Tin Star

Tin Star is a modern noir western with gradually rising gangster elements (Several times I was reminded of Anthony Mann’s dark westerns and Cronenberg’s A History of Violence). Rowan Joffe previously wrote the excellent The American and the rather lousy thriller Before I Go to Sleep. Tin Star shares an existential heaviness with the former and a fondness for B-movie plot twists with the latter. Of course, Joffe is largely aware of the trashiness of his own work and manages to deal with the clichés he uses in an original way, so there is no lack of desired (perverse) humour. As the headline of one IMDb review says: "enjoyable but silly". Nevertheless, I can imagine that for some viewers, who require a (psycho)logical explanation of what they see and hear at all costs, the odd tone of the series (excellently captured in the title of the first episode, “Fun and (S)laughter”) will be too "silly" and not so “enjoyable”. ___ The story is based on well-known situations (the sheriff comes to restore order in a town under the control of a corrupt oil company; a recovered alcoholic starts drinking again; a father avenges his son's death), but those situations develop in unexpected directions or are combined in imaginative ways. Perhaps no character, regardless of how much of a caricature he may appear to be at first, is so unambiguous and predictable in the end. Almost all of them are hiding some dark secret whose gradual unveiling, together with the exemplary cliff-hangers, forces you to keep watching. ___ I also appreciated the degree of patience with which the whole series is directed, including the care put into the composition of every shot. Many of the shots are unusually long, based on the gradual revealing of new information, or rather on the fact that we don’t have access to certain information because the camera follows a single character. A number of scenes start earlier and end later than is necessary to say what needs to be said (which sounds like a terrible banality, but it has a fundamental impact on the atmosphere of the series). The occasionally ostentatious incorporation of landscapes into the narrative is reminiscent of westerns and the visual leitmotif comprises shots with the characters placed precisely in the middle of a symmetrical composition, which feels unnatural and adds to the protagonists’ unease. ___ On the other hand, ten episodes are too many. Some less-essential storylines are developed in the second half and draw attention away from what the series does best, thanks in part to the indefatigable Tim Roth – an honest portrayal of a self-destructive man who takes control of his life through what is simultaneously destroying it. If the characters were not forced by the script to make sometimes rather stupid (and, with respect to their characterisation, inconsistent) decisions and let themselves be controlled by their emotions, the series would probably be more balanced and cohesive. Due to my concerns that this dilution will continue, I’m not looking forward to the second season (which, due to the open ending, seems highly probable) with overly high hopes. ____ However, I'd definitely give Tin Star a chance, at least the first three episodes (the third one is clearly the best thanks to the ingenious alternation of two different time planes), especially if you like gritty westerns and Tim Roth. (21/09/2017) (less) (more)