Anybody see this? Based on
this Daily Beast review, I'm going to have check out season 1 on Netflix.
Excerpts:
Stop Everything and Go Watch Rectify'
There are no cathartic gotcha moments, no easy answers, and no rapid-fire dialogue. Rectify is to drama what Louie is to comedyan emotional marathon unlike anything on TV.
In our ever-expanding TV universe, it always seems like something of a fluke when a truly unique program manages to make it onto the airwaves. Thats exactly what happened last year with SundanceTVs revelatory drama Rectify. Its astounding first season, just six episodes long, covered one week in the life of Daniel Holden (Aden Young), who had spent 19 years on Death Row for the rape and murder of his teenage girlfriend Hannah, until DNA evidence vacated his sentence. His return home to Paulie, Georgia, leads to an uneasy, fraught reunion with his family and the townspeople, many of whom remain convinced of Daniels guilt. During one sequence early on in Rectifys new season, Daniel refers to it as the wildest week. Every day felt like a lifetime. It was pretty overwhelming.
Its a near-perfect summation of Rectifys debut season, which was an unexpected, potent concoction of unpredictability, serenity, and staggering emotion. (If you missed itand given its meager ratings, you probably didgo to Netflix immediately and remedy that.) And the shows confident, compelling Season 2, which premieres tonight at 9 p.m. ET/PT on SundanceTV, offers much more of the same: an emotional marathon unmatched by anything else on television...
Rectifys greatest pleasure is in its masterful ability to fully envelop the audience in its singular world. This isnt a show meant to be casually watched with one eye glued to a cellphone or tablet, glancing up in between texts and tweets. While almost any other show would be preoccupied with the search for Hannahs real killer, building up to a dramatic finale reveal, Daniels ultimate guilt or innocence (not even he seems to know for sure) is beside the point inRectify.
Thats largely thanks to the understated brilliance of Australian actor Aden Young, who is so introverted as Daniel that he makes other TV minimalist actors, like Noah Emmerich on The Americans, seem like melodramatic scenery-munchers in comparison. Yet every gesture, tic, and word packs a hefty wallop. Its the type of performance thats far too muted to ever be singled out for critical awards, yet is every bit as breathtaking as the work that Bryan Cranston and Jon Hamm are routinely lauded for on their respective shows...
Much like with Louie, were in uncharted territory with Rectify. Each episode offers up wondrous new surprises, whether its a dream sequence, a stunning revelation from a new character, or a sly moment of levity from an unexpected source. Even the premieres opening shot, which I wont spoil here, is a startling stunner.
We may never find out if Daniel is guilty before Rectify concludes, and I couldnt care less. Rectify is about the journey, not the destination. And no matter what your travel plans might be in the coming months, this will likely be the most rewarding trip you take all summer.