An Open Mind is a Beautiful Thing, You Should Try It.
Only slightly spoiler-ish...I went into this as a Broadchurch fan. In fact, a Broadchurch super-fan. I bought the DVDs and almost have them memorized. Gracepoint, however, was made for those who have never seen Broadchurch, which is most of America. That said, it has been made abundantly clear that after the second episode the stories diverge and we are assured that the ending winds up in a very different place. In fact, so much so that should there be a season 2, Carver's story will be radically different to that of his UK counterpart.Knowing this, I went into viewing Gracepoint on its own merits. I was not disappointed. Carver is a bit different, angrier, more cynical, still broken but more aggressive, almost like a wounded or cornered creature. I love the difference. Anna Gunn's Olivia is quite different as well. She is quicker to bite back and I like that, too. As to plot I've already spotted what is either a game changer or one hell of a red herring...cause of death in the child, Danny Solano. I also love the score. Written by Grammy Award winning drummer for They Might Be Giants, Marty Beller, it is as haunting as the score for Broadchurch but has an underlying feel of menace, eeriness and foreboding. Tennant's accent is fine. It's a non-specific east coast accent which is good. Especially given that there is no one true American accent. Here we are a fluid society, so movable that many of us have blended accents, so ignore any complaints you hear about it. I say well done, Mr. Tennant! The final scene...I won't spoil it...left me feeling chilled and filled with foreboding, this huge, mysterious thing, breaching, then sinking back into the dark depths. It felt like a simile for death. The acting by the platinum quality cast is solid, the production values are set high above that of any network show...this could have been a high-grade pay channel show...so yes, even as a Broadchurch super-fan I am well pleased with Gracepoint.
score 10/10
Pipkin_Sweetgrass 6 October 2014
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw3099709/14351
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