand if you find it a bit too amoral for your tastes), I'd like to recommend this show. I don't know if there are any free downloads of it, or if they're repeating any episodes, but it's well worth checking out, I think. The pilot at least.
And I do mean phenomenal acting. This show is a an actor's dream and Bryan Cranston makes the most of it.
Theme-wise, they also seem to really know their audience; in both Mad Men and Breaking the primary question is manhood. What is it? And when modern life throws a man curve balls, how can he regain or assert his manhood? In this case, provide for and protect his family? This is a fascinating character study of a man who has spent his life getting such curve balls and making due with what they required of him, no matter how they've un-manned him, from a disabled son to a loss of professional prestige and hopes for the future, even to losing one woman and settling for another. Now, with that last curve ball of imminent death in sight, he wants to assert himself. He wants to decide how he's going to go out and provide for his family when he does, and we see him not only making that decision (which requires a complete compromise of all he's been and done, not to mention his morals and ethics), but also taking responsibility for that decision--the harshest possible responsibilities, as the drug world doesn't allow anyone to be a neutral pacifist.
I'll admit that part of my fascination in this show is that it IS a celebration of the chemistry geek using his brain to get the better of bigger, stronger bullies. The weaker this man gets, the stronger he becomes. We see him using his mind as we're sure he hasn't been using it in years. And Bryan Cranston is amazing in this role. He's sure to win an Emmy for it.
And yet I do have one complaint: the women are poorly drawn, the wife, especially, is little more than a foil for her husband, right out of some stereotypical cartoon of the insensitive and domineering spouse. She was clearly created more to cause problems and drive her husband in certain directions rather than as a real wife that one would imagine this guy would really love.
Still, if you can accept the premise (and I'll understand if you find it a bit too amoral for your tastes), I'd like to recommend this show. I don't know if there are any free downloads of it, or if they're repeating any episodes, but it's well worth checking out, I think. The pilot at least.
