Less like a continuation from last week's episode & more like an unexpected sequel / potential prequel, "The Mother" makes it perfectly clear from its first few minutes that we should view "The Third Day" as two stand-alone, 3 hour horror movies that just so happen to be set on the same spooky island whilst also featuring some of the same recognisable characters (as opposed to a standard 6 X 60m season) by restarting the show in a rather surprisingly jarring manner, chronicling another addition to the story - as it overhauls pretty much every technical aspect that was previously established before; the cinematography, the direction, the music & the psychedelic atmosphere etc. Filmmakers Philippa Lowthorpe & DP David Chizallet basically abandon the aesthetic which was meticulously crafted by their predecessors, Marc Munden & Benjamin Kracun, creating a new (comparatively less striking) one for themselves. Unfortunately, that's not all either as Cristobal Tapia De Veer's absence from the 2nd half of the project becomes increasingly apparent throughout too (he's replaced by composer Dickson Hinchliffe) & although - like I've said - we're encouraged to see these installments as their own individual entities, when they're somehow linked (in a way we're currently not "fully" aware of at the moment) the major divergences within this transition make for a distractingly inconsistent watch - as we're supposed to believe these townsfolk of Osea exist in the same universe - despite it being practically unrecognisable in comparison to what we saw of it before only 7 days ago (or less for those who tuned in to its recent 12 hour livestream).
I don't know... Maybe it would've worked more effectively if Marc Munden had solely directed both tales by himself (so as to maintain his signature style) or if the show had split them in to 2 small seasons - as opposed to 1 - marketed with the deliberate intention of managing expectations in order to preemptively set that very apparent distinction between "Summer" & "Winter" but instead, the enormous changes in almost every aspect of the narrative do somewhat hinder the experience you have whilst sitting through.
It's practically the television equivalent of watching 2017's "Justice League" from Warner Bros; viewing the conflicting creative differences between Zack Snyder & Joss Whedon's personal directorial visions for the film, both battling for dominance & control - until eventually, we were left with a patchwork of contradicting amalgamations which didn't quite fit together cohesively... That's what this amounts to - Frankenstein's Monster. I'm not being salty either (if you'll pardon the pun); simply acknowledging how going from a raw, relentless & wild approach - told through the perspective of what was essentially an unreliable narrator (Sam suffering from occasional episodes of psychosis) layered with a constant sense of foreboding - intertwined betwixt vivid, symbolic imagery, capturing emotive moments within a number of claustrophobic, single-take close-ups, complimented by expressionistic handheld shots whilst simultaneously grounding us in the midst of the ensuing chaos - to this instantaneously more muted, grounded, naturalistic colour pallette - accompanied by far more crane movements, drone footage & static sequences... It's undeniably fractious & grating.
That's not to say it's bad - far from it. In fact, this week's outing is pretty decent & equally as intriguing as the first was - in setting up a tantalising mystery we're challenged to try & solve. Furthermore, Naomie Harris delivers a brilliant performance (as ever) playing our lead protagonist "Helen" - whom she gifts so much on-screen appeal & charm. Admittedly, not much actually happened here in tonight's - as as it predominantly just laid the foundations that the next 2 episodes would clearly build upon - yet it's testament to her abilities as an actress how she held the audience's attention by captivating them with her presence in every scene, preventing their attention from being diverted for the entire duration... Despite the lack of real material. I'm not criticising Dennis Kelly or his writing team either; it's just as remarkable how they succeeded in making a contrived trip to a hotel both interesting & believable - irrespective of the journey's absurdity.
I don't know... Maybe it would've worked more effectively if Marc Munden had solely directed both tales by himself (so as to maintain his signature style) or if the show had split them in to 2 small seasons - as opposed to 1 - marketed with the deliberate intention of managing expectations in order to preemptively set that very apparent distinction between "Summer" & "Winter" but instead, the enormous changes in almost every aspect of the narrative do somewhat hinder the experience you have whilst sitting through.
It's practically the television equivalent of watching 2017's "Justice League" from Warner Bros; viewing the conflicting creative differences between Zack Snyder & Joss Whedon's personal directorial visions for the film, both battling for dominance & control - until eventually, we were left with a patchwork of contradicting amalgamations which didn't quite fit together cohesively... That's what this amounts to - Frankenstein's Monster. I'm not being salty either (if you'll pardon the pun); simply acknowledging how going from a raw, relentless & wild approach - told through the perspective of what was essentially an unreliable narrator (Sam suffering from occasional episodes of psychosis) layered with a constant sense of foreboding - intertwined betwixt vivid, symbolic imagery, capturing emotive moments within a number of claustrophobic, single-take close-ups, complimented by expressionistic handheld shots whilst simultaneously grounding us in the midst of the ensuing chaos - to this instantaneously more muted, grounded, naturalistic colour pallette - accompanied by far more crane movements, drone footage & static sequences... It's undeniably fractious & grating.
That's not to say it's bad - far from it. In fact, this week's outing is pretty decent & equally as intriguing as the first was - in setting up a tantalising mystery we're challenged to try & solve. Furthermore, Naomie Harris delivers a brilliant performance (as ever) playing our lead protagonist "Helen" - whom she gifts so much on-screen appeal & charm. Admittedly, not much actually happened here in tonight's - as as it predominantly just laid the foundations that the next 2 episodes would clearly build upon - yet it's testament to her abilities as an actress how she held the audience's attention by captivating them with her presence in every scene, preventing their attention from being diverted for the entire duration... Despite the lack of real material. I'm not criticising Dennis Kelly or his writing team either; it's just as remarkable how they succeeded in making a contrived trip to a hotel both interesting & believable - irrespective of the journey's absurdity.