I disagree with most of what you said here. With the exception that Cuaron doesn't do TV in the traditional sense that TV shows are made. As you mentioned, all the episodes end on such notes that you want to watch the next one. Yes, he indulges in long takes (the very reason I couldn't stand Roma) but there's nothing wrong with that in TV, and we don't have to watch the characters go through twice as many situations to get a deeper sense or understanding of them.
Also, I Know This Much is True is an underseen masterpiece. Disclaimer is not, but it's prestige TV, one that doesn't try to hide that's what it's going for. Bad Monkey was extremely dull to me despite (or because of) being plot-driven with very little emphasis on characterization. The most interesting characters were underdeveloped while the main ones desperately tried to be likable for all audiences. The Penguin is disguised as prestige TV but really isn't one because it can't be. It's a good series, much better than The Batman it came from, but it doesn't always have the depth it aims for. You might be right about the trend that's emerging now and audiences wanting more of that, but if that's the case, I'll take all the series that feel like "prestige TV five years ago." That said, I admit Disclaimer has its flaws but it's such a well-made, captivating, and entertaining miniseries that I simply couldn't be mad about its shortcomings. I accept that others (including you) doesn't feel the same way about it, though.
It seems like we agree on a lot of the basics of Disclaimer, but are coming to different conclusions about them, which is cool. It makes me feel more warmly toward Disclaimer, honestly. A bold experiment that provokes strong opinions on both sides is better for the soul than a boring show. Thanks for the comment.
I completely agree with you that this was one of the more entertaining miniseries on streaming that I've seen. I don't know how old exactly the author of this negative review is but I suspect like a lot of the Gen Z & later generations, his attention span has been negatively impacted by modern technology and is I suspect unable to focus attention on a dramatic narrative that has scenes that persist for longer than a few seconds. Someone did a study on it a few years ago and timed the length of scenes in movies and television and compared it to previous films etc made by the generation of classic filmmakers from the past & found that the length of the scenes had decreased dramatically. To me it gives the work a very choppy feeling & makes me anxious. I hated that Chinese directors film Everything Everywhere All At Once. Way overpraised.
Thank you. I don't think the author's age factors into his opinion in this particular case. I get where he's coming from and his problems with the show, I just disagree with them.
Hmm, interesting about the length of scenes. Scenes might have gotten shorter, but the runtime of movies, especially, and some TV shows definitely got longer. You barely see a 90-minute film these days -- everything's about 2 hours or more. And in many of these cases, a tighter edit would often be beneficial. Interestingly, I didn't feel this way about Disclaimer.
I agree with your observation that films tend to be longer these days & some could definitely use tighter editing. Disclaimer was just about right for episodic streaming fare. It does seem like a lot of streaming series feel as though they've been "padded" to make extra episodes that weren't necessary. I suspect that there are so many streaming platforms these days & not enough really great writers to go around so that much of the fare is kind of mediocre & peters out in the last few episodes.
I disagree with most of what you said here. With the exception that Cuaron doesn't do TV in the traditional sense that TV shows are made. As you mentioned, all the episodes end on such notes that you want to watch the next one. Yes, he indulges in long takes (the very reason I couldn't stand Roma) but there's nothing wrong with that in TV, and we don't have to watch the characters go through twice as many situations to get a deeper sense or understanding of them.
Also, I Know This Much is True is an underseen masterpiece. Disclaimer is not, but it's prestige TV, one that doesn't try to hide that's what it's going for. Bad Monkey was extremely dull to me despite (or because of) being plot-driven with very little emphasis on characterization. The most interesting characters were underdeveloped while the main ones desperately tried to be likable for all audiences. The Penguin is disguised as prestige TV but really isn't one because it can't be. It's a good series, much better than The Batman it came from, but it doesn't always have the depth it aims for. You might be right about the trend that's emerging now and audiences wanting more of that, but if that's the case, I'll take all the series that feel like "prestige TV five years ago." That said, I admit Disclaimer has its flaws but it's such a well-made, captivating, and entertaining miniseries that I simply couldn't be mad about its shortcomings. I accept that others (including you) doesn't feel the same way about it, though.
It seems like we agree on a lot of the basics of Disclaimer, but are coming to different conclusions about them, which is cool. It makes me feel more warmly toward Disclaimer, honestly. A bold experiment that provokes strong opinions on both sides is better for the soul than a boring show. Thanks for the comment.
I completely agree with you that this was one of the more entertaining miniseries on streaming that I've seen. I don't know how old exactly the author of this negative review is but I suspect like a lot of the Gen Z & later generations, his attention span has been negatively impacted by modern technology and is I suspect unable to focus attention on a dramatic narrative that has scenes that persist for longer than a few seconds. Someone did a study on it a few years ago and timed the length of scenes in movies and television and compared it to previous films etc made by the generation of classic filmmakers from the past & found that the length of the scenes had decreased dramatically. To me it gives the work a very choppy feeling & makes me anxious. I hated that Chinese directors film Everything Everywhere All At Once. Way overpraised.
Thank you. I don't think the author's age factors into his opinion in this particular case. I get where he's coming from and his problems with the show, I just disagree with them.
Hmm, interesting about the length of scenes. Scenes might have gotten shorter, but the runtime of movies, especially, and some TV shows definitely got longer. You barely see a 90-minute film these days -- everything's about 2 hours or more. And in many of these cases, a tighter edit would often be beneficial. Interestingly, I didn't feel this way about Disclaimer.
I agree with your observation that films tend to be longer these days & some could definitely use tighter editing. Disclaimer was just about right for episodic streaming fare. It does seem like a lot of streaming series feel as though they've been "padded" to make extra episodes that weren't necessary. I suspect that there are so many streaming platforms these days & not enough really great writers to go around so that much of the fare is kind of mediocre & peters out in the last few episodes.