Treme (2010-3)

David Simon paints an exquisite portrait of New Orleans post-Katrina, showcasing New Orleans culture of music, food, corruption and of course Mardi Gras.  I admit that I now have a much better appreciation for jazz, both traditional and modern. The show and city are filled with music; my favorite scenes featured Delmond's modern jazz trumpet.  My least favorite music came in Davis's strange punk-jazz-folk-opera concoctions; he also does not have a very pleasing singing voice.  I also was not a big fan of Annie's French-folk fiddle.  Really, I did not enjoy the non-Jazz genres.

The show tackles lots of prevalent issues that arose in the aftermath of the 2005 hurricane.  A recurring theme was police corruption and the frustration of civil rights lawyer Toni Bernette and clean cop Terry Colson over the lack of accountability.  Our character of interest was Nelson Hidalgo, a well-connected, money-hungry, neoliberal, professional schmoozer "carpetbagger venture capitalist" from Texas.  He makes a ton of money (from the government) in the demolition and rebuilding efforts of the city, but nothing ever actually gets done.  The Jazz Center that was his focus for much of the final two seasons never gets off the ground.  And by the series end, he packs up and leaves New Orlenas for good, moving on to Galveston devastated by Ike to run a similar scheme and make a second fortune.

Simon has a very interesting manner of narrative storytelling.  There is arguably no main character in the series (New Orleans itself is the protagonist, so to speak, omnipresent and never changing).  There are several characters with independent, sometimes intersecting story lines.  The scenes alternate between characters, such that we never get a full story till the end of the season.  Of course, some characters have more interesting plot lines than others and some you just dread seeing on screen.  Because of the slow pace, you really have to be committed to watching the whole season lest the story just unravel too slowly.  It picks up a little in season two, but the third season was a bit of a lull.  The final season gives a fitting farewell to everyone.  The final season was nominated for the Emmy for Outstanding Miniseries after the Miniseries/TV Movie split.    

Gone Girl (2014)

Gillian Flynn pens the screen adaptation of her own best-selling novel.  As the original author, she has an intimate knowledge of the characters' complex mindsets and emotions.  In a very unique manner of storytelling, the audience is given a first person account by Affleck's Nick in the present, and a first person account by Pike's Amy in the past through diary entries. The two separated by stylistic fades to black--both presenting biased narratives.  In this way, the story unravels at a very deliberate pace, with reveals around every corner.

Adding to the intense level of suspense is the soundtrack by frequent David Fincher collaborators Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails.  The electronic sounds are ominous; they creep up on you and the tension builds mirroring the film perfectly.  Even if not terribly musical in the traditional sense, the score is so fitting and integral to the foreboding ambiance of the movie.

On the acting front, Rosamund Pike stands out in an excellent cast.  Without giving too much away, her character's mental state is quite complicated but she does a very good job.  Ben Affleck, too, acts convincingly as the "concerned" husband who is under close scrutiny for his wife's disappearance. And of course, thanks to David Fincher's direction, this all comes together eerily well.