“American Rust.” / “Shadow Lines.”

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“American Rust” (Showtime) crime drama. 2 Seasons. Based on the 2009 novel by Philipp Meyer, this series is set in a small Rust Belt town in Pennsylvania. Chief of police Del Harris takes on an investigation when the son of the woman he loves is accused of murder.



       Del Harris is Jeff Daniels; the woman that he loves is Grace Poe, played by Maura Tierney. Reliable character actor Bill Camp is on Season 1. You can't lose with these three veteran performers.

       On the outset, the sullen, grim and downcast photography sets you up to a lumbering side-trip to steeltown decay. You could almost smell the concrete stench of abandoned steel that is smothered by all kinds of dirt and filth. Which is, you know, good viewing to me. 

       Season 1 pretty much kept me glued. Fine aching, especially by Alex Neustaedter and David Alvarez as the tormented young men Billy and Isaac.

       But we lost the intrigue in Season 2, aside from here comes again the super annoying dim lighting! And the infusion of new back stories took me away from the main, focal conflict. 🎥📺📽


“Shadow Lines” (Sundance Now) Finnish historical political thriller. 2 Seasons. Story: In 1950s Helsinki, a secret intelligence team defends Finland's independence as global powers and their agencies converge on the neutral country amid the Cold War.



       It'd help to reread history: 13th century Northern Crusades, 1809 Finnish War, then as autonomous grand duchy under the Russian Empire, independence following the 1917 Russian Revolution, the civil war that ensued, a republic in 1919, and the country's fight vs. the Soviet Union in WW2 etc etcetera.

       “Shadow Lines” is mostly fiction though. Yet it'd be easier to follow the series if we have a baseline idea about what's going on. The series isn't so bad though. 

       Although most of the supporting characters, such as the CIA dude and Russian operatives strut as confectionery cliches, the leads are commendable. Emmi Parviainen as Helena, the central character; Katja Kukkola as resistance leader Aune; and Hannu-Pekka Björkman as Yrjo, Helena's mentor and surrogate father. 🎥📺📽


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