Now that I've seen the whole series, I'm revising my review, and upping my rating to a 10. Make no mistake, though. You are in for a very heavy and unrelenting experience from beginning to end. It's well worth it!
David Simon (The Wire, Treme) has never filmed a novel before. But he and his longtime partner Ed Burns (The Wire, Show Me a Hero) have chosen exceptionally well: Philip Roth's prescient novel, set in the 1940s but in some ways feeling a bit like today.
It's top HBO/Simon/Burns stuff. Great production values. A middle-class New Jersey neighborhood that looks just right. Songs that correspond closely to the time. Clothing and cars also.
But again, this is not light TV fare. There's also the trademark Simon-Burns long story arc. So exercise patience as you watch the increasing fear mounting across 1940's Newark and the whole country. Fortunately, we get to watch the wonderful cast: Winona Ryder, Zoe Kazan, John Tuturro and a terrific Morgan Spencer, as they grapple with their lives in crisis. Hold on to your seats.
David Simon (The Wire, Treme) has never filmed a novel before. But he and his longtime partner Ed Burns (The Wire, Show Me a Hero) have chosen exceptionally well: Philip Roth's prescient novel, set in the 1940s but in some ways feeling a bit like today.
It's top HBO/Simon/Burns stuff. Great production values. A middle-class New Jersey neighborhood that looks just right. Songs that correspond closely to the time. Clothing and cars also.
But again, this is not light TV fare. There's also the trademark Simon-Burns long story arc. So exercise patience as you watch the increasing fear mounting across 1940's Newark and the whole country. Fortunately, we get to watch the wonderful cast: Winona Ryder, Zoe Kazan, John Tuturro and a terrific Morgan Spencer, as they grapple with their lives in crisis. Hold on to your seats.