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In the idyllic coastal Californian town of Gracepoint, a dead boy is found on the beach. The boy turns out to be Danny leaving behind his parents Beth (Virginia Kull) and Mark Solano (Michael Peña) and his older sister Chloe. Family friend police detective Ellie Miller (Anna Gunn) investigates but she's not in charge of the case. Emmett Carver (David Tennant) is a new hire with a past who is given the case to Ellie's resentment. She wanted his job.
There is something wrong with this show and I put 90% of it on having seen Broadchurch before this. I like the original and there is a lot of tension as the destructive forces descend on the town. The original isn't perfect. It does drag on a little too long. Watching this version, all the tension is gone. There is value to watching another group takes a crack at the material. I would have like for them to re-imagine it into something more different. Jodie Whittaker in Broadchurch is so effective in her performance that she drives the show to a good start. Virginia Kull couldn't replicate the effect. The only improvement I see is actually David Tennant. His non-Americanness stands out and sets him apart from the rest of the town. That isolation is more compelling in this version. Everything else is either awash or inferior. Even the location is more problematic. There is a smallness and isolation in an English coastal town which is missing when it's put in America. I'm not saying this is poorly done. It's just hard to watch this after watching the original. Maybe not watching the original helps the enjoyment of this version. I can't really comment on that.
score 5/10
SnoopyStyle 28 October 2014
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw3113227/ |
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2-12-2020 03:06:14