Bloodline – review

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Billed by Netflix as the latest series by the creators of Damages, a show synonymous with its pretzel-like narrative twists, Bloodline is a riveting familial drama, which unlike its predecessor, is full of measured suspense and carefully unfurled reveals. Set in the Florida Keys, the series focuses on the Rayburn family, a WASPish, Kennedy-esque clan whose seemingly idyllic existence is disrupted by the return of their prodigal son Danny (Ben Mendelsohn) for his parents Robert (Sam Shepard) and Sally’s (Sissy Spacek) wedding anniversary. Feelings are mixed as to Danny’s return, particularly amongst his siblings John (Kyle Chandler), the golden boy of the family and local sheriff, Meg (Linda Cardellini), a commitment-phobic and career-driven lawyer and Kevin (Norbert Leo Butz), the hot-headed younger son. Whilst Danny is clearly ear-marked as the black sheep of the family, both through the voice-over and well-worn tropes of drug-use, alcoholism and general tardiness, the series hints at, and indeed exposes, the murkier depths of the family’s problems both as a whole and on an individual level. A “problem” alluded to from the past simmers nicely underneath the surface of all familial actions, whether it be the politics of a seating plan or the return of Danny to the family’s hotel business, ultimately culminating in the death of one of the family members which is implied through the medium of flash forwards and John’s recurring statement that “We’re not bad people. But we did a bad thing.”

The series is full of paradigmatic shifts in perspective that effectively destabilise our assumption about the characters and their motivations, and indeed, collusion in the fateful deed. The stellar cast gives gravitas to the characters and their seemingly trivial individual situations and rescues the series from descending into melodrama with regards to the grittier aspects of the plot.

Whilst the show is aimed at those eager to binge-watch, with its final moment cliffhangers and show-but-don’t tell exposition, Bloodline at times feels overly ambitious in its design, creating the appearance of mystery and noir without providing the necessary ingredients into which audiences can sink their teeth.

All 13 episodes of Bloodline can be viewed on Netflix.

 

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