Still, the lack of focus left me wishing for a final season as nuanced and incisive as Better Call Saul has been. It continues in the same visual aesthetic of darker blues, though this suits the show just fine, especially when bolstered by the rising of its creeping score that makes use of pulsing stringed instruments at key moments. It is in that looming atmosphere and sense of dread that Ozark is at its best in its final season. Still, Linney gives a transcendent performance that gets under your skin as she becomes the driving force of the family’s frightening fall. It is a shame much of her subsequent storyline is centered around an out-of-left-field appearance by a character from her past that becomes increasingly uninteresting. In one particular scene where the two discuss the depths of depravity that their lives have become, she savors every line with a sinister sense of ease. When she has scenes alongside Bateman, who is also great in both a measured yet reserved way, this is felt even more. Linney brings this to life beautifully, instilling every scene she gets with a menacing ethos that is mesmerizing. Ever since she sacrificed someone close to her, Wendy has shown she is capable of doing anything and hurting anyone to get what she wants. In addition to taking on directing duties, she continues to prove to be a saving grace for the show as she convincingly shifts from being cold and calculating to unhinged in the blink of an eye. One wishes Garner’s presence was more central as it would've elevated the rest of the show even more, though it remains worth praising for what we did get.Īlongside Garner is an also incredible Laura Linney as Wendy Byrde. Building to an inevitable yet intense burst of violence, she sets in motion the steady descent over the rest of the season. It is remarkable work from Garner, making it entirely likely she could be up for yet another Emmy. Her emotions are etched into every aspect of her expression, heard in every cry and yell. There isn’t any excess around it as we spend most of our time with Ruth, fully wrapped up in her devastation and growing rage. Intermixing the tragedy through flashbacks with the tension of the present, this first episode is more patient yet purposeful in a way that the rest of the show could and should have modeled. Garner captures this with a sense of both vulnerabilities and resolve, revealing how Ruth is more utterly broken than ever before while still being committed to getting vengeance no matter the cost. Having lost everything after getting caught up in Marty’s schemes, we begin the show’s final episodes as she is grappling with an unimaginable death. Nowhere is this more felt than in Julia Garner’s arresting performance as the troubled Ruth Langmore, the vibrant and vulgar beating heart of the show. RELATED: 'Ozark' Season 4 Part 2 Trailer Reveals the End of the Line for the Byrde Family At least, that is what they are telling themselves in order to sleep at night after all they’ve done. In this final season, all they need to do is cut one more deal, and they’ll be in the clear. With each decision and betrayal, we've seen the Byrde family become unredeemable in their callous cruelty while still clinging to a fading chance at salvation. What began as a desperate way to survive certain death has now become a cold yet thriving business built on blood. Over four seasons, we have seen Jason Bateman’s Martin ‘Marty’ Byrde drag his family further into a world of crime that leaves them with increasingly few ways to escape. This is the fundamental question that is on the mind of the final season of the Netflix series Ozark. We desire these stories as they tap into our fascination with seeing people fall from grace, leaving us wondering where this life will lead them and whether there is any hope that they will come out clean on the other side. The storytelling tradition of seeing otherwise normal, ordinary people get swept up in the chaos of crime is as old as time.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |