"Homecoming" Amazon original series with Julia Roberts

So watched a handful of episodes of the new Julia Roberts TV series from the producer/creator of "Mr. Robot". It's stylish an sucks you in rapidly with its elliptical storytelling style. I did find it both weird and interesting that they chose to use soundtrack music for some scenes ("Vertigo", "The Andromeda Strain").

Interesting that it is a half hour series as well...I guess mimicking the podcast that it was based on.

 

Will be checking out because - Julia Roberts.

 

I watched this today. It’s so addicting. I wouldn’t be surprised if this gets nominated for Emmys for Roberts and the 2 guys from Boardwalk Empire,

 

Sam Esmail does a terrific job of adapting the podcast for a visual medium. I did find the aspect ratio for the current story a bit annoying (they could have done the same thing without the aspect ratio of a iPhone held vertically). Still, terrific series.

I found the music pulled from 70's political thrillers distracting (but then I knew where the music was from--if you don't maybe it won't for you).

Terrific performance from Roberts--Emmy worthy.

 

I watched the first 4 episodes last night and I'm in but the 30 minute episode is a bit dangerous as it easy to think just one more.

As for Roberts, her acting is so laughable I can think she only got the part for the draw in factor.

One thing I'm not sure about on what basis the two different aspect ratios were assigned.

 

I agree that the 9:16 aspect ratio is both annoying and gimmicky.

I'm 5 episodes (2-1/2 hrs) in and I'm basically bored. Feels like they could tell this story in half the time.

 

and Klute! recognized the creepy 'ahhhh ahhhhhhhh ahhhh" right away... and some others I know but I haven't placed yet. I dig it.

 

and all the presidents men, very cool

 

Up to episode 7 and something strange happened in episode 5, Roberts acting took a slight uplift, I think I've worked the whole thing out Roberts was a android and who knows who else.

Whilst 5 seemed to be treading water I feel it's picked up again, solid rather than great.

 

Finished it last night and the whole thing was a bit of a damp squib.

It felt very safe, stereotypes, that challenged nothing really, in fact it could have been sponsored by Geist.
Having said that I thought the 'style' and story telling arc were well used, in fact I grew to appreciate the closed in aspect ratio as it gave a claustrophobic dread to the scenes.

By 9 I was becoming convinced that we were going to have series 2 (groan) but then the thing goes in to hyper-drive, perhaps less padding during early episodes would have improved the storytelling.

 

its decent, kind of felt like a simplified I Robot with more gloss. best thing was the music, I actually Julia Roberts was good as was the soldier, a little too "on the nose"

 

Who knows if that helped the series! it certainly made me

I disagree about her performance. She does a good job contrasting her character before and after.

 

I didn’t mind the smaller ratio for the present time. I found it help to easily know if it’s past or present.

Make you sure you watch after the credits of the final episode. There’s more.

 

Whilst I did give her a bit more credit by the end, her acting seemed to be, no makeup in the 'present'. The series found itself among strong competition, over the last year the stakes have been raised and my feeling was a solid C for this.

But I felt the subject matter deserved something more than a thriller by numbers set in a cardboard cut out world.

 

I finished this yesterday. Great stuff, right down to the crooked fork and Audrey...

 

I didn't find any of it to be a "cardboard cut out world" at all. The series amounted to around 5 hours total. While I felt that the beginning was a little slow to set things up, other than that I thought they did a superb job. Roberts did a great job of contrasting the two very different people that she had become essentially playing two different characters especially given that her character survived in something of a vacuum with a massive memory gap of years.

I was duly impressed. Were there some characters that could have had more depth developed earlier? Sure but it also would have given too much away at the time. It was more than just "no make up" in the present--she played her character as indecisive, someone who could only do things by route because so much of her was missing and who knows what, aside from memory, the drug took away from her for a while (at least until the triggers appeared).

I don't know what you expected in terms of the story itself but there's a deliberate withholding that has to be done in this format and it served the subject matter very well IMHO.

It didn't deviate from its storytelling arc to develop subplots to fill out things either which I admire as that's often an easy thing to do for a writer just to fill in the drama.

I'm not quite sure what you were looking for...anyway...to each his own and It's too bad that it wasn't more entertaining for you but I enjoyed it and thought that Esmail did a fine job of putting this together as he did with the first two seasons of "Mr. Robot". It fit his characteristic elliptical storytelling style. The writing challenge with this type of material can be enormous because you have to plant material that will reward later with just enough there to pull viewers in to speculate without guessing the reason its there.

Some shows did this better than others (For example "The Haunting" didn't do this nearly as well but it clearly lessons away from Esmail's series).

 

The quality of the acting is subjective but I've seen far better in recent series I've watched, Black Earth Rising and The Cry.

I thought the first 3 episodes were fine and then a bit of a lull, certainly some scenes weren't necessary for the story telling. I was fine with the non-linear but again done far better in The Cry.

I got to the end so my criticism is really down to disappointment.

 

I will admit that the big reveal was telegraphed much earlier and I had hoped there was more "there" but, I suspect, that Esmail may have held off some of that for a second season possibly even if Roberts wasn't involved. Having said that, I loved the way that it ended with the visual reference to their prior conversation in her office. It left the show open to interpretation.

 

We watched the first two episodes. I am generally not a Julia R fan, but I thought her acting was very good. The plot so far has more than kept my interest. Looking forward to the rest. Kind of wish the episodes were longer which I guess is the best review I could offer.

 

I really enjoyed this show.

Some interesting passing references to Vertigo along the way.

I was surprised to read that a second season is planned. This seemed pretty self contained.

 

I agree. The series could have been one and done.

 

I think it will be an entirely diff story/cast etc

 

Every time I see her now, I can't help remembering that lyric from "She's A Mover" off Big Star's classic Radio City album:

"When she smile, like crocodile..."

 

They have to bring back Audrey.

 

I thought 30 mins was perfect...I'm tired of these kind of shows padding 10 or 12 one hour long episodes and taking us down alleys that aren't necessary to the story. IMO these episodes didn't have much fat and was all killer- no filler.