Debate: Is "The Leftovers" a masterwork or a frustrating mess?

I tried watching The Leftovers last week after hearing all the hype. The first season felt so slow and depressing I almost quit, but then season two hooked me with that weird town cult stuff. Now I see people online arguing it's either a genius show about grief or just pretentious misery porn. What side do you land on after finishing it?

2 comments

2 Comments

dylan_green5811d ago

The soundtrack is the real sleeper argument here. Max Richter's piano pieces carry so much weight that the show almost becomes a music video for grief. Take the season two opener with that cover of "Let the Mystery Be" - it sets the whole tone better than any scripted scene could. The score does more heavy lifting than most of the characters.

susanh4610d ago

Hard disagree on the heavy lifting part. The score is beautiful, no argument there, but it's working with material the actors and writers already set up. Without the performances and the script, Richter's piano would just be nice background music, not gut punching moments.