Hi, I'm broadcaster and critic Jamie East,
standing on my soapbox telling you why you need
Ozark
is a crime thriller the likes of which you haven't seen before.
It takes its name from the resort in Missouri in which it's set,
although some people call it the Redneck Riviera.
There's a lot of money, but not a whole lot of teeth.
When we first meet him, Marty Byrde is a Chicago-based accountant
involved in dubious activities for the Mexican drug cartel.
A series of unfortunate events
leads him to have to relocate his very reluctant family
- Wendy, Charlotte and Jonah -
to the resort of Ozark to begin a huge money laundering operation
in order to save their lives.
Ozark was chosen as a super-last-minute destination,
after Marty remembered having a flyer in his pocket.
This place...
It's away from every single law enforcement agency in the US
and it's cash rich.
This is the first time we see
that Marty's decisions aren't always based on a whole lot of thought.
Its coastline and relatively sleepy reputation,
it seems the perfect place for the cartel to clean their cash.
As the mysterious and rich Byrdes arrive in their new town,
containers full of cash in tow,
the race is on for them to ingratiate themselves into the community
and embroil themselves into the lives and businesses of the locals.
It's not long before their propensity for flashing the cash
attracts the local criminals, as well as the watchful gaze of the FBI,
curious as to why they've suddenly upped sticks and left Chicago.
Look, I need to know what the plan is with Byrde.
Now, this show came along just at the right time for me.
It was 2017.
Breaking Bad
it had been some time
since
and apart from dramatic behemoths like
there was nothing of any real substance out there
to get your teeth into.
We were all well used to the idea of the anti-hero,
but what
was to make pretty much every character
their own Shakespearean tragedy collapsing in on itself.
Yes, Marty Byrde is the protagonist
through which most of which life happens to in
but he has the most traditionally linear character arc.
Something happens, Marty must deal with the fallout of that thing
and then you repeat until failure.
He may have the smarts
to get himself out of almost every corner he puts himself in,
but as we learn from the first ever episode,
he's only there because ultimately he's rotten to his core.
Much more interesting are the women surrounding him.
There's Wendy, his wife.
We first meet Wendy as an innocent bystander to Marty's actions.
Probably jail time,
or a witness protection program at best if we even get that far.
If we make it that far.
The kids and I are in danger.
Although she's not someone adverse to taking family-breaking risks herself.
Her transition from resisant life partner
to active and equal participant
has been swift, aggressive and incredible to watch.
I was just wondering how you'd feel about making some supplemental income.
Laura Linney's eyes do more acting in some scenes
than entire casts have across whole seasons.
This is not someone who takes no for an answer.
Whether that thing is a casino license or a drug distribution center,
she is the silent assassin.
Less silent however, is Ruth Langmore.
Ruth's been my favorite character to watch.
Don't put down anything around her that you're fond of.
Starting the show as a brattish young redneck
held in deep contempt and suspicion by Marty,
with that feeling being more than reciprocated,
Julia Garner's portrayal of the angriest woman on the planet
has been the series' unexpected joy.
The downturned mouth and pure rage which flows from her
offer some of the show's best moments.
But it's the points in her life we are privy to before she is
that keep us on tenterhooks.
That cash isn't worth the paper it's printed on
if I don't know how to clean it.
You're the smartest person this side of Mississippi.
Anything you don't know yet,
you'll figure.
For someone as morally corrupt and streetwise as Ruth is,
she's still the audience's eyes and ears.
Possibly even more so than the Byrde children.
If Ruth's angry and confused, which is a lot of the time,
then chances are we are too.
She's also the character with the least to lose.
She's the product of an abusive trailer park upbringing
and we're willing her to succeed.
I'll not take advice from someone who couldn't get past the 10th Grade.
Fuck.
She suffers no fool gladly
and she's got that twisted sense of morality
that only comes from stealing her whole life
yet considers herself loyal,
that Marty so desperately craves.
If Marty and Wendy are running the show,
no one's told Ruth.
The whole operation relies on this foulmouthed firecracker.
OK, can we now take a brief moment to discuss how the show looks, please?
A lot of our favorite shows have a distinct style,
an aesthetic intrinsically linked to the series.
With
Everything about the show seems to have
that weird 5am or 6pm sheen to it,
its constant twilight causing us to virtually squint through every scene.
It's not an accident and they didn't just forget to switch on the lights.
Ozark
indicates this sparse use of movement and hyperrealism style
was a conscious choice made by him and Jason Bateman very early on.
Taking inspiration from early David Fincher productions,
and old Fuji-color film stock,
the darkness is both a metaphorical statement
- we're encouraged to wonder what's lurking in the shadows,
what's floating beneath the lake's surface -
to the less than subliminal act
of making us actually physically lean in towards the screen,
examining each corner for more information.
Can we see someone out of focus over his shoulder?
Who is it that's talking?
Bateman's directing style,
which won him an Emmy over many of his peers,
is worthy of a huge nod too.
His use of framing is vital in the complex storytelling here.
If you're confused about who's on whose side,
Bateman often helps you along here.
It's worth taking note of who is literally on each other's side
during pivotal scenes.
It's a visual chef's kiss for you, right there.
I've also got a little theory
that everything in
because that's the color of money.
Jason Bateman will probably raise a sardonic eyebrow at that,
but I reckon I've just uncovered something in his subconscious
rather than behaving like a complete rando
clinging on to a harebrained theory, thank you very much.
It almost feels sadistic to make a show so dark
when it features such incredible locations.
If you remove the Hillbilly heroin fields,
the weird church congregation on the water,
and the limpest strip club on earth,
Ozark
your parents drove through by accident
and your mom was so taken by it you ended up eating lunch at the pub
while she collected brochures from the estate agents.
The Byrde's residence is so understatedly cool
Kevin McCloud wouldn't mind
if it was built on a tank of asbestos and plutonium.
As long as that brickwork and glass stayed where it was.
There aren't many places with enough parking for a large family,
room to pad a cavity wall with five million dollars,
a beautiful lawn leading to your own speedboat moored on the lake.
Watch out for any electrical problems there, kids.
And a grandfather figure who will watch your kids
and get his meat and veg out every day.
Why don't these places ever crop up on Rightmove?
None of this, the characters, the locations,
matters anything however,
if the story can't draw us in and keep us hooked.
This for me, is where
Starting with a boring man with a boring job
finding out his partner is on the rob and his wife's cheating on him,
feels like you're getting a series-worth of plot
in about ten minutes.
But this is no normal show.
It's all full steam ahead from there,
without ever feeling like you're being spoon-fed cliffhangers.
What immediately becomes clear
is that this tale is one that lives on its nerves
and survives by the skin of its teeth.
Marty's a man who self-justifies every disastrous decision
because he's keeping his family safe.
Without ever really acknowledging
that the danger was something he created in the first place.
His quick thinking and pragmatic approach to problems
is his greatest asset.
His uncanny ability to spot the logical and best,
or at the least the least worst path towards a solution,
gets everyone out of more than one hole.
But being constantly backed into a corner
means he's rarely as long sighted as he needs to be.
Putting out tiny waste paper basket fires
whilst pretending he can't see the building in flames in the distance.
The revelations of
But it's the human consequences that surprise, shock and terrify us
over the following 30 hours.
You think I just happened to be right next to you
when I needed somebody who knew the lake?
I found you.
As more and more unsuspecting casualties
are sucked into Marty and Wendy's selfish and increasingly desperate
survival plan,
it's their actions and reactions that give the show its heartbeat.
You know it's impossible for everyone to survive this
but in a town full of venomous snakes,
you're not even sure who deserves to anyway.
Ozark.
An incredible story of greed
and the cleverest stupid people you'll ever meet.