Timothy Hutton gives another unexpected brilliant television performance on the par of his portrayal of Archie Goodwin in the A&E productions of the Nero Wolfe mysteries. Further he is reunited here with Kari Matchett (one of the ensemble players of that series), who deftly tunes her character between utter trustworthiness and blatant suspect without upsetting the delicate balance of suspense. The other key players also deliver masterful, convincing performances, particularly Gage Golightly, who steals every scene she's in and leaves us loving it.
The cinematography, especially the frequent use of slow-motion and delay-action, is meant to add to the suspense but winds up feeling a bit silly and overplayed.
Also, the frequent product-placements (the gift of Playstation 2, the insurance receptionist's salad and drink from McDonald's, the Mountain Dew can in Carl's apartment, the rental car agent's perky emoting of, "And you'll be putting that on your Visa?", the Eclipse gum display at the airport kiosk, et cetera ad infinitum) tend to tear the viewer out of the story in amusement - we're more interested in seeing which of the sponsors' products are going to show up next than we are in watching for clues.
Spoiler ahead:
Allowing for all of the occurrences that lead up to the climax/denouement of the story is all well and good, but the primary questions: "What is a college professor, not in the habit of frequenting such establishments, doing in a strip club at 3:55 am?" and "Who, at that time, wants him dead, and why?" are never resolved.
Obviously, by the fifth day, the reason he is there is to solve the mystery, but the mystery as it originally appeared for him to solve is never explained.
The first four hours of the miniseries were intriguing and curiosity-provoking, but the final hour was unsatisfying from a physics or even a science-fiction standpoint, and cheesily derivative of "Back to the Future" from an entertainment standpoint. From either standpoint, the final hour is condescending to the viewer, and in my opinion cheapened the overall impact of the story.
The cinematography, especially the frequent use of slow-motion and delay-action, is meant to add to the suspense but winds up feeling a bit silly and overplayed.
Also, the frequent product-placements (the gift of Playstation 2, the insurance receptionist's salad and drink from McDonald's, the Mountain Dew can in Carl's apartment, the rental car agent's perky emoting of, "And you'll be putting that on your Visa?", the Eclipse gum display at the airport kiosk, et cetera ad infinitum) tend to tear the viewer out of the story in amusement - we're more interested in seeing which of the sponsors' products are going to show up next than we are in watching for clues.
Spoiler ahead:
Allowing for all of the occurrences that lead up to the climax/denouement of the story is all well and good, but the primary questions: "What is a college professor, not in the habit of frequenting such establishments, doing in a strip club at 3:55 am?" and "Who, at that time, wants him dead, and why?" are never resolved.
Obviously, by the fifth day, the reason he is there is to solve the mystery, but the mystery as it originally appeared for him to solve is never explained.
The first four hours of the miniseries were intriguing and curiosity-provoking, but the final hour was unsatisfying from a physics or even a science-fiction standpoint, and cheesily derivative of "Back to the Future" from an entertainment standpoint. From either standpoint, the final hour is condescending to the viewer, and in my opinion cheapened the overall impact of the story.