21/29
Mentioned in Premios Soberano (2024)
Chronology
CIA agent Joe tries to balance his personal and professional life as the spearhead of the agency’s war on terror. Real-life military advisors helped produce a more authentic execution of weapon handling, house cleaning, positioning, crew base-based activity, etc… Mr. Sheridan knows how to bring us into macho, testosterone-fueled worlds without cliché and apparently without an agenda. It is what it is.
No apologies needed
His characters are always grounded and he is extremely skilled at casting. But to be great you have to write good parts for women. The writing must be as good, if not better, than it is for men. Guys are simple. Women are smarter, more complex.
They are powerful and compelling
Beth on Yellowstone (great character and performance), the barrel riders, the lonely farm hand (the fantastic Jen Landon as Teeter), all great female characters who fit into the story world in a natural, unforced way. Not just 'the partner of…' or T & A. He stepped up his game with the excellent character Faith Hill crushed in “1883”; followed by Dame Mirren in the river of fire that was ‘1923’. Now we have Zoe Saldana doing some of the best work of her career. I totally buy her as the head of the CIA in an open marriage (nice touch).
How about the face!
I buy De Oliveira as a broken woman with burning rage who won’t give up, and thank you, thank you, thank you writers/directors/producers for NOT letting her get the best of a sex partner male with another one-hundred kilograms of muscle. Truth first! I think her character is much more interesting if she’s someone who needs to be knocked out cold or just overwhelmed to the ground before giving up. Now let’s talk about Jill Wagner or should I say her hair? From schmaltzy Hallmark dreck to super bargain special forces?
I buy it
Special mention: Mrs. Lanier as the ugly teenage daughter. I’m looking forward to the set arc for this loose canon as long as they continue to steer clear of clichéd teenage angst. Good actor, could become interesting…