The first episode of Nicolas Winding Refn's (NWR) "Too Old to Die Young" is, as per usual with NWR's work, the most visually gorgeous and euphoric sounding thing you've ever seen or heard. NWR has a true gift when it comes to depicting visuals, because practically every frame and every shot of this episode looks so jaw-droppingly stunning and, coupled with the cool synths and drones, it's not hard to be sucked into the noir world this show so far depicts. For better or worse, however, "Volume 1: The Devil" follows the same trope as other NWR works, which is a case of style over substance - it will be up to you whether or not that hinders your enjoyment of this episode. I myself am a fan of NWR, so I knew what I was getting into, but even so, I didn't completely enjoy this episode.
There are many words to describe this episode, and I don't think enjoyable is one of them. I really believe that you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who legitimately had fun while watching "Volume 1." And that's purposeful. This is not a fun piece of media; rather, "The Devil" is purposeful in its content, slowly lulling the viewer into a world where crime seems to be more normal than not. Right off the bat, you're introduced to characters who are so reprehensible that, when one of them meets their untimely demise, you're not at all sad to see them go. And practically every other character in this episode, save for perhaps one, follows the same formula of having a moral compass so skewed that they cannot seem to act any way other than the wrong way. And, admittedly, this does lend to an interesting viewing experience. Who are the heroes, and who are the villains? I really can't tell yet, but I'm looking forward to, hopefully, getting some answers along the way.
This episode does set up some interesting characters and plot points that, if I know anything about NWR, will either not be resolved, or never show up again. But, in this episode, the things that were set up were fascinating, and again, demonstrated that the world of this series is vile. Characters openly date underage girls, and no one seems to care. People cheat on their significant others, and express that the only way for them to stop would be to kill the person they are cheating with, in order to once and for all ensure their significant others do not find out. Yes, you guessed it - no one is likeable in this show as of right now, and that seems to be the point. This episode ends with a tease of a character doing something so horrific that my mouth was agape, heart racing at the thought of what may have occurred.
As I mentioned, this show looks fantastic, perhaps at the sacrifice of a coherent narrative. The pace is slow, and I mean slow with a capital S. Characters take long pauses while talking, and in fact, take so long to respond to one another that I almost found myself screaming at the screen just to get them to hurry up - I guarantee you, take out the pauses, and this hour and a half long episode would be 30 minutes shorter. Additionally, the camera also moves at a snail's pace; the opening alone is almost unbearably slow, with little dialogue, and no doubt is an endurance test for the audience. And while I was annoyed at many of the stylistic decisions, I'd be lying if I said I didn't somewhat like them. In a bizarre way, it almost feels like a joke that NWR is playing on the audience, and in fact, Miles Teller had a subtle smirk during many scenes that made me think he was in on it. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but this thought did make the pace slightly more bearable for me.
"Volume 1: The Devil" is interesting, for sure. I don't know where the show is going to go, but I'm certainly ready to find out.
There are many words to describe this episode, and I don't think enjoyable is one of them. I really believe that you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who legitimately had fun while watching "Volume 1." And that's purposeful. This is not a fun piece of media; rather, "The Devil" is purposeful in its content, slowly lulling the viewer into a world where crime seems to be more normal than not. Right off the bat, you're introduced to characters who are so reprehensible that, when one of them meets their untimely demise, you're not at all sad to see them go. And practically every other character in this episode, save for perhaps one, follows the same formula of having a moral compass so skewed that they cannot seem to act any way other than the wrong way. And, admittedly, this does lend to an interesting viewing experience. Who are the heroes, and who are the villains? I really can't tell yet, but I'm looking forward to, hopefully, getting some answers along the way.
This episode does set up some interesting characters and plot points that, if I know anything about NWR, will either not be resolved, or never show up again. But, in this episode, the things that were set up were fascinating, and again, demonstrated that the world of this series is vile. Characters openly date underage girls, and no one seems to care. People cheat on their significant others, and express that the only way for them to stop would be to kill the person they are cheating with, in order to once and for all ensure their significant others do not find out. Yes, you guessed it - no one is likeable in this show as of right now, and that seems to be the point. This episode ends with a tease of a character doing something so horrific that my mouth was agape, heart racing at the thought of what may have occurred.
As I mentioned, this show looks fantastic, perhaps at the sacrifice of a coherent narrative. The pace is slow, and I mean slow with a capital S. Characters take long pauses while talking, and in fact, take so long to respond to one another that I almost found myself screaming at the screen just to get them to hurry up - I guarantee you, take out the pauses, and this hour and a half long episode would be 30 minutes shorter. Additionally, the camera also moves at a snail's pace; the opening alone is almost unbearably slow, with little dialogue, and no doubt is an endurance test for the audience. And while I was annoyed at many of the stylistic decisions, I'd be lying if I said I didn't somewhat like them. In a bizarre way, it almost feels like a joke that NWR is playing on the audience, and in fact, Miles Teller had a subtle smirk during many scenes that made me think he was in on it. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but this thought did make the pace slightly more bearable for me.
"Volume 1: The Devil" is interesting, for sure. I don't know where the show is going to go, but I'm certainly ready to find out.
