Our streaming content today consists of two shows that talk of ‘hostaged’ hearts in very different contexts. One is the new film from indie director Charlie McDowell, which stars his wife, Lily Collins. The second is a Limited Series that’s adapted from a DC Comic series, and stars Rosario Dawson.
Windfall (Netflix USA) - Director Charlie McDowell is better known for his indie films, The One I Love and The Discovery, so it’s actually strange to find him on Netflix, with a film that’s being touted as an Action Thriller. Ok, it’s about the robbery of the weekend home of a billionaire tech couple by a vagrant who gets caught while trying to leave. And there is a hostage situation that ensues. But if you think this would be McDowell going mainstream, think again. For this is essentially a three-person psychological drama that employs a lot of black humor, and puts all three leads on the road to introspection, and finding things about themselves they never knew, or only acknowledged with hints. They don’t even act like they’re in a real hostage situation, except in flashes.
It’s Charlie McDowell directing his wife Lily Collins, and with good friends Jesse Plemons and Jason Segel completing the cast (McDowell worked with both Segel and Plemons in The Discovery). There actually one more actor who does show up, but it’s a minor role. There’s strong acting, and I would venture to say this could actually be McDowell reminding the world that his wife is 32 years of age, has done strong dramatic turns such as To The Bone, where she took on eating disorders - and is so much more than the acting by coasting that she does in the hugely popular Emily in Paris. Sure that series has been a ‘runway’ success, but it isn’t much of a challenge for Lily acting-wise. So be forewarned, that this isn’t your traditional hostage-action film; and while interesting, it’s more because of the acting chops being displayed.
DMZ (HBO Go) - Call this a victim of the pandemic and of current history. When DMZ first came out under Vertigo/DC Comics in 2005, and where it ran until 2012, it was rapturously received as futuristic Fantasy, as prescient, and as both risk-taking drama and cautionary tale. It was about a post-apocalyptic New York, emerging from a Second Civil War in the USA. It vividly captured where the deep divisions within the USA could lead to, and was seen as a response to the rabid form of patriotism favored by Fox News and other media platforms of that type. The DMZ title referred to how Manhattan would be the De-Militarized Zone where those seeking to escape the war could find refuge. That was then, but this is now!
Unfortunately, with vestiges of the Trump era still lingering, and with what’s happening in Ukraine, DMZ no longer reads like fantasy, and it looks like history has overtaken the DMZ premise. Rosario Dawson and Benjamin Bratt lead the cast, but it’s now reduced to nothing more than a family drama. I’d chalk this up to the fact that while filming began before the pandemic; when it did resume, the series was chopped down to four episodes. As such, this DMZ we can view is one of the instances when a series is both too short and too long. If you’re looking for exposition, and world-building, it’s too short, as we're basically reduced to following four main characters. But as relaying the internal strife of a mother seeking to reclaim her son from the father, it goes on for far too long. And this is a shame, as you can see the potential that sadly isn’t realized.