The pilot of HBO’s new drama Luck may be one of the best pilots of the year, but this is not a show for everyone.
From television legend David Milch, the creator of such TV heavyweights as NYPD Blue and Deadwood, Luck is a show so focused on texturing its world that many viewers will likely be alienated. As has become the staple of HBO original programming, Luck moves slowly and methodically with a very large ensemble cast. In the vein of The Wire, Deadwood, and most recently Game of Thrones, plot will be secondary to character much of the time. On such shows, the setting of the series pretty much becomes a character in and of itself (as Baltimore was in The Wire).
Luck’s silent character, then, would be the Santa Anita racetrack and its surroundings, populated by jockeys, horse owners, horse trainers, gamblers, security guards, and veterinarians. Recapping an episode with so many threads and characters would be pointless. Suffice it to say that Luck, on the surface, is about the world of horse racing, but beneath surface level is a story about people working in an industry that isn’t what it once was, all struggling to find a second chance when it seems all the chips are stacked against them. Heading up a very strong cast is a brilliant Dustin Hoffman, who plays Ace Bernstein as kind of an amoral Willy Loman. Hoffman adds a certain gravity to the proceedings that perfectly compliments Milch’s dialogue.
From an aesthetic standpoint, Michael Mann’s direction soars in the pilot. My only experience remotely connected to horse racing is buying the novelization of Seabiscuit and never reading it; however, Mann’s work (both direction and editing) finds the sweet spot of meticulous composition and artistry; I was completely engaged.
Luck’s pilot throws the viewer into the deep end, so to speak, of the horse racing world. If you aren’t familiar with the vernacular of betting and racing, it is likely that some Milch’s dialogue will go completely over your head, but Mann’s direction makes clear all the stakes of each situation when Milch’s words may become too niche for the average viewer.
Luck is a remarkable new TV show on every front. However, it is not for the casual TV viewer. The story is structured to move and develop slowly over the course of the season, with a tight focus on a very large cast of characters.
Luck airs Fridays at 9pm on HBO.
