PERRY MASON: Official Trailer & My (Spoiler) Impressions of Ep1-5
"Everyone is guilty of something."
WHAT-IS: New original series "PERRY MASON" premiered June 21st on HBO. Based on characters created by Erle Stanley Gardner, this period drama series follows the origins of American Fiction’s most legendary criminal defense lawyer, "Perry Mason" (Played by Emmy winner Matthew Rhys). "When the case of the decade breaks down his door, Mason’s relentless pursuit of the truth reveals a fractured city and just maybe, a pathway to redemption for himself."
WHO-IS: "Perry Mason is an American fictional character, a criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in more than 80 novels and short stories, most of which involve a client's murder trial. Typically, Mason establishes his client's innocence (rather than a verdict of 'not guilty') by implicating another character, who then confesses.
The character of Perry Mason was adapted for motion pictures and a long-running radio series. These were followed by the well-known adaptation, the CBS television series Perry Mason (1957–1966) starring Raymond Burr. A second television series, The New Perry Mason starring Monte Markham, ran from 1973 to 1974; and 30 Perry Mason television films ran from 1985 to 1995, with Burr reprising the role of Mason in 26 of them prior to his death in 1993. A third television series, HBO's Perry Mason starring Matthew Rhys started airing in 2020." (Wiki)
SUMMARY: "In booming 1932 Los Angeles, a down-and-out defense attorney takes on the case of a lifetime." (IMDb)
The Perry Mason in this HBO series does not start off as the "Perry Mason" folks are familiar with from the multiple tv series from the 60s and 70s. Not by the end of Episode 4 of this 8-episode season, where his existence as a "private investigator" has him dragged thru a dreary fictional life in a failed marriage and as failing father, a character caught up in sordid circumstances and activities, haunted by his past and am constantly running out of redemption ... but by the end of Episode 5? We are well on our way! Make no mistake, this is essentially the ORIGIN of how "Perry Mason" came to be the fictional legend folks recognise him from Hollywood media.
SHOW SPECS: PERRY MASON (Season 1) consists of 8 episodes, each running between 56–64 minutes. Rated "TV-MA", the show includes foul language and mature scenes (bare breasts and sexually activity AKA suggested carnal sex) and gore (mutilated bodies, including babies).
MY IMPRESSIONS & COMMENTARY: This is not your usual "whodunnit" crime caper, with the perpetrator revealed in the beginning episodes, for a crime that everyone claims is a "career killer" (for the law), but salacious enough for our dis-enfranchised tragedies of today, IMHO.
The focus of this series instead, is seeing how Mason and company navigate Los Angeles in the early-30s, in attempting to solve the crime, all the while embroiled in politics, religion (which instantly mirrors that of Lifetime's PENNY DREADFUL, actually) and racial issues, and a reminder that not much has changed for the past 9 decades (ouch) ... all of which are digested by yours truly, via my consumption of Western media (both film and teevee) with zero cultural context nor history, living here in my island of Singapore.
Make no mistake, there are no roses and sunshine here (not counting their religious commentary), with a mood reminding tons of "True Detective" - ever sombre, and ever simmering, but with a huge overwhelming scent of period prestige, IMHO!
From where I am watching, the series is as classy as their use of jazz music (offering up that "noir" slice folks oft aim for but miss, IMHO), cinematography sublime til the point of excellence (fcksakes they better win awards for this), a production value that blinds with its opulence in decay, and an exquisite control of fashion, and quippy clever words I do not hear often in contemporary or period fictional re-enactment shows - not that I am in any position to authenticate any historical visual accuracies, but...
The primaries were exceptional to say the least - bravo thus far indeed! Below descriptions via Wikipedia:
John Lithgow as "Elias Birchard "E.B." Jonathan" (a struggling attorney and regular employer of Perry Mason). You're not going to like what's gonna happen to him...
Juliet Rylance as "Della Street" (the loyal and driven legal secretary of E.B. Jonathan). The reveal of her love-interest was head-scratching as to her motivations, which I hope would become clearer by the series end, otherwise it would have been irritatingly "token"... but I like "Della", and how her patience and impatience balanced the situation as it developed...
Matthew Rhys as "Perry Mason" (a private investigator). He is just phenomenal as the tenacious sad sack of a haunted man, whose thirst and need for "justice" (or would that be "redemption") fuels his purpose in life, IMHO.
Shea Whigham as "Pete Strickland" (Mason's work partner). The more I see and find out about him, the more these two work awesome together!
Chris Chalk as "Paul Drake" (a beat cop). I easily placed him as a "convenient plot excuse", but his tears moved me somewhat, and I expect to see more of his plot intertwining the main's, otherwise I would be extremely peeved...
Tatiana Maslany as "Sister Alice McKeegan" - a preacher and leader of the Radiant Assembly of God - is manically interesting, and I await how her role and intentions play out. Her role mirrored charismatic radio evangelist "Sister Molly" in PENNY DREADFUL: CITY OF ANGELS - which bugged me the wrong way, and distracted me more than I let it be.
You will have to wait til the end of Episode 5 before you can see Mason clean shaven, and on the cusp of the character you remembered him to be... or at least the beginning of his journey...
I wanted so much to write "under the radar", but in actual fact I neither watch the trades enough (to see what everyone else has been saying), nor consume as much western media these days to quantify that statement, but you bet I'm going to be watching this til the finale (something which I cannot say for a whole lot of shows I start but choose not to end with - including the aforementioned "City of Angels" - as I don't want to be too disappointed as I had been when I started lol).
I normally do this for a complete review of a finished project, but ... AS OF EPISODE 5;
Is it worth applying for HBO to watch this? Yes.
Is it considered "essential viewing"? Not a necessity for "pop-culture lovers", but for folks who enjoy good period drama!
Is it watchable? This is thus far an easy 7/10 for me! Can't wait to see how it all resolve by Episode 8 end of Season 1! Unless of course they cliff-hang me for a "Season 2"...?
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