I was not the biggest fan of “Generation Kill” and “Treme,” but I love me some “Show Me A Hero,” in my view the best thing David Simon has put together since he created and masterminded “The Wire.”
It’s a fascinating, heart-tugging look at how politics work, and how human beings can get ground up in the forces of law and government. And it challenges viewers to find solutions that may not exist.
Oscar Isaac (“Inside Llewyn Davis,” “A Most Violent Year,” “Ex Machina,” “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” “X-Men: Apocalypse”) stars as Nick Wasicsko (pronounced WA-sis-ko), the real-life 28-year-old mayor of Yonkers, N.Y., who saw his political career derailed after he was forced by a federal court to build low-income housing in his city’s whitest neighborhoods.
Catherine Keener (“Enough Said,” “Captain Phillips,” “Bad Grandpa”) plays the leader of an East Yonkers homeowners association whose views on the project change radically once she gets to know its prospective tenants.
Joining Isaac and Keener in the cast are Winona Ryder, Jon Bernthal, Clarke Peters, Alfred Molina, LaTanya Richardson-Jackson, Bob Balaban, Peter Riegert and Jim Belushi.
The first two hours of the six-hour miniseries, based on the book by Lisa Belkin, hit HBO tonight, with more two-hour installments following over the next two Sundays.
… It's modern life in all its messiness, told by a group of artists with a particular flair for capturing it. …
… absorbing … Isaac, wearing Wasicsko’s soup-strainer mustache like a 50-pound weight, masterfully shows his youthful energy and optimism curdling into gallows humor and bitterness. … Hero‘s emotional power builds as it focuses on the townhouses’ new residents and the initiative’s power to change their lives. …
... meticulously and cleverly assembled, wonderfully coherent, often moving and funny, painstaking in its evocation of a midsize, tired city in the late 1980s and early ’90s. …
... magnificent … Although much of the time a story set in offices, meeting rooms and courtrooms — it's like a procedural drama, about the drama of procedure — it isn't ever dry. There are some superbly mounted, loud, crowded big scenes — Simon is a great orchestrator of chaos — but there is an intensity to the quieter, more private moments as well. …
... brilliant. … a subtle and deeply effective melding of art and conscience; from its writing and narrative pace to its outstanding performances (particularly that of its star, Oscar Isaac) the miniseries locates a seldom-found sweet spot between storytelling and moralism. It doesn’t suffocate on its own good intentions; instead it works because of its ambiguities — much like the tone of Simon’s masterwork, “The Wire.” As the title strongly suggests, there are no real heroes in this particular situation.
The San Francisco Chronicle says:
... Keener’s is only one of the truly great performances that make “Hero” compelling in spite of its deceptively dry subject matter, especially early on — once you buy into the characters, you’re hooked. …
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says:
... Mr. Isaac, who will be seen in December in the new “Star Wars” movie, proves a terrific lead performer …
... engrossing … Bernthal, who has spent much of his recent career playing men of action, has the best role of his career, and he shines as cocky but dedicated NAACP lawyer Michael Sussman, determined to make Yonkers integrate. Ryder is very good as a councilwoman whose fate could serve as a warning to Nick, if only he were better at reading the signs. Why isn’t this actress working more? …
... proves to be yet another faceted Simon gem. …
... sobering, spare and meticulously crafted …
... not only rewards viewers for the time they invest, but also gives them a glimpse of what could earn a very generous haul of Emmy nominations next year. …
8 p.m. Sunday. HBO.
