The first season of the series 'Poker Face', created by Rian Johnson, has concluded on the streaming service Peacock. The director of 'Knives Out' once again laughs at the detective genre, but this time does so with immense love that is visible to th...
Only a month after the Netflix premiere, Rian Johnson has already presented a new detective project, where it turned out that all this time the director had been pulling the genre by the pigtails and mocking it only to show his love. Only the lazy haven't noticed that 'Poker Face' is damn similar to 'Columbo' — one of the director's favorite series, but that doesn't stop the show from looking fresh and interesting in modern cinematic conditions.
On December 23, Netflix hosted the high-profile pre-New Year premiere of Rian Johnson's film 'Knives Out: Glass Onion'. The sequel to the acclaimed 2019 comedy detective, t
Open materialWhat's the plot?
Charlie Cale (Natasha Lyonne) was once an incredible poker player. All thanks to her supernatural gift (or curse?) to detect lies. One fine day, she was caught by casino owner Sterling Frost (Ron Perlman), so the heroine had to give up gambling and get a job as a waitress at the same establishment (at least they didn't kill her, so that's good).
Many years passed, the casino came into the hands of Sterling Frost Jr. (Adrien Brody), and Charlie still works as a drink server and lives in a van. Learning about the heroine's talent, daddy's boy offers the woman a deal: freedom and money in exchange for help with a little matter. She just needs to participate in ruining an influential client who hosts high-stakes games in his room.
After considering the offer, the waitress agrees, but there's a catch: someone killed her friend Natalie (Dascha Polanco) the day before. Everything seems transparent, but Charlie doesn't trust the official version, so her own investigation distracts her from the adventure. Gathering information and piecing together the facts, the amateur detective solves the murder staged by Frost Jr. (don't worry, that's not a spoiler, that's how the episode started).
As revenge, the heroine ruins the reputation of the gambling house and drives the influential son out of business, after which she urgently leaves the city and goes on the run, pursued by the police and the Frost family's personal enforcer — Cliff Legrand (Benjamin Bratt). Now Charlie travels across America and involuntarily becomes a witness to various murders, sometimes meticulously planned, but thanks to her internal lie detector, she unravels them and punishes the guilty.
Do you believe me or not? Believe me or not?
'Poker Face' is Rian Johnson's first television series project. Before this, the director had only worked in this field as a guest director. For example, he directed three episodes of 'Breaking Bad', including the legendary episode 'Fly'. This time, Johnson was fully involved in creating the show, although he again directed only three episodes (the first two and the ninth).
Even before the release, the showrunner admitted that he enjoyed working in a television format, so we can safely assume that he will return to multi-episode projects. Especially since 'Poker Face' has already been renewed for a second season, and Johnson has a fairly warm relationship with streaming services. The main thing is that he doesn't get too carried away; after all, people are waiting for the third 'Knives Out' film. But it's worth admitting that the new format was not a serious obstacle for the director, as the project turned out very successful. Although Natasha Lyonne played a significant role in its success.
The actress, surprisingly similar to Alla Pugacheva, looks incredible in the role of Charlie. Her heroine is charismatic, daring, sincere, a little strange, but at the same time absolutely simple and kind. This set of qualities easily wins over the viewer, so it's impossible not to fall in love with the would-be detective. After 'Russian Doll', we can say that such roles are Lyonne's specialty. Again, a lush hairstyle, a raspy voice, stylish glasses on her face — a full set to conquer hearts.
However, the woman not only played the lead role but also served as a showrunner, writer, and director of one of the episodes. In fact, she contributed almost as much to the creation of the project as Rian Johnson, whose signature style is recognizable throughout the series. Here we have his characteristic humor, the reassembly of the detective genre, a bunch of pop culture references, and a crowd of strange characters. Even in atmosphere, 'Poker Face' strongly resembles 'Knives Out', so comparisons are inevitable.
The ten-episode series is built on the principle of an inverted detective story (also called howcatchem). From the very beginning, the viewer is shown the murderer and his motives, and then the whole plot is built on the confrontation between the detective and the criminal, with the intrigue revolving around the actions of the sleuth, who must find enough evidence to unravel the case. The aforementioned 'Columbo' was made in this spirit, and something similar can be seen in the first part of 'Knives Out' (I warned you).
But besides the inverted structure, 'Poker Face' is also a road movie and a procedural drama, because Charlie is constantly on the move, and each episode presents her with a new case, all tied together by a horizontal storyline involving Cliff's pursuit of her. As a result, the show becomes a multi-genre series stylized after the 70s-80s. A warm digitized image skillfully made to look like film, opening credits à la 'Columbo', old-fashioned character clothing, typical gas stations and roadside cafes, and even a classic American muscle car Plymouth Barracuda from 1969 that Charlie drives, along with the fact that she can't use a smartphone or credit card in the plot, are clear confirmations. If it weren't for the vapes, smartphones, digital technologies, and modern cars in the frame, one could easily think the series was filmed 40-45 years ago.
All this is not only a nostalgic sigh for the detective films of that time but also a picture of today's one-story America, which has barely changed over the past few decades. No one cares about the problems of these slightly strange but quite decent and simple people. They are always nearby, working in supermarkets, cafes, entertainment zones, gas stations, and many other places. They all have a dream — to break out of this world and become those whom society will take seriously, but it would be nice if a certain Charlie with an inner sense of justice appeared, ready to help them even a little, without asking for much in return.
I believe you, of course. How could there be any doubt?
Of course, 'Poker Face' is not a super-ideal series. The show still has flaws. For example, the disabled grandmother with failing legs climbs to the second floor, disguising herself as flowers, looks funny, but very unrealistic. I understand it's a bit strange to demand realism from a series where the main character has an internal lie detector, but still, in the grandmother moment, the writers seem to have overdone it with the joke.
Moreover, not all episodes are unfortunately made at the same level. Many plot devices are reused from episode to episode and can become a bit tiring by the middle of the series. For example, Charlie shouting 'Bullshit!' just to advance the plot a couple of steps to a new act. And some resolutions feel overly theatrical and unconvincing. You know, everything seems to be fair, all the villains are punished, but something is missing. Some kind of repentance or realization, perhaps. But generally, the show's script is incredible. It is quite well-thought-out, detailed, and packed with clever twists that audiences love in detective stories, so there will be surprises.
But the main surprise is the guest Hollywood stars in every episode. You'll meet not only Adrien Brody and Ron Perlman but also Hong Chau, Chloë Sevigny, Joseph Gordon-Levitt (this time he appears on screen himself, not just his voice), Stephanie Hsu, and several other celebrities whose presence will be very pleasing. Their characters are so elegantly written into the script that none of the actors are tied down to stay in the show for long. This technique allows them to continue inviting many famous personalities to 'Poker Face' without greatly distracting them from their own projects, while regularly delighting and surprising viewers with a star cast.
It's important to note that none of the guests overshadowed the main heroine. Natasha Lyonne always looked at least on par with the show's famous guests and didn't yield an inch, which is undoubtedly commendable. Plus, 'Poker Face' is also well shot, especially the episodes worked on by Rian Johnson's regular cinematographer Steve Yedlin. But in general, the show is not overloaded with classic boring 'eights' and ordinary utilitarian camera techniques. The project is full of unusual visual solutions, such as diving into 80s horror cinema, wide shots, or sharp camera turns.
Of course, if Rian Johnson were creating something ordinary, he wouldn't have reached such heights where streaming services fight over his projects, offering huge sums. All of the writer and director's creations spark intense discussion (remember the eighth episode of 'Star Wars'), so 'Poker Face' has every chance of becoming a topic of discussion, especially since it was renewed for a second season very quickly.
In late 2022, Rian Johnson mocked the rich and celebrities, and in early 2023, he decided to show viewers the life of ordinary people who have spent the last few decades as if in a cryo-capsule, adding only a handful of digital technologies and new cars to their daily lives. And on the radio after waking up, they talk not about the Cold War, but about gender-neutral toilets, and news can now be obtained not from newspapers, but from 'Twitter'. Will there be a place in the director's filmography for something average in the future? And what is in store for this middle ground: caustic satire or good-natured sympathy? Who knows, maybe we'll see it someday.
What's the verdict?
'Poker Face' quite deserves the title of the first surprise series of 2023. It's rare for a show without a major advertising campaign to pleasantly surprise and become successful, but Rian Johnson's project has already won audience love and doesn't plan to stop. Now I'd like to see a crossover of detective universes where Charlie meets the heroine of Ana de Armas from 'Knives Out', who vomited when she told a lie. Just imagine: one lies, the other shouts 'Bullshit!', and the first is turned inside out in confirmation of the lie, while Benoit Blanc stands nearby and doesn't understand anything at all. Now that's a cinematic universe we deserve. Well, we're dreaming.
Apparently, to date, Rian Johnson has found himself in the most interesting detective stories, which means we shouldn't expect 'Star Wars' from him until the meta-joke about the detective genre stops being funny. Or at least until the director decides to take a break from it. Maybe that's for the better? At least judging by the audience, mysterious stories turn out much better for the director than large-scale intergalactic epics. Well, now every segment of the population has their own sleuth: the rich have Benoit Blanc, the poor have Charlie Cale.
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