First something that I want to insist on because probably nobody else will: surprisingly enough, as in most lesbian series, the choice and acting of the male actors is excellent. Here the performances by Greg Standifer and John M. Keating are so spot on in all their psychological nuances that they are far, far, far above Hollywood mainstream.
I was of course expecting some great acting from Bridget McManus, whose talent I would describe as "powerful and versatile". Check, of course. Including her surprising and very professional capacity to tune down her acting presence in order to give room for other actors, which I had already noticed in Cowgirl Up.
I was also given hints before broadcast that the universe of the series would offer a great sense of location. I was not disappointed either. Not only you get a very accurate sense of the climate and socio-economic atmosphere of an American South small town, but also a sense of the difference between downtown, secret nature and remote suburb, and even a certain magic of home interiors. Even better, in such short episodes she managed to wonderfully and poetically include in the narration the distances by a meaningful contrast between walking and driving.
But I was not prepared to discover that the real subject of the series is not space, but time. Time not just as in good timing, but as the existential dimension of time.
So I won't spoil it for you, you have to discover by yourself the many plays and tricks with the time dimension across the episodes. It is really fascinating and reaches the literary level of a major classic novel.
On a side note you may also appreciate how the straight or homophobic worlds are not displayed as cardboard evil or "allies", but the relevant characters are given subtle nuances of family ties, age, delusion, painful tolerance, and personal history. And the homosexual world is not displayed as perfect either... which is really noble from all involved actresses.
The format of a short episodes web-series is so thoroughly mastered that Bridget McManus is from now on part of those who turned it into a major fictional genre.
I was of course expecting some great acting from Bridget McManus, whose talent I would describe as "powerful and versatile". Check, of course. Including her surprising and very professional capacity to tune down her acting presence in order to give room for other actors, which I had already noticed in Cowgirl Up.
I was also given hints before broadcast that the universe of the series would offer a great sense of location. I was not disappointed either. Not only you get a very accurate sense of the climate and socio-economic atmosphere of an American South small town, but also a sense of the difference between downtown, secret nature and remote suburb, and even a certain magic of home interiors. Even better, in such short episodes she managed to wonderfully and poetically include in the narration the distances by a meaningful contrast between walking and driving.
But I was not prepared to discover that the real subject of the series is not space, but time. Time not just as in good timing, but as the existential dimension of time.
So I won't spoil it for you, you have to discover by yourself the many plays and tricks with the time dimension across the episodes. It is really fascinating and reaches the literary level of a major classic novel.
On a side note you may also appreciate how the straight or homophobic worlds are not displayed as cardboard evil or "allies", but the relevant characters are given subtle nuances of family ties, age, delusion, painful tolerance, and personal history. And the homosexual world is not displayed as perfect either... which is really noble from all involved actresses.
The format of a short episodes web-series is so thoroughly mastered that Bridget McManus is from now on part of those who turned it into a major fictional genre.
