Kyle Chandler
Ben Mendelsohn
Linda Cardellini
Norbert Leo Butz
Jacinda Barrett
Jamie McShane
Enrique Murciano
Sam Shepard
Sissy Spacek

Created by:
Todd A. Kessler
Glenn Kessler
Daniel Zelman

Drama, Thriller
2015-
Netflix

TV-MA

“Bloodline,” a Netflix original series, takes its time. The first episode may lose people before they even get to its end. But if you make it to the end of that episode, then you’ll likely check out the next episode, and the next …

This is about a family with lots of secrets. Those secrets are revealed in bits and pieces. (Sometimes you aren’t even aware of the significance of what you’re seeing or what the exact chronology is.) They’re not that likable, but they are complicated. Plus, once you know what’s going to happen, you’ll likely want to stick around to find out whether it was warranted. It seems like it was, but who knows? We don’t have all of the information at the beginning.

This show benefits from the Netflix model – it’s nice to have the option of watching the next episode. Otherwise, it would likely be frustrating and possibly confusing to watch this week after week. Plus, it blends the elements of a psychological thriller with a family drama. The potency of that combination wouldn’t be as powerful with too much time in between episodes or parts. In addition, especially after the first episode, the writing gives you just enough information to keep watching.

The cast is full of veterans who know what to do. It wouldn’t work without them. Ben Mendelsohn, who plays oldest son Danny Rayburn, is particularly important. He’s the black sheep of the family: His return is welcomed only by his mother (Sissy Spacek), his unsavory best friend (Jamie McShane), and his unsavory best friend’s sister (Chloë Sevigny). Mendelsohn never indicates or leans too heavily on the disturbing aspects of his character. Instead, he uses silence and pauses just enough to make things uncomfortable. We’re never quite sure of what he’s thinking, but he’s definitely thinking something. His work is expertly fine-tuned to avoid caricature. It’s pitch-perfect. The rest of the cast, which also includes Kyle Chandler, Linda Cardellini, Broadway veteran Norbert Leo Butz, and Sam Shepard, finds the right rhythms, too. Much of what those actors do is in response, either directly or indirectly, to Danny’s actions and attitude.

I don’t love this show (it’s not that kind of show), but it does have the right atmosphere and pace. The Florida Keys is the perfect setting. It’s a cumulatively impressive piece of work – I mean that literally. It would fit in with HBO’s “True Detective,” for instance, but they certainly have differences.

This show is about the menace that lies just beneath the surface. It’s about what we choose to say and what we choose to withhold. It’s about how we play our roles in life and how that affects everyone around us and especially ourselves. It’s quietly unsettling and purposely unpleasant. It rings true. Plus, the longer you watch it, the more its hypnotic spell takes hold. It’ll put a lump in your throat.

Verdict: Very Good Overall

About: (Source: bloodline)

“Bloodline” is a dramatic thriller that explores the demons lurking beneath the surface of a contemporary American family. The Rayburns are hard-working pillars of their Florida Keys community. But when the black sheep son comes home for the 45th anniversary of his parents’ hotel, he threatens to expose the Rayburns’ dark secrets and shameful past, pushing his siblings to the limits of family loyalty.