Review: Endings, Beginnings

Drake Doremus seems like the kind of director who doesn't seem all that interested in what his scripts are about so long as they give him the chance to create a particular mood. That's probably a little unfair: the kind of mood he's usually looking to create is one of romantic longing, so clearly he's not rushing to get hired for the next Bad Boys sequel (though if that franchise were to take a surprise twist, who knows...).

His most successful film to date remains Like Crazy, a romantic drama in which a young couple are put through the wringer because one of them decides to overstay his visa (to stay with his girlfriend, obviously), only to discover that's totally screwed over his chances of returning to the country to be with her.

Having a decent plot that justifies Doremus's fondness for arty shots of attractive young people looking sad is a large factor in its success; every film he's made since then (yes, even the one where Ewan McGregor falls in love with a robot) has had an increasingly slapdash feel to it.

In the case of Endings, Beginnings, that's kind of the point; largely improvised with the help of the cast, it's clearly more about being a free-wheeling character study of a young woman (Shallene Woodley) at a turning point in her life than it is about a gripping plot packed with twists. Which is exactly the kind of film you want Doremus to be making.

Daphne (Woodley) has just broken up with her seemingly perfect boyfriend for reasons even she can't seem to articulate and moved back into her sister's pool house. Her models for relationships aren't great: her sister's relation may be abusive, while her mother didn't exactly provide stability either. Then one night at one of her sister's parties she meets Jack (Jamie Dorman), a kindly Irish writer, and Frank (Sebastian Stan), a fiery bad boy. Who to choose? And they're also best friends!

It's a moderately interesting dilemma that holds few surprises. It's no spoiler to reveal that the moral of the story is that girls like the nice guys but they'll sleep with the bad boys, and this does contain a number of what counts as graphic sex scenes for an American film in 2020. But the focus is firmly on Daphne and her journey to a place where she can move forward with love in her life, and both men are really just ways for her to figure out what she really wants.

Doremus is a solid stylist in the underappreciated "films that look like an expensive car commercial" genre, and while that sounds like a cheap shot it's more a recognition of how advertising has colonised a certain strand of emotion-based film-making. Looked at a particular way, Terrance Malick's films also feel like expensive car commercials, and so while the story may occasionally feel like it's spinning its wheels. the visuals always do an impressive job of keeping the emotions we're meant to be feeling on solid ground.

The only real problem with all this is that Daphne herself isn't that interesting. Her dilemma is largely abstract, especially once it becomes clearer exactly why she left her ex. Even purely as fun wish fulfillment (which this clearly is to some extent) it's often not much more than eye candy; while she's torn between two hot guys that's not really a tough problem to have when both of them constantly make sure to respect her feelings and boundaries.

Like a lot of stories that are made up as they go along, it reaches a point where the drama just runs out.

- Anthony Morris

Out Now: Homecoming season one

Heidi (Julia Roberts) is a counselor at Homecoming, an organisation that helps returned soldiers transition back into civilian life. Or more accurately, she was: now she's a small town waitress, which is the kind of comedown that even the Department of Defense finds a little suspicious - especially as she now says she has no memory of ever having worked at Homecoming. This is a series full of mysteries, and over ten episodes the twists and turns just keep on coming.

On release Homecoming didn't get quite the attention it deserved - it stars Julia Roberts! It's directed by the Mr Robot guy! - which can largely be laid at the feet of Amazon, which at the time (and possibly even now) was seen as a streaming service that occasionally came up with the goods but wasn't a must-have addition to your viewing roster. That's a real shame: this is as enthralling a mystery series as any of the more high-profile efforts that have been buzzed about over the last few years.

It's a sign of how television has cheapened the mystery that the term "puzzle box" is pretty much standard for the genre now, but Homecoming is an old-fashioned mystery, one where the puzzle has been thoroughly worked out before the first clue is clear. So while there are plenty of twisty developments here, there's never a sense that things are happening simply for the sake of keeping you watching. It all adds up, which is exactly what you want to hear before making a five hour commitment.

Of course, it's totally possible you're here just to see Julia Roberts (who we don't seem to see enough of these days), and fans will have nothing to complain about with her small screen debut. Even those who might be on the fence after a decade or more of her blinding smile in rom-com roles will be won over by her reserved, nuanced performance here.

The rest of the cast provides solid support, whether it's Sissy Spacek as her small-town mother, Bobby Cannavale as Homecoming's blustery boss (just what is it that he wants Heidi to find out from her cases?) or Stephan James as Walter, a returned soldier who's struggling with survivor's guilt after his tour.

Director Sam Esmail brings his signature off-kilter visual style to what gradually develops into a story of a kind of corporate malfeasance (or is it?), giving almost every scene a lurching sense of subtle menace that amplifies the unease without becoming overwhelming.

The whole production is measured in a way that a good mystery should be, with everything working in balance to build a picture we want to see completed even as we come to dread what it will reveal.

Homecoming season one is out now on DVD through ViaVision