Summary : Decent premiere and
promising psychological arc
Score : 6/10
Despite its cult status The
Godfather is definitely not in my favorites list. I'm just not
stimulated by these gangster-driven productions. That's why it took
me so long to finally check out The Sopranos. Now that I have seen
its pilot despite a few interesting elements I'm convinced that I
could have spent the hour doing something more important.
If conventional mob stories
bore you to death, move on. The pilot featured everything you can
expect from the genre : Murders, explosions… So it's probably
entertaining to many people, otherwise the show wouldn't have been so
successful, but it lacked the creativity and boldness some premieres
have been remembered for. The production is good, it's immersive, but
not a single scene wowed me. Only a surprising lighting in an outdoor
scene caught my attention. The rest felt like déjà vu
and it also applies to the characters.
The story is really about Tony Soprano's struggle as a criminal,
husband and father. James Gandolfini's performance was convincing but
his part wasn't demanding. However I'm sure he was hired for a reason
and that some of the upcoming episodes put him in a whole new light.
In fact this first installment also portrayed him as a normal man,
the nice neighbor next door. The psychotherapy sessions were
specially enlightening to comprehend what's going on behind the
curtain and at times it was hilarious. They also served to joint the
different sequences and delivered an interesting way to introduce the
protagonist. Lorraine Bracco made a decent shrink as Doctor Jennifer
Melfi and her dynamic with the patient was quite good actually. The
ducks metaphora was thoughtful and well exploited all along the
episode. So even if her seduction factor makes her less believable
their relationship is by far the most intriguing element.
Beside their arc I was also moved by a discussion Tony had with
his daughter in a church about two of their ancestors who had built
it. She mocked his words but he explained that they were among a crew
and she realized how proud they must have been. It opened the Soprano
family history book and revealed a certain potential behind the
action and neverending manipulations. Even his wife mentioned
something about spirituality so maybe the series deserve a second
look.
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