Frantic pace and brutality. The series "Vicious Circle" has been released - a mega-bright psychological thriller from Soderbergh
Miscellaneous / / July 14, 2023
For those who miss brutal thrillers, this is a must watch.
On July 13, two episodes of Vicious Circle premiered on HBO Max. The show looked suspicious from the start. The fact is that Steven Soderbergh is a master of thrillers who makes films too often. Because of this, it is quite difficult to wade through his filmography. Fears added and absolutely nothing to explain the trailer.
But the released episodes removed the questions. First, the plot is still difficult to explain. Secondly, this is a good Soderbergh. A good Soderbergh is always a holiday.
A solid team has gathered to work on the Vicious Circle. Soderbergh took the director's chair, the script was written by Ed Solomon ("Men in Black", "Illusion of deception"), among the producers - Casey Silver ("Mosaic"). All three are well acquainted after working on the film "No sudden movements."
The series starred Zazie Beetz (Atlanta), Timothy Olyphant (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood), Claire Danes (Homeland), CCH Pounder (Avatar), Jim Gaffigan (Daddy's 17 Again) and other.
The head of the crime syndicate decides kidnap someone else's child to remove the curse from his family. To complete the task, she hires teenagers from Guyana. A detective who has been monitoring the syndicate's activities is trying to influence an upcoming crime. The kidnapping of a child does not go according to plan, forcing several previously unrelated families to contact in order to save themselves.
Lightning pace
The first series brings down so much information on the viewer that sometimes what is happening resembles a retelling. Gradually, events add up to a single story, but sometimes the series is confusing, you want some kind of small respite. One can easily imagine how the pace slows down by half, and at the same time, the "Vicious Circle" is still dynamic.
The second series continues the set pace, but looks better - corny because there is already a general idea of \u200b\u200bwhat is happening.
The more details you learn, the more pleased this wild speed with which events occur. In places, "Vicious Circle" resembles "Good Time" with its drive and liveliness. If Soderbergh has managed to do this all season, it's a fantastic job. Although even the first two episodes seem impressive.
Given the general spirit of the series (with a clash of cultures, with esotericism, violence), sometimes it seems that it is "Too old to die young", which was sped up by 5-6 times.
wild aggression
Absolutely all the characters in the series are insane. Teenagers from Guyana are ready to do anything to get a green card in the US and money. The head of a crime syndicate threatens the existence of the organization due to mystical practices. The father of the allegedly kidnapped child seems to be doing everything to save the teenager, but is not able to pull himself together.
Both the plot itself and the characters simply spray nerves and anxiety. Together with the high speed of development of events, a mega-bright story is obtained, in which aggression is encountered at every step. Sometimes moral, sometimes physical.
It is important that the Vicious Circle uses violence and to develop the plot, and to describe the characters, and to create a mood. In general, there is a lot of violence in it.
Surface at the start
The high pace also has a downside - a slight awkwardness of the plot. There are too many small accidents sewn into the script that affect what is happening, and sometimes they are downright infuriating. They are covered with eventfulness, but still strain at times.
Characters are revealed in the most extreme mode, so at first they look too simple. Teenagers like from "Wiretaps”, a responsible detective suffering from lazy bosses, a famous man who doesn’t really follow his son - there are a lot of stereotypes. Only by the middle of the second series do they open up better, and then the picture more or less evens out. If the characters are enraged, then you have to endure a little.
The first two episodes look like a full-length psychological thriller. It's hard to know where the story is headed next: Soderbergh doesn't leave any hints. The very existence of the Mosaic series hints that anything can happen with the Vicious Circle. But you can trust Soderbergh and - in this case - you need to. In terms of pace and nerve, this is an outstanding thriller, and it would be a shame if it falls apart as the season progresses.
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