In 1976, world renowned filmmaker Sidney Lumet made a film called Network, with Peter Finch, Faye Dunaway and William Holden. In the film's most famous sequence, a news anchor named Howard Beale (Finch) has a mental breakdown on camera. He engages his audience directly and rants for several minutes about the nature of journalism and humanity's failings, culminating in one of cinema's greatest lines,"I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!"
I bring this up because of a scene early on in HBO's latest series, The Newsroom (premiering Sunday, 7/24 at 10pm PST/EST), where Will McAvoy (Jeff Daniels) has a similar outburst after being asked why America is the best country on the planet. While he's nothing but calm, jovial and humorous in the moments preceding his rant, you can feel the inner turmoil and tension itching and clawing at his soul, and finally it becomes too much for him to bare.
While McAvoy's anti-American outburst is perceived as ugly by the public and his peers, the rant is nothing more than an angry follow-up to Beale's "Mad as hell" rant from more than 30 years ago. As though the two are connected, McAvoy's rant seems to indicate his anger and frustration that everyone did, in fact, get angry, but no one really listened to each other and fixed the problems that made Beale angry in the first place.
The Newsroom is Aaron Sorkin's much-anticipated return to TV. It's a sharp, biting sociopolitical drama set within the walls of a TV news journalism, a world rife with intense competition, slanted ideals and compromised moral values. In other words, it's a proverbial playground for Sorkin's razor-sharp commentary, token wit and lightning-quick dialogue.
At the center of the series is McAvoy, a mean-spirited, burnt-out TV anchor who's loved by his fans and loathed by his co-workers. He fears his outburst may well spell the end of his career, but he also doesn't seem to care about perception anymore, either. In an effort to bring the show back to its glory, producers bring on some new blood, specifically Mackenzie MacHale, played by Emily Mortimer. Before McAvoy really has a chance to react to the startling news, his team is thrust head-first into the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico (the show is set in 2010). Together, they attempt to make a difficult call -- do they report the news or, with the evidence they have, begin pointing fingers at who's to blame.
With any Sorkin series, casting is absolutely everything, and The Newsroom delivers one of the single best cast rosters out there. Jeff Daniels, an actor whose never fully hit his stride, is absolutely outstanding here as the old dog TV anchorman, poised to tell the world what it doesn't want to hear. His "average joe" nice-guy appeal comes off extraordinarily well, but it's easy to see that it's nothing more than a sugar-coated layer designed to protect a very cynical, tired interior. This is a breakout role for Daniels that should keep him working well into retirement years.
Daniels is perfectly complemented by Mortimer, who plays a brave, seasoned journalist who might just challenge him to rise to the occasion. She's quick-witted, savvy, and seemingly fearless. The two boast remarkable chemistry together, charmingly nipping at one another, creating a humorous tone to their otherwise venomous relationship and complicated past.
The supporting cast includes the ever-dependable Sam Waterston, relative newcomers John Gallagher Jr. and Thomas Sadoski, up-and-comer Olivia Munn, the always-likable Allison Pill, and Slumdog Millionaire star Dev Patel. Though their screen time is brief in comparison to Daniels and Mortimer, every character is well introduced and surprisingly complex. In just a few brief scenes, we get a strong sense of who these characters are, and what they could become -- good or bad.
The first episode does drag a bit in the middle, running a padded 75-minutes. Oddly enough, considering this is a Sorkin series, pacing was just a touch off. The show spent a little too much time introducing the characters without biting into the meat of the narrative. Still, the time spent wasn't really wasted as it did help establish the show's supporting cast, and establish the show's sometimes silly sense of humor. Regardless, it's a lull that might deter some viewers, or have them reaching for the remote.
Direction, from director Greg Mottola (Paul, Superbad), is quite great. It's clear that he gets down to the nitty-gritty with his cast, and he manages to make everyone shine, even those with minimal screen time. He also adds a touch of indie flare to the look of the series, giving it a theatrical appearance.
Naturally, The Newsroom does feature the usual left-of-center commentary from Sorkin, but for those who've long fallen in love with the writer's ideals, cynical take on politics and hope for a better future, there's much to adore about this new series. And Sorkin does his best to keep things refreshing, despite having played in similar sandboxes in past, with shows like Sports Night and The West Wing, and with movies like Charlie Wilson's War and even The Social Network.
In some ways, The Newsroom should ultimately play as a sort of snappy sequel to both Sports Night and The West Wing, melding the world of TV journalism with the hot-headed sociopolitical arena – two places forged in chaos, and in dire need of repair. To be honest, this is Sorkin's home, and we wouldn't have it any other way.
The Newsroom debuts Sunday, June 24th at 10pm ET/PT on HBO.
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Source : ign[dot]com
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