Full Circle

Surprising low scores for this excellent, dark mini-series. In fact, once you start watching it, you have to watch all 6 episodes.

It's a low-paced thriller which carries a lot of suspense yet it is easy to follow and all pieces come together during the last 2-3 episodes. The story is quite complex and develops slowly but it's rewarding. Some of the visuals haunted me for some time, since the director immerses the audience into a weird and unfamiliar world, from both ends of the society.

Very good cast, acting is great and especially the young actors are convincing. It's really worth watching, I enjoyed every minute of it.

I'm a Soderbergh fan, even if I don't like everything he does. He's not someone who's going to direct the next Marvel movie, he takes chances. My biggest complaint with him is usually his dialogue which often feels improvised. It didn't get a whole lot better here.

I appreciated the overall messages of this one. It was a story about accountability, and about how sometimes you can be held accountable for the way you hold people accountable. The story unfolds very gradually, you're given the pieces of the puzzle in a somewhat tedious manner and I think he struggle with finding a way to reveal everything so it felt a tad clumsy.

It's hard to recognize the quality of the acting because the characters are all such doofuses, but I think everyone did a pretty good job. Special mention to Zazie Beetz who I usually don't like but she was really good here, annoying though her character was meant to be.

The biggest crime committed was the blue bag they made Clare Danes wear as clothes.

The plot is quite interesting and keeps you wondering what will happen next. Actors are pretty good, but seeing Claire Danes made me feel like she was still playing Carrie from Homeland. She basically only has one aggressive expression. The dialogues were at times a bit tiring. Especially the annoying scenes involving Zazie Beetz (Mel Harmony). The story itself was not that credible, but still entertaining. Not sure about the creative camera-angles. It works sometimes, but feels somewhat unnecessary. I had a hard time keeping up with all the names and persons introduced, so this is not something you can watch half asleep. Would I recommend this to a friend? As a summertime view, yes. Will it stick with me? Definitely not.

Even Claire Danes couldn't save it. It seems like everything is ruined by poor directing. Chaos. Inconsistent atmosphere that makes you sometimes lose track of whether it's supposed to be thriller or comedy. Especially in the scenes with Timothy Olyphant. Lots of unreliable situations that don't allow you to immerse yourself. When it comes to the characters from Guyana, it feels like it's fantasy; when the scenes involve the wealthy family, it feels like it's drama. Lastly, I know New York well, and this is the first production set there that I don't believe it is. And it's not an advantage that they experimented with, for example, "a different NYC," no, it's another unreliable element. Because of all this, the whole series feels like you're grading a school assignment: "they did this wrong, that's good," instead of simply following the story.

I don't quite get the negative reviews. The show is interesting in my opinion and I plan to watch it through. A few past favorites have been Ted Lasso, Succession, Billions, Mare of EastTown, The Old Man, Queens Gambet, Last of Us, Top Boy. So if you are a fan of these too, then I think you will enjoy Full Circle. While it may not be brilliant it's thought provoking. Plus, has an excellent cast, soundtrack, and unusual storyline. It may not become an Emmy nominated show but after the first two episodes I am left thinking or reflecting back on certain scenes and eager for the next episode. For anyone looking for something outside of the typical Hollywood studio formula I say give it a chance.