An ambitious, sprawling, slow burn affair.
HBO has made the first episode of The Deuce available on its streaming services ahead of its Sept. 10th air date.
HBO's The Deuce is executive producers David Simon and George Pelecanos's (The Wire, Treme) latest saga about an urban ecosystem where disparate members of a community -- in this case, Times Square in 1971 -- struggle to survive against the forces, both institutional and personal, that threaten to swarm them. It is, as to be expected from Simon and HBO on their sixth pairing, an ambitious, sprawling, slow burn affair, one marked by a great ensemble cast and a journalist's insight into urban socioeconomics and human behavior.
James Franco plays dual roles here as twin ne'er-do-wells Vinny and Frankie Martino. Vinny rejected the chance to join his cheating wife's (Zoe Kazan) mob-affiliated family business in favor of working two jobs on both sides of the river to support his loved ones. Frankie, meanwhile, is a gambling fiend whose transgressions have made him a burden to both the mob and to Vinny, who assumes his twin's mob debts. Franco is solid in both roles, but he never overwhelms the overall narrative to the point that the other characters can't find room to shine.
Pernell Walker, James Franco, and Maggie Gyllenhaal in The Deuce.
It's a David Simon show so the emphasis here is on community and the larger forces that define and affect it. The Martinos are just two members of a struggling cast of characters in a story set in a very specific period in New York City's history. This is an era of pimps and hookers, dreamers and schemers, losers and low-lifes, all of whom struggle to survive on the eve of Times Square and its grimy environs transitioning from a prostitution-driven economy to a porn-fueled one.
While the premiere episode of The Deuce doesn't set-up the porn industry -- although we know from both history and the show's marketing that's what is in store -- it establishes that the sex worker industry is the relentless economic force keeping this filthy (literally and metaphorically) place alive. Everyone here is looking to screw, make money screwing, or profit from those being screwed. Those locals who haven't figured out an angle within that framework will have to adapt or go out of business.
It should be noted, though, that The Deuce doesn't appear, at least based on this first episode, interested in what's salacious about the sex trade. People want what they want (both the provider and the consumer), and the physical, moral and intellectual price of all that is explored through various characters and conversations. The pimps (Method Man plays one), hookers, local business owners, cops, and even students are all complicit, whether they realize it or not, in what affects their neighbor which, in turn, affects the community as a whole.
None of this heady, intellectual stuff would matter if you weren't invested in or curious about the characters, and that's where The Deuce's stellar ensemble steps up. James Franco and Maggie Gyllenhaal, as the independent street walker Eileen, aka "Candy," may shine the brightest here, but they are just two members of this acting company. The lesser known cast members anchor this piece as much as the two movie stars getting most of the headlines. In particular, Gary Carr stands out as the deceptively welcoming pimp C.C. and Dominique Fishback as street walker Darlene, who finds solace in watching the old movie A Tale of Two of Cities with an elderly John. (It will be curious to see how much The Deuce, with its twin protagonists played by Franco, echoes the narrative of that Dickens classic, where doppelgängers fatefully trade places.)
The Deuce's impeccable recreation of Travis Bickle-era Times Square is a technical tour de force. Director Michelle MacLaren (Breaking Bad) resurrects the Serpico-Taxi Driver era New York, but MacLaren also deserves credit for her good taste in not letting The Deuce linger on what might be deemed as exploitive. The Deuce is not about sex; it's about those who sell it and why, and that makes for a compelling drama about damaged people.
The Verdict
It's too early to tell from this pilot episode if The Deuce will reward the promise offered by this early entry, but the very vulnerable and human collection of characters introduced here are as compelling as their world is sad, desperate and in terrible need of gallons and gallons of disinfectant.
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