Netflix’s limited series, Black Rabbit, was released on the 18th of September. I watched it last month. It held the number one spot in Oz for a full week. Since then, Wayward and The Diplomat have followed. The former had unseated Rabbit from its perch. The series stars Jason Bateman, Jude Law, and Oscar winner Troy Kotsur (from Coda). The programme reminded me of Ozark: gritty with black humour. Bateman and Laura Linney directed episodes. In both shows, Bateman gets involved in tight spots and relocates to dodge the bastards.
Quotes
‘What happened to your finger?’
‘…but this one still works’ (gives him the finger)
The chase scene where Vince (Bateman) evades some goons was hilarious. He hits Babbit, a villain, with a coke bump then runs like a madman. The duo pursue him to a lecture hall and the stairs. The pinkie cutting scene in the lift was not for the fainthearted.
On why they were cooking hotdogs:
‘This isn’t a Yankees game. This fundraiser…’
‘…is a scam to pay off Vince’s debts’.
On Vince seeing his estranged daughter:
‘You do yoga that’s cool. What’s next the ashram with Mum?’
‘You’re gonna get us an effing plane or Jules is gonna paint on Rikers.’
Stacked
While only eight eps, the show is stacked. There’s the sibling rivalry between Vince and younger Jake (Jude Law), now more successful. He owns and manages Black Rabbit, a posh Manhattan restaurant. When Vince, the founder, skipped town, junior picked up where he left off. The future seems rosy. Vince is a train wreck but Jake couldn’t say no to his only sibling. He has long hair, a beard, and is unkempt. The series is full of betrayals. From romantic partners to platonic friendships. From bosses and their employees. A cursory look at the players will reveal that most harbour inadequacies. Some will even meet their maker.
La Familia
Vince’s return brings back unresolved tension to his hermano. Jake learns that Vince stole their father’s coin collection. He left one of the thieves for dead. Meanwhile, Vince grasps that Jake knew all along that he killed their dad. He just didn’t let on. He never harboured anger at Vince for the slaying, but rather admired his big brother’s cajones. Jake isn’t a saint himself. He begins an affair with Estelle, his best friend’s partner. He’lol step over the line for Vince. As Charlie Sheen once pronounced, ‘Duh. Winning.’
Rabbit tackles brotherly love and likewise unpacks the father-daughter bond. Vince and Jake have split from their respective partners. Jake is still part of his son’s life. Meanwhile, Vince has no contact with his grown up daughter, now a tattooist. He feels guilty for leaving his former employee paralysed after a prank.
Top of the food chain
Vince re-enters the picture owing loan sharks a fortune. He dodges and dances with them. It costs him his finger and almost some loved ones. Jake and him scout for a second restaurant. They cook up ingenious ways to pay back the baddies, including the fundraising dinner. Vince almost wins a million dollars through gambling but loses the lot on the same night. They pay back the debt but the henchmen do not stop. The twerps kill a former bartender by accident. One threatens and coerces Vince into stealing jewellery at the resto.
Both Vince and Jake are relatable. They’re flawed characters and fighters in spite of their shortcomings. Vince is hooked on coke and yet gives off this sage vibes. Jake is detestable but operates his business like a big shot. Though untrustworthy, they navigate other relationships. The brothers are manipulative among friends and loved ones. They care for themselves and their welfare. Sorry but others are collateral damage. They will lie to anyone, including the law, as long as they escape in one piece.
Smashed Watermelon
During the holdup, Jake recognises Vince in spite of his balaclava. Wes, Jake’s best friend, tries being the hero. He keeps moving despite instructions to the contrary. He gets shot in the chest and conks out in the hospital. Meanwhile, the baddie is about to silence Jake. Playing the concerned brother, Vince shoots the killer in the head. His noggin explodes like a smashed watermelon.
This is actually the series’s opening scene. However, the identities of the tandem aren’t revealed until closer to the end. We glean that Jake is complicit in the situation, though he evades involvement when questioned. Furthermore, we find out that he wiped CCTV footage from his resto to collect $$ for his brother’s debts. He has no empathy for his staff. Lies beget more lies, until Jake couldn’t tell the truth anymore.
Running like a madman
Sensing danger, Vince does what he knows best: running away. He learns about Wes’s demise from a Times Square screen. He buys a burner phone and pays for it with a pricey gold necklace. He had no cash on hand. He visits the jewellery fencer, who takes aeons to appraise his loot. Vince discovers that he’s been played. He escapes with stacks of bills. He becomes NY’s most wanted man overnight. He retreats to the crime scene and reunites with Jake. Vince seems resigned to his bleak fate, before jumping to his own death. True to form, in death as in life, Vince never takes accountability for his actions.
Fresh
The series holds a fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes, above sixty percent. They liked Bateman and Law’s performances but the edginess was ‘off-putting’. Still, the NF audience has spoken and Black Rabbit got the mass’s tick of approval. It had a good run at the top.
In case you’re wondering, the show’s title may have been inspired by the Tom Clancy book, Red Rabbit. Another possibility is the Vincent Gallo feature, The Brown Bunny. I bought the DVD version of the latter, before reselling it after a one-time watch. The movie was uneventful but decades since its release, still has shock value. Jude Law was in Contagion, which I saw at the cinemas.
Rating: 3.5/5
