Rectify is part of the new breed of TV epic; a complex, thoughtful, broad-canvas work that doesn’t pull a punch or dumb down its content for popularity, and instead sticks to a defined, planned story arc, instead of milking a gimmick until it’s axed. The brainchild of Ray McKinnon (who you might know better as the Reverend Smith on Deadwood, or as Lincoln Potter on Sons of Anarchy), developed by AMC’s indie subsidiary SundanceTV hot off the success of Breaking Bad, this is a show with serious new-breed-TV pedigree.
Southern Gothic is so hot right now, probably because the small-town American South lends itself so perfectly to a TV narrative: everyone knows everyone else, tensions run hot, there’s a shotgun under every bed and a bible in every pocket.
So when twenty-year death-row inmate Daniel Holden (Aden Young) has his conviction vacated by new DNA evidence, throwing him straight back into the small Georgia town where he may or may not have murdered his girlfriend as a teenager, there are endless opportunities for drama. The immediate day-to-day weirdness of rediscovering a family and a life are haunted by bigger spectres: retrial, mob justice and innocence or guilt.
Not that Rectify takes the easy road for creating drama; in fact, this series is so tightly directed, scripted and acted that it can pull high tension out of a bottle of milk or a cigarette one second, then the next, offer laserbeam philosophical observations on just how for-granted we take the complicated, confusing, rich world around us.
Much of the series rides on Young’s performance as Daniel Holden, who perfectly rides the line between confused, badly damaged innocence and potential murderer, with a self-administered literary education and a bent for philosophical introspection. Young occupies the screen entirely whenever he’s on it, with palpable terror, awkwardness, trauma and brutal honesty.
The show’s astonishing knack for awkward moments, sometimes bringing them to excruciating fruition, and sometimes letting them pass, is a neat vehicle for the overwhelming confusion in Daniel’s world: suddenly expanded from four by eight feet, to impossible-to-predict infinity.
Abigail Spencer also stands out as Daniel’s ever-loyal, tough-as-nails sister Amantha (yes, I googled it, apparently it’s a real name). Daniel’s conflicted, hesitant mother Janet (J. Smith-Cameron) is another gold-standard regular, and Johnny Ray Gill as Daniel’s flashback death-row cell neighbour is nothing short of pretty damn amazing. But Rectify doesn’t skimp anywhere on acting ability; a true ensemble drama, even the bit-part characters are beautifully drawn and well-executed – hopefully an indication that future seasons will bring them back.
While some critics have accused Rectify of being too slowly paced, it’s hard to see their position when watching it as a DVD, with full control of when the next episode airs. It’s also a bit mind-blowing to realise, thanks to the DVD extras, that each episode of this detailed, richly-drawn show is filmed in just seven days. This is an absolutely gripping (though not light) series, and most definitely worth a watch.
Rating: 4½ stars out of 5
Rectify Season 1
SundanceTV
Created by Ray McKinnon
Produced by Don Kurt
Cast includes Aden Young, Abigail Spencer, J. Smith-Cameron, Adelaide Clemens, Clayne Crawford, Luke Kirby
DVD Release 26 March
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