No. 2 Rectify: Finding Strength in the Silence
There’s hardly ever been a quieter show on television than Sundance’s Rectify. But don’t be fooled by the lack of volume. Ray McKinnon’s drama is nothing if not audacious.
The material—a man is released from prison after new DNA evidence casts doubt on his guilt—could ripped out of the headlines, Law and Order style. But instead of dwelling on the procedural elements—will newly-freed Daniel Holden end up back on trial?--Ray McKinnon (who played Rev. Smith on Deadwood) focuses on the characters and let’s them breathe.
I've loved this show from the very beginning, but even I was concerned that it might lose some of its narrative momentum as the elements of Daniel's case were resolved. The closest analog on cable television is True Detective, and we all saw how thoroughly that show lost its way in its sophomore season. Rectify's cinematic equivalent is a feature film by Terrence Malick, and even Malick's fans must admit that his work can sometimes be as confounding as it is beautiful. Not so with Rectify, which has found its True North and simply follows it, inviting us to come along if we wish.
In season 3, McKinnon quiets Rectify even further, until it becomes something less about crime and punishment and morphs instead into a portrait of an American family, without villains or heroes, just people who love each other and despite that can't help but hurt each other. Aden Young gives a performance of the ages as Daniel, but to single him out risks diminishing the rich and nuanced performances from the rest of the ensemble.
The season's final episode stands as a quiet triumph, satisfying because of how thoroughly these moments of justice and redemption have been earned. If you don’t shed a well-earned tear or two during the season's final scenes, you’re a tougher cookie than me. McKinnon wrote "The Source" with the notion that this hour might be Rectify's last. And if things had rolled that way, it would have worked as a more-than-worthy ending. The good news? Television's most nuanced show will return for a fourth season in 2016.
