Natasha Lyonne as Charlie Cale.
Poker Face is a new Stan series (Peacock in the US) about a cocktail waitress Named Charlie Cale who has an uncanny ability to detect when someone is lying. After a series of unfortunate events, she ends up being pursued across the backroads of America by her former employers- picking up random jobs and solving homicides with her unusual ability.
I’ve been a fan of Natasha Lyonne ever since the cult favourite 1999 film But I’m A Cheerleader. As well as being the lead, she’s also a producer and even writes and directs an episode (the best episode imo). Needless to say that her fingerprints are all over the series. Rian Johnson is the other big name producer here, and after his recent success with the Knives Out films it’s definitely being marketed as a “Rian Johnson presents" series. I’m not the biggest fan of his, and thankfully (for me) it doesn’t feel like a rehash of one of his “mystery” films. His presence as showrunner and the overall great writing attracted plenty of quality actors, writers and directors to the project. It also shows up in the quality of the production, as the series has a feature film look and feel.
The excellent pilot episode in which Johnson also directs, sets up the basic premise of the show- which in turn becomes formulaic with an underlying storyline. This formula may not work for some, but I’ve always enjoyed shows like Columbo, the underrated Stumptown and Burn Notice, where they solve a new mystery every episode. Wrapping up the uncertainty with resolution feels comforting in some kind of weird way.
I did mention Burn Notice before, and you can definitely see it as an influence writing wise (they even give it a nod or two). Don’t worry though because there’s no choppy editing, or other 00’s tv shortcomings here. The style and overall quality of the production is top notch. Every episode is beautifully shot and edited, and with each one having a different setting/location allowing for creative set and costume design. All of Charlie's various looks are a highpoint, that and of course Lyonne's alleycat swagger.
Nick Nolte, Natasha Lyonne and Phil Tippet on the set Poker Face Episode 8- The Orpheus Syndrome.
In terms of the consistent quality of the series as a whole, well it starts off really strong, then dips for an episode or two during the middle before finishing with three absolute crackers. Along with the consistency of the production value is the quality of high calibre actors involved in every episode. So even when the writing and/or directing isn’t as strong, there’s always great performances to help carry it along. Chloe Sevigny, Tim Blake Nelson, Adrien Brody, Ellen Barkin and Ron Perlman all show up in separate episodes. It's my man Nick Nolte and Joseph Gordon-Levitt though who had the standout performances in arguably the two best episodes of the season, episode 8 (which Lyonne directs and Phil Tippett does fx) and episode 9.
Overall for a first season, Poker Face was pretty damn solid. Lyonne's Charlie won me over fairly quickly with her cigar smoking, wisecracking ways. If you dig what she’s putting out by the end of the first two episodes, then you’ll know if it is or isn’t for you. There’s elements of action, horror, comedy and of course crime and mystery. All the while being executed with terrific style, consistent writing and directing.
Four out of Five stars.
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