Martin 'Marty' Byrde, a hardworking and successful financial advisor, is dragged into a situation beyond his control when his business partner cheats a threatful client within the business. Marty must now relocate himself and his family, and victoriously grow a personal saving of millions of dollars to those he loves safe.
Ozark sometimes has its calming and mysterious moments, but the series seems to be blanketed by a darker and sinister tone; Marty is a good man, a family man, but this is blanketed by his decaying marriage and struggle to communicate with his family. His wife, Wendy, is a good mother but is struggling to regrow her marriage with Marty as much as he is struggling. Marty's business partner, Bruce, is a successful married man, but he has as many dark secrets like everyone else in the business. Secrets everywhere.
Jason Bateman does a very good job of displaying himself as an understanding financial client - Marty Byrde. Jason's dramatic performance as a level-headed, verbally convincing financial client is realistic, personal, possibly debatable, but certainly believable. Laura Linney is also performing exceptionally, and we can only be faithful that her character will grow throughout the series and show us that she is capable at throwing her inner character emotions to the series' audience.
The cinematography and placements of items and actors are received very well. There wasn't a scene where I felt like I was being smothered by overly in-your-face details and characters. Each scene is mysterious yet simple at the exact same time, and we have Bill Dubuque and Mark Williams to thank for that.
Everything in each scene has been chosen delicately. When it comes to a series like this, an audience will rely on the scenes matching the shapes, tones, and themes of each scene. When the characters are discussing their next business actions, the scenes are constantly considered and given the look and feel of where one would be to discuss said business. The writing isn't lazy, so there is hope for the future of this series.
The editing can be unexpected in some instances, but I'd be lying if I said that the editing was amazing. No, the editing is clean and simple - nothing that would require us to rewind a scene and grasp precise details. The lighting and positioning of each camera, however, adds to the visual sensations of each scene and gives us a precise intended tone.
The dialogue is realistic, which has helped Marty become a very intriguing character quickly. What I love most about the dialogue, however, isn't the fact that it's realistic, but the fact that, depending on who the character is, they will stay loyal to their backgrounds and upbringings. Not one character 'felt out of place' and made me think "I don't think they know what to do with this character."
This was a decent enough first episode - entertaining. I'm hoping to feel further intrigued by the snappy writing and use of, for now, underdeveloped characters and what situations they will find themselves in. Hopefully, Bill Dubuque and Mark Williams will be able to keep this series curving in a quirky direction.
