Review – Luck
Luck – HBO – 9:00pm Sunday – USA
When a writer creates a television show that you love they deserve a certain level of trust and understanding. We trust that if a writer missteps they will be able to find the path again and return to form. Once a writer creates something that you consider to be an exemplary piece of television it is near impossible to follow it up with another great piece of TV, but that is exactly why you have to forgive any questionable creative decisions they may make. Joss Whedon fans stayed with Dollhouse through those early iffy episodes because of Buffy, Angel & Firefly and they were rewarded for it. Aaron Sorkin fans are waiting patiently for his upcoming series The Newsroom because The West Wing & Sports Night were so good and we want him to get over the huge misstep that was Studio 60. We wait for that spark of greatness to reappear and that is why Deadwood fans are willing to forgive whatever John From Cincinatti was supposed to be because we knew that when David Milch next returned to our screens he’d bring back something like this wonderful new series Luck.
Luck stars Dustin Hoffman as Ace, a man just released from prison and who is looking to get back into the gambling business by enlisting his driver Gus (Dennis Farina) to buy a horse and act as a front. In typical David Milch fashion Hoffman is surrounded by a massive cast of characters each of questionable morality played by all sorts of great character actors. Kevin Dunn, Richard Kind, John Ortiz, Nick Nolte and more all pop up throughout the first hour as trainers, owners, jockeys, agents, gamblers and other folks who spent a good chunk of their day down at the track. Just as he did with Deadwood Milch creates a living and breathing world full of intriguing characters.
HBO previewed the first episode of Luck late last year partially in an effort to promote the series but also to give people time to settle into Milch’s world. Deadwood is my favourite drama series of all time but it was a series that I greatly struggled with in the early goings. When I first watched the show I gave up after three or four episodes because the world was so dense and the dialogue so impenetrable that I felt like the show wasn’t for me. The second time I watched Deadwood the early episodes felt the same until episode six when everything clicked into place. David Milch, like The Wire’s David Simon, creates worlds that take time to understand. Deadwood was such a rewarding and fantastic television experience because it took time to understand the show.
Before writing this review I made sure I watched the pilot for Luck twice because I knew I was going to miss something, and I had, and the second viewing was surprising more rewarding than the first. Even though I knew what was going to happen by the end of the episode I had a far greater understanding of the characters, of the world, and of all the dense gambling speak that’s spattered throughout the show. Milch throws his audience in the deep end and expects you to learn how to swim. Other writers might hold your hand by introducing a character whose sole purpose is to explain how horse racing works but Milch doesn’t do that. He trusts that you will be able to keep up and it makes for a far more gratifying viewing experience.
Luck isn’t just race track chatter and world building, this first episode also tells a cracking tale about four gamblers, led by Kevin Dunn, who bet big on a Pick 6 (again, if you’re not up on your gambling terms going into this series I’m sure you will be by the time it’s over) which will pay out over two million dollars if they win. As you would expect from David Milch the dialogue is filled with crackling wit and a good helping of cussing. Michael Mann directed the pilot and he brings an exciting visual flair that compliments Milch’s way with words. The race sequences are truly breathtaking and like no horse racing I’ve seen put on film before. This pilot episode is an absolutely fantastic hour of television and if Milch and Mann can keep this up (and there’s no reason to doubt they can’t) Luck is easily going to be one of the best series of the year.
Good, Alright, Bad Or Ugly?
Good
