Elementary (TV Series)

The new season has brought about a whole variety of TV shows to choose from. While former favourites like Dexter and Homeland are going great-guns with their latest installments, there is always that want to get addicted to something new and different. 

While it may not be different per say, but Elementary is probably the most awaited TV show of the present season. Taking inspiration from the British series Sherlock, Elementary places Sherlock Holmes (Jonny Lee Miller), rehabilitating from a drug and alcohol addiction, in modern day New York. The conventional Watson gets a rather drastic change of the female kind in Lucy Liu's Dr. Joan Watson assigned to keep a lookout on Sherlock by his father. To make matters slightly different we get two detectives in place of the famous Lestrad, with Captain Toby Gregson (Aidian Quinn) and Marcus Bell (Jon Michael Hill) playing second fiddle to the famous detective.

Elementary deserves credit for trying hard, but try as it might it just doesn't have the same mind frame that Sherlockhas. While Jonny Lee Miller is made to look edgy with his antics and his tattooed body, it is Lucy Liu in a very subtle role that commands notice. Obviously unlike Sherlock, Elementary has the job of keeping the audience happy for at least 12 if not 20 odd episodes. If only it would stop trying so hard as it did in the third episode which resembles the film Primal Fear from the get go. Another aspect of Elementarythat makes it less dark is that so far there is no Moriarty like figure that would really keep Sherlock on his toes. A hint did present towards the end of the third episode, but that too was dumbed down because it seems at this time Sherlock must have the upper hand in all situations. Nor is there a Mycroft Holmes, brother to Sherlock, who I hope will be introduced later in the series as well.

Everything aside, Elementary is a good enough modern take on the character of Sherlock Holmes. Moreover, with his eccentricities and obsessions he somewhat fills the void left by Monk when that series ended a few years back. Having the option of more thank 3 to 6 episodes does give the series liberty to bring in characters at a later date and hopefully that would make it more interesting.      

     

Kahaani (Hindi)

The reason why I enjoyed and like Kahaani is because the film is primarily a return to clean storytelling. It doesn't deviate from the story too much into unnecessary subplots thankfully avoiding "item numbers" and other such atrocities that have become a common part of Indian films.

Kahaani is the story of a pregnant woman played by Vidya Balan visiting Kolkata on her own in search of her missing husband, who, and this is where the story forms its basis, is also being hunted by the Indian government and police for being a terrorist involved in a bombing. The story, which does have a few loop-holes, works well as a detective piece and having a pregnant woman, gives it an unconventional primary character. Vidya Balan plays the role so convincingly that there were reports around the time of the release of the film that she might actually have been pregnant during the shoot. The reports turned out to be false.

The weakest aspect of the entire film is the opening sequence. What this sequence does is implant doubts in the minds of the audience about the story that follows and that in turn takes away from the deductions happening in the film. Nevertheless, the supporting characters played by Parambrata Chatterjee, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Ritabrata Mukherjee, and Saswata Chatterjee are so good and so into their respective roles that its hard not to enjoy their characters perform and add their own dimension to the storyline.        

The director Sujoy Ghosh makes the most of the vibrant city that is Kolkata making events like the Durga Puja intrinsic to the story and in fact goes to the extent of even making the music by Vihal-Shekar relate to the region.

Kahaani is simplistic storytelling at its best. Staying away from the run-of-the-mill commercial aspects of Indian cinema it manages to attract the thinking audience into enjoying the film all the while demonstrating the wide variety of talent available to Indian cinema in the form of actors, locations, and filmmakers.

Rating 4/5  

Inspector Montalbano

Sun, food, women, and murder; four words that best describe the Italian detective series Inspector Montalbano based on the books by Andrea Camilleri. Primarily set in picturesque Sicily, the series takes a wickedly fun and sinister approach as Inspector Montalbano, played by Luca Zingaretti, and his team go about solving crimes in the region.  

Having viewed two episodes I found Inspector Montalbano to be exceptionally well crafted because it tackles humor, death, and mystery in just the right balance. The series in general can be a bit unnerving at times, in a positive manner, because it combines sporadic moments of comedy with that of misery, changing the mood from light to dark, and back again, instantly at the flip of a coin.  

Excursion to Tindariconsists of the inspector looking at a murder, a missing elderly couple, and a case of adultery amidst politics and mafia intrusions. What struck me most about this episode was the unconventional end, something that brings forth the extreme cunningness of the Inspector.

The Artist's Touchis a murder mystery with a storyline consisting of deductions that mirror Sherlock Holmes at times. Once again, as in the previous episode, there is always a lingering shadow of the "important" things in life; beautiful women and food, both of which usually bring about the humorous side of Inspector Montalbano. 

It's easy to be carried away and get comfortable with the number of subplots while watching Inspector Montalbano. After only a little while the transition into reading the subtitles became natural, but still, a number of times I was so engrossed in the episodes, admiring and enjoying the original language (Italian), that I would skip reading the subtitles having to actually rewind, in-order to understand what was being said.

While the title character of the series portrays a certain charisma and charm and is without doubt the "hero", it has to be the supporting cast and their mannerisms that truly make it special. Be it the regulars, with a special mention of Catarella, or the episodic cast, each member is so well developed that they form an integral part of the series with Inspector Montalbano serving as a head keeping everything and everyone under control. It is also this supporting cast that is primarily responsible for the subtle, almost Peter Seller-esq comedy that underlines the series throughout. The influence of Italian culture is abundant with the food and sun-kissed locations playing a prominent role along with a general flirting that takes place between a number of characters.

Inspector Montalbano brings about certain freshness amongst the barrage of detective series that are produced in the west. Making the most of its location, the series keeps itself unique by having strong characters that can't help but make the audience love them and their eccentricities.       

Inspector Montalbano is a series not to be missed, especially if you like your dinner served by the seaside with a hint of anguish, a dash of whimsy, and a sprinkle of personalities to bring about an explosion of taste. 

DVD Information:

Title - Inspector Montalbano Collection Two

Episodes - Excursion to Tindari, The Artist's Touch, The Sense of Touch, Montalbano's Croquettes, The Scent of the Night, The Goldfinch and the Cat.

Release Date - 3rd September 2012

Running Time - 611 minutes approx. on 3 discs

Certificate - 15

Language - Italian with English Subtitles

Release - Acorn Media UK