Article first published as QUARRY Review on Seat42F.
It’s 1972 in Memphis. Soldiers are
coming home from Vietnam to a public who is ashamed of them and filled
with hate for what the military did. It’s a tense, fluid, depressing
time in American life. One young man in particular finds it hard to get
work and readjust to civilian life. This is the story of Cinemax’s newest series, QUARRY, which premieres tonight.
I’ve reviewed a number of Cinemax
pilots over the years, but seldom found one I wanted to watch past
episode one. They tend to be bloody pulp fiction, more concerned with
violence and gore than storytelling. Or, even when they have a decent
narrative, they still have to dress it up in the trappings of most of
their fare.
QUARRY is the exception. Yes, there are
certainly some violent things that happen, you will see some of the
crimson liquid spilled, and death, revenge, hatred hang in the air. And
there is even some gratuitous, though not unwelcome, nudity. But that’s
not the focus of the series. Those are supporting elements, not the
center of every other scene as the first hour plays out.
We are introduced to Mac Conway (Logan
Marshall-Green, Dark Blue, Prometheus) pretty early on, the protagonist
described in the introductory paragraph. Mac is glad to be back in the
arms of his wife, Joni (Jodi Balfour, Bomb Girls), not letting his
buddy’s teasing allegations of infidelity dampen his enthusiasm to see
her again. But even with his loving gal, he finds it difficult to secure
employment, and his interactions with members of the public become
combative at times as soon as they figure out he’s a veteran, and he’s
haunted by what he did overseas. Thus, Mac finds himself tempted by a
less than noble calling that would pay plenty to support his two-person
family unit as well as take some of the financial stress and pressure
off.
Enter The Broker (Peter Mullan, Top of
the Lake, War Horse) and his henchmen, Karl (Edoardo Ballerini,
Boardwalk Empire) and Buddy (Damon Herriman, Justified), who want to
make Mac a contract killer. This is where the typical Cinemax stuff
comes into play, with assassination and dangerous missions entering the
plot.
To QUARRY’s credit, it lets Mac wrestle
with the morality of The Broker’s offer. Yes, Mac killed people in
Vietnam, and yes, as his friend argues, people who have a contract out
on them are probably bad people. But even when a large sum of money is
on the table, Mac doesn’t want to do this; he is better than this. And
while we know he will eventually give in (otherwise there would be no
show), the way in which the character gets to that point feels more
natural and less forced than what I see in most players on this network.
There are also some additional side
stories involving Joni and the wife of Mac’s army buddy, Ruth (Nikki
Amuka-Bird, Luther), as is necessary to keep a weekly series going for
any length of time. These are less important, but do connect to the more
central arc.
But Mac’s journey is what QUARRY is
about, and by making this program a more complex character study, rather
than just a shoot-‘em-up, I am intrigued. Probably not enough to
subscribe to the network, but enough to check out series on its own when
it becomes available to view independently. However, if you already
have access to Cinemax, this raises the quality level of what the
channel generally offers, so I would absolutely recommend setting that
season pass and enjoying a modern, well-made tale, at least going by the
pilot.
QUARRY premieres tonight at 10/9c on Cinemax.
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