![]() ![]() But over the last few weeks, a hoodie, his cell phone, and other odds and ends have disappeared, which Derek is quick to chalk up to the casual disregard of a spoiled teen. The married couple works for Sam’s dad, Jeff (Dennis Quaid), a celebrity chef (dubbed “Chef Jeff,” in what I hope is a nod to “The Bear”), who’s built a culinary empire despite having the worst ponytail this side of “The Idol.” Their marinara sauce pays the mortgage on a colossal, recently remodeled condo in lower Manhattan, but they still try to impart down-to-earth values in their son, Jared (Ethan Stoddard). Sam (Claire Danes) and Derek (Timothy Olyphant) have never heard of the Mahabirs, nor would they be able to identify any of them if the crossed paths on the subway - just kidding, Sam and Derek don’t ride the subway. Jharrel Jerome and Adia in “Full Circle” Courtesy of Sarah Shatz / Max Only after the boys arrive and discover how they’re expected to pay back their passage to the United States do they start to realize just how dangerous the Mahabir family can be. ![]() Louis’ sister, Natalia (Adia), is already there, making money as Aunt Mahabir’s masseuse-in-training and engaged to Aked (who often calls her his fiancé, but rarely does she appear excited to spend her life with the emotionally erratic young man). Xavier (Sheyi Cole) and Louis (Gerald Jones) are just two bored teens, living in Guyana, who want to visit America. Lately, they’ve been running their own hustle (all at the behest of Auntie M), which involves, well, let’s leave that part out.Īked’s friends have no idea what they’ve signed up for. So Mahabir calls upon her nephew, Aked (Jharrel Jerome) and his friends to help out. The plan involves, yes, an actual circle (both spread outside in chalk and scattered on paper with rice) - but really it requires doing a favor for a person she’s wronged, and the favor requires exacting vengeance on a separate family who wronged that person. Convinced his death is signal of bad luck befalling her family, Mahabir enlists help from her Guyanese elders to break the curse and set things right. CCH Pounder plays Savitri Mahabir, a grieving sister (and minor mafia leader in Queens) whose brother was just killed and robbed. With considered decision-making very much in mind, let’s start where “Full Circle” starts: the titular circle. One simple, purposeful pivot can have quite the domino effect, especially in a series about how so many of our choices impact so many people outside our immediate circle. ![]() Certain viewers may lose patience with these early obfuscations, but you’ll know if you’re in or out on “Full Circle” as soon as the first episode’s closing twist hits. Some of these details come to feel like red herrings: The postal employee (played by Zazie Beetz) functions exactly like a cop, but rather than write her as a cop, Solomon’s slight tweak to a familiar archetype helps throw the audience off the scent, delaying the seemingly distinct storylines’ inevitable connections. The slow-developing ensemble thriller centers on a kidnapping near Manhattan’s Washington Square Park, yet expands to include such disparate groups as Guyanese migrants and U.S. ‘Vinland Saga’ Turned Gory Viking Battles Into a Pacifist’s Story in Season 2Įnter “ Full Circle,” a six-part limited series directed entirely by Soderbergh and written in full by his recurring collaborator Ed Solomon (“No Sudden Move,” “Mosaic”). He’s doing exactly what he was hired to do, and better yet, his work never feels like there’s a hired-hand behind it. People can quibble over quality - none of his films have garnered the awards attention seen in his early career or the critical adoration of, say, HBO’s “Behind the Candelabra” - but he’s produced thoughtful stories, filled with stars, that carry the director’s trademark visual curiosity. (Not to mention my favorite of the lot: the sneaky meta, smartly stylish, “Friends of Eddie Coyle” riff, “No Sudden Move.”)įor an artist who once thought he was done with filmmaking for good, Soderbergh has become the portrait of reliability. ![]() The Oscar- and Emmy-winning director signed a three-year deal with WarnerMedia in 2020, when Max was still HBO Max and HBO still had exclusive rights to its original library, and he’s continue to deliver throughout the streamer’s tumultuous transition - one film per year, including the third in his trilogy with Channing Tatum (“Magic Mike’s Last Dance”), a buzzy thriller starring Zoë Kravitz ( “Kimi”), and a little movie featuring the one-and-only Meryl Streep ( “Let Them All Talk”). At a time when overall deals are getting the side-eye, no disapproving stares need be sent toward Steven Soderbergh. ![]()
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