National treasure, Natasha Lyonne, is just that IMO because, like John Wayne, Jason Statham, Vin Diesel, Zooey Deschanel, among others, she has found a way to basically play the same character in everything she does, yet, (and this is the brilliant part) still find a way to make said character different and engaging, instead of predictable and repetitive. No easy task indeed. Thespian kudos achieved.
That having been said, here, she is doing her "Russian Doll" thing, however this time she is "a human lie detector", in that she can look at someone she is talking to or looking at, and, through tics, tells, or some other normally imperceptible means, suss out that they are being less than honest. The thing is, that like many with these types of "savant syndromes", what she gains by being able to read people in this ONE aspect, she seems to have lost as far as being able to "read the room", thus, her mouth runs ahead of her in situations before her brain catches up to the fact that she hasn't read the situation THROUGH, as far as what the consequences of her "spilling the tea" might have, on herself, or others.
Thus, in this opening episode she manages to open a can of worms after a friend of hers is killed, that, snowballs into gunshot wounds and a suicide that enrages a powerful mob boss who is now hell bent on her slow torturous demise, which sends her on the lam, and, now we have a series!
Well acted in this opening episode with Benjamin Bratt and Adrian Brody providing the appropriate, if at times Keystone menace, as well as the usual Natasha Lyonne style cast of misfits and castoffs to fill out her immediate world. I'm happy to tag along, and see where this goes.
Review by Paladin5150BlockedParent2023-02-02T07:09:17Z
National treasure, Natasha Lyonne, is just that IMO because, like John Wayne, Jason Statham, Vin Diesel, Zooey Deschanel, among others, she has found a way to basically play the same character in everything she does, yet, (and this is the brilliant part) still find a way to make said character different and engaging, instead of predictable and repetitive. No easy task indeed. Thespian kudos achieved.
That having been said, here, she is doing her "Russian Doll" thing, however this time she is "a human lie detector", in that she can look at someone she is talking to or looking at, and, through tics, tells, or some other normally imperceptible means, suss out that they are being less than honest. The thing is, that like many with these types of "savant syndromes", what she gains by being able to read people in this ONE aspect, she seems to have lost as far as being able to "read the room", thus, her mouth runs ahead of her in situations before her brain catches up to the fact that she hasn't read the situation THROUGH, as far as what the consequences of her "spilling the tea" might have, on herself, or others.
Thus, in this opening episode she manages to open a can of worms after a friend of hers is killed, that, snowballs into gunshot wounds and a suicide that enrages a powerful mob boss who is now hell bent on her slow torturous demise, which sends her on the lam, and, now we have a series!
Well acted in this opening episode with Benjamin Bratt and Adrian Brody providing the appropriate, if at times Keystone menace, as well as the usual Natasha Lyonne style cast of misfits and castoffs to fill out her immediate world. I'm happy to tag along, and see where this goes.