Un uomo vero

A director, a script, and decent actors. There you go.

I see some people in here whining about how it isn't factually accurate. ? This isn't a documentary, it's entertainment. Clearly it departed from the book too and that's ok.

Entertain me.

Some might find the use of interweaved storylines confusing. Personally, I appreciated that approach.

Were the court scenes far from what would have happened? Sure. So were the banker's meetings, but the barbs thrown in those banker's meetings were effing hilarious.

Jeff Daniels does his usual work. I'm not a fan of Lucy Lui, but I liked her in this movie. Diane Lane was ok, not terrific.

Direction just pushed the story along, fine. Script was tight. Lots of laughs. The "serious stuff" was a little off but made for an interesting counterpoint.

The only thing I'd complain about was the easy-way-out ending, but that's fine.

Looking for entertainment? This fits the bill. Want to relive your life's experiences in Atlanta, or watch a documentary about real estate development, this isn't for you.

To see what you're being offered. Put the accents aside. Somewhere in the middle of this series - we're not looking at the problems of One Southern Man from the Past. We are being invited to look deeper - into the lives of real people in today's Atlanta, today's America.

The fluidity with which black and white characters interact - some color blind, others finely tuned, exquisitely conscious of every nuance. This is quietly striking - a surprise that lifts this story beyond standard television fare.

And finally - you have a stellar cast all embedded in their roles - inhabiting them - but gradually transcending them as the series proceeds. Without this ensemble - stunningly directed - this story would be perfect Tom Wolfe fiction: effective, compelling but odd-angled, perspectives altered for dramatic effect.

Luckily, we're treated to something more important: a mirror on our lives today. David Kelly has never been more present, less humorous, textured.

And whatever minor qualms we might have about accents, Jeff Daniels grounds the whole story by making a larger than life, borderline ridiculous anachronism the medium for telling this enticing series. Just sit back and enjoy it. It's a gift.

I read the novel when it came out in the mid '90s and enjoyed it very much. This series took a 700something page book and tried to shoehorn it into six 45minute episodes. The result seems disjointed and basically just incomplete. The first episode opens as if it assumes no character development is needed; that all of the viewers are already aqcuainted with the players and how they came to be who we now see. The novel has several sub-plots that intertwine well throughout, but this Netflix series offers us only two which really seem to have little connection with the other, other than some characters moving back and forth between them. My take is the series was budgeted much to small to spend the time and money to do Tom Wolfe's novel the justice it deserves.

The series builds up the story and characters pretty good. As tensions rise it's hard to know on which side you stand.

Acting by Jeff Daniels is superb.

And Tom Pelphery manages to make you see his POV and hate him at the same time.

I was just about to say what a great series it was, when the last episode ruined the whole series for me.

Not only was it 100% Deusex Machina but the last 10 minutes was a crude amateur-like attempt to surprise the watcher with an end twist.

It almost felt as if the last episode and specially the last 10 minutes of the series were written by a different person or team, one without experience.

Unlike excellent twists such as in The Usual Suspects or in Fight Club, this "twist" was so unlikely and ridiculous it not only fails to surprise but mocks the development.

I was so unimpressed and angered by the ending that the last 10 minutes de series went from a solid 9 to a 5. From a "you guys have to watch this!" to a "don't even bother".

Such a pity that the great acting and initial story was ruined by the last episode.

Charlie Croker sits at the top of his business empire, but it's crumbling, debts are being called in, and the vultures circle. In a position of relative weakness, Charlie is played by those in power.

This series has gained notoriety, mainly for a flash in episode six, but there's been a lot of positive chat, and for the most part, it's a decent series.

Episodes one and two build up Charlie as this huge, divisive, charismatic figure, Jeff Daniels plays him perfectly, but as the series develops, the focus comes away from him, and the story meanders somewhat.

Conrad's story takes over, and comes out of nowhere, it really does detract from Charlie's story.

It's watchable enough, I had just hoped for so much more, without the powerhouse performance form Jeff Daniels, I think it would have fallen flat.

Perhaps I should have read the book.

6/10.