TV REVIEW: THE OLD MAN - Season 1

4/5

The Old Man and the CIA. 

7 Episodes. Starring: Jeff Bridges, John Lithgow, E.J. Bonilla, Bill Heck, Leem Lubany, Alia Shawkat, Gbenga Akinnagbe & Amy Brenneman. Created By: Jonathan E. Steinberg & Robert Levine. 

Truer grit. I guess you can teach an old dog new 'John Wick' tricks. In the outstanding opening episode of Season 1 of FX's 'The Old Man', now streaming on Disney +, 'True Grit' and 'Hell Or High Water' legend Jeff Bridges gives it to them like a 'Nobody', now you better call someone else but Saul, as Bob Odenkirk has stopped taking 'Breaking Bad' cases. The Dude, Bridges hasn't looked this youthful since Disney's 'Tron: Legacy' CGI reboot of sorts. And this feels like mere months after he underwent chemotherapy, battling cancer. He may be armed with two dogs unlike Mr. Wick (too soon? This teacher better hide his pencils), but you could hardly tell as this 'Crazy Heart' lays into two heavies like 'The Fisher King' still has a left hook. All in one tremendous, tough take for a daredevil one-shot that even rivals Matthew McConaughey's escape from the hood in 'True Detective'. All for a haunting, waking horror action-thriller that feels akin to the HBO special, all the way down to the title-card and T Bone Burnett soundtrack. And to think this old man began with more nightly visits to the bathroom than...well...me.

Just when you thought this Jonathan E. Steinberg and Robert Levine 'Old Man' based on the Thomas Perry novel of the same name was all about Beau's brother, John Lithgow takes this gripping action-drama back to his 'Cliffhanger' cruel villainy. The '3rd Rock From The Sun' legend who won an Emmy for playing Churchill in 'The Crown' shows everyone who thinks he's "somebody to be f##### with" two fingers as he keeps going through the high water of this hell. Being just as threatening as Bridges, burning from a burner phone outside a remote airport hangar location. Across the wild west American plains, nothing has been this down the barrel scary off a highway (or runway) to hell since a scene stealing hitman Jude Law was hot on the trail in a 'Road To Perdition' pursuit of a mob man Tom Hanks. Right after the great Brit set the table to all this in a classic roadside American diner scene across the table from him. 

After this amazing act, this seven seal of a series has a tough one to follow trying to pass its high bar. But this slow burner with plenty of punch and brutal backstory is setting up the strands for even more as this spider diagram points in the direction of a second season (it was renewed after the premiere. Need we say any more?). One that looks to have even more in the clip like this loaded cast. Bridges or Lithgow, no matter which of 'The Old M(e)n' you're rooting for, it's 'State Of Grace' star Ali Shawkat that steals the show from both men with a perfect performance. The only other thing we can say about her character right now is that she may as well be named Emmy. Because the envelope is hers. On the phone with Jeff, or by dear John's investigatory side she more than holds her own. She makes this show her own. Perhaps the only thing better is the moment the ever cool Bridges loses his on one character and screams, "what the f### are you doing", much in the same way he warned a suit strong arming him in 'The Big Lebowski' that "there's a beverage here." 

Now, what the heck?! Going down smoother than a White Russian, it may not be Josh Brolin as Tommy Lee Jones in 'Men In Black III', but 'The Leftovers' of Bill Heck as a young 'Old Man' has the influence of much more than an inspired impression. Bearded and slicked back like a young Bridges, dude, this man was heartbreakingly beautiful in soul in the Cohen Brothers 'The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs' and here he builds a brilliant background with a standout Leem Lubany of 'Omar' that we need to see more of. The 'Guiding Light' of Brooklyn's own E.J. Bonilla takes meddling to a whole new level, reminding us of that Jon Bernthal punishing passion. Whilst star of HBO's 'The Wire' and 'The Deuce' Gbenga Akinnagbe could hunt anybody down. But for all the actors and the Roman numerals to these chapters it's 'NYPD Blue' and 'Judging Amy's' Amy Brenneman who has our heart. Reminding us of the 'Daylight' of her 90s golden era classic career (saving everyone from that electric cable with two Timberlands is still tough to boot) as her stirring scenes with Bridges take us back to the 'Heat' of Eady in a Michael Mann movie when Robert De Niro told you it wasn't just one night to him. There's still time and this old man with a gun lives to fight another day as the show goes on. These old dogs are still having their day. TIM DAVID HARVEY. 

Further Filming: 'True Detective', 'True Grit', 'The Old Man & The Gun'.