“Eric” is a show wherein loads happens.
Netflix's mini-drama series, six episodes of which were released this week, is about corrupt cops, corrupt politicians, greedy businessmen and child sex traffickers. Set in New York within the mid-Eighties, the series deals with the treatment of the homeless and homosexuals within the era of AIDS.
At its core, nevertheless, it’s a portrait of a person – Vincent (Benedict Cumberbatch) – who struggles together with his personal demons after his nine-year-old son Edgar (Ivan Howe in his first film role) goes missing.
So who’s Eric? Good query.
Eric is the colourful monster dreamed up by Edgar and dropped at life in human-sized form by Vincent, the creator of a preferred children's puppet line. Eric ALSO becomes the imaginary walking embodiment of Eric's self-loathing. Invisible to others, Vincent consistently talks to Eric and even yells on the invisible creature in front of others.
Quite a bit also happens within the series “Eric”.
The downside of the series, created by Abi Morgan, which takes on greater than it could actually realistically handle, is that it isn’t boring, not less than not for long stretches. It jumps from one storyline to the subsequent, all of that are tied together well enough by the top of the six hours. Slightly silly at times? True. But not boring.
Vincent's show, “Good Day Sunshine,” has been a success for years but is combating declining rankings, so he and his colleague Lennie (Dan Fogler from “The Offer”) are up against donors demanding change.
“We need to bridge the gap between preschool and elementary school children,” says one. “That's where the cool kids are.”
However, Vincent is reluctant so as to add elements akin to beatboxing and makes this clear to anyone who can hear his voice.
After going home with Edgar and buying him a comic book book at a store where he also gets some alcohol, Vincent has his latest verbal sparring match together with his increasingly exhausted wife Cassie (Gaby Hoffmann, “Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty”) while Edgar hides in his room and draws. Although he appears to be afraid that a monster may be living under his bed, Edgar has been making countless sketches of Eric.
When his parents argue within the morning about whether Vincent is just too young to let him go to highschool alone, Edgar does just that – but he never makes it to highschool.
In this pre-cell phone era, Vincent never bothers to return Cassie's call at his workplace that day, and when he returns home, he finds a New York City Missing Persons Division detective, Det. Michael Ledroit (McKinley Belcher III), interrogating his wife.
After Edgar has been missing for 48 hours, a press conference is held where Vincent looks into the camera and begs his son to return home to prove everyone who thinks he’s dead improper.
Then he decides to take matters into his own hands… by creating Eric and putting him on TV, hoping that Edgar will see his creation on the screen and are available home. When Cassie finds out about this plan, she says he's lost his mind. (We agree!) He's also drinking compulsively at this point – and abusing other substances.
Cumberbatch, an actor known for his portrayal of Doctor Strange within the Marvel Cinematic Universe in addition to his excellent work in Sherlock and The Imitation Game, isn't quite at his best here. Frankly, he has a giant job ahead of him because the lead character on this series, and we’ve got to root for him, whilst he's rude to people he cares about and rampaging through the Big Apple together with his equally rude imaginary friend. (Cumberbatch voices Eric, who lives underground like most of the city's homeless, in a grumpy and rascally way.)
The strongest performance comes from Belcher (“Mercy Street,” “Ozark”). If Vincent is the show's beating heartbeat, Ledroit is its soul: a closeted gay man living together with his secret (and sick) lover William (Mark Gillis). A former vice squad detective, the well-meaning and determined Ledroit can't keep away from a seedy nightclub on Edgar's option to school, which angers his boss (David Denman, “13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi”) – especially after Ledroit clashes with the present vice squad.
More interesting work on screen comes from Bamar Kane (“Father & Soldier”) as Yuusuf, a member of the town’s homeless community who plays a crucial role within the story.
While Eric isn't as solid overall as Belcher's work, it has an unmistakable consistency, with all of the episodes written by Morgan (“The Hour,” “The Iron Lady”) and directed by Lucy Forbes (“The End of the F***ing World”). It has its merits in feeling like one long movie, but that's not all.
At the start, “Eric” relies an excessive amount of on diversionary tactics, akin to the transient interest in George (Clarke Peters, “The Wire”), the caretaker of the constructing where the family lives, as a possible kidnapper, partly because he was kind to Edgar and let him hand around in his place.
“Eric” keeps us guessing about what happened to Edgar for some time, but after the revelation, things don’t get any stronger.
One can't help but appreciate the work that went into bringing Eighties New York to the screen, including the outside scenes full of extras.
One of them is the crucial scene with “Eric,” which is just an excessive amount of to do justice to the remainder of the show.
“Eric”
What: Mini drama series with six episodes.
Where: : Netflix.
When: All episodes available from May thirtieth.
Rated: MA TV.
Stars (out of 4): 2.
image credit : www.mercurynews.com