The Knick & Ocean's 12: Soderbergh at Play

THE KNICK (Season 2, Oct 2015), is another stand out show in this brave new era of cinematic TV, which has a distinct look. In that sense it is not unlike the series, "Hannibal," from the first post here on Red Depth, showcasing a visual distinction, and also outstanding execution. The pun of execution intended, because they both engage in a brutal exploration of mortality. Stylistically, the shows couldn’t be further apart though. The loose and lively look of, "The Knick," is provided inarguably by the seasoned filmmaker behind every episode. Steven Soderbergh seems to have been rescued by TV from his attempt to fade into oblivion. He has also produced a pilot, “Red Oaks,” for Amazon Streaming, and a series for Starz, “The Girlfriend Experience,” adapted from his 2009 movie.

"The Knick," -clearly mugging as the new face of Cinemax- is very much Soderbergh’s. He directed, shot and edited every episode, the result being that he is effectively the fulcrum at the center of a ten hour movie. This is clear, based on of some key decisions made by Soderbergh. First, he shot all the episodes at once. Second, he shot it predominantly handheld (mostly himself operating the camera I’m sure). Third, he lit it almost all with available and practical light, and seemingly no filtering, aided by his new favorite toy the, “Red Dragon,” camera (no Jungian nod to Hannibal intended). Fourth, he primarily used a modern (and maybe even false-futuristic), “electronica,” musical score. Most of those desicions are clearly based on a methodology he’s been developing since, “Out of Sight,” trying to bring a sense of vitality to his filmmaking. All of it is put to work here to lift that shroud often laid on by a period setting, for, "The Knick," takes place in 1900. Standing in contrast to a show like, "Hannibal," that is so meticulously and handsomely crafted, "The Knick," ends up messy, ragged and frayed around the edges in a pulsating and immediate way. It feels a lot like you're watching, “Traffic,” if it was an american TV series.

“The Knick,” is set at the KnickerBocker Hospital in New York City. The story revolves around the antics of one very cocaine addicted Dr. Thackery, played by Clive Owen, teetering on the bleeding edge of surgical medicine during that previous turn of the century. Things are indeed bloody and there is death and disease everywhere. The show definitely doesn’t demur from the gore. It is graphic in a very frank way. The show is often about surgery, so yes, we see surgery. There are plenty of close ups of knives and bloody incisions. All of the white naturally contrasts with the red in the operating theater. There are also plenty of lanterns, light bulbs, lamps, dim hallways, dark muddy streets, coal furnaces, and dark houses in the daytime. In other words, a lot of visuals that tell you it's 1900. All of this is shot in a very matter-of-fact way as the narrative unfolds.

Soderbergh is really interested in how light looks to a naked lens. And by that rationale, he wants us to see it how he sees it, with his naked eye. He doesn’t want to put much between us and it just to make it pretty or otherwise palatable. He tends not to bother with things like fill light, or edge light or anything really painterly. He wants us to experience it how it may have looked then, but also how it truly felt at the time, alive and vivid to the modern New Yorkers of the day. The series starts with a shot from Thackery’s perspective, of his white shoes in an opium den. It really is that, a cozy den, shot with warm reds and oranges where Thackery rests, away from what we will discover is his daily madness. It is also one of several red, dens of iniquity that we see in the show. Environments and plot-lines tend to have their own look, but without the degree of demarcation that was present in, “Traffic.” Since there is more time and space in the world of a TV show, shifts in color schemes tend to be more subtle and work more to evoke mood. In the hospital there is naturally a lot of white, but there is mixed lighting everywhere. Soderbergh leaves most light sources in the hospital untreated, so the sunlight often looks blue-ish while the bulbs look orange and yellow. Rightly so, for this is where all the characters mix with one another. There is ton of movement on the show both of and around the camera, but there aren’t very many zooms in the show, an exception being an elaborately staged sequence in episode two, as the varied cast all separately arrive to the hospital. Whatever color work is done in post-production, it looks minimal.

"The Knick," and Soderbergh, are refreshingly loose and playful here, which, setting against such gruesome material, makes the show quite a pleasure to watch. It’s nice to see the filmmaker so invigorated.

Speaking of playful, let’s talk about something that's clearly meant to be.

Ocean’s 12 is not well liked, and it's a shame.

Soderbergh himself has plenty to say in defense of this movie, but it might be more effective coming from a real film fan such as myself. Firstly, any genuine ire for this film I think is misplaced considering it’s breed. The "Ocean’s," movies, including the original from 1960, are light fare. They are meant to be fun and playful and under that guise all of them definitely succeed.

The biggest reason that I have a problem with people disliking, "Ocean’s 12," is that they wanted it to be more like the first, but the thing is that "Ocean’s 11," isn’t the big deal that many people make it out to be in the first place. I am a huge fan of Soderbergh as a filmmaker, which includes all the experiments. I view remaking, "Ocean’s 11," as an experiment, at least for Soderbergh, and it would be as well for any other filmmaker of his ilk. "Ocean’s 11," is really a fluke. It wasn't expected that it would be so popular, especially because the 1960 version wasn’t anything to speak of. So the reverence for something that was really just a surprise success, and a remake of a mediocre movie that no one cared about when it was made the first time, will always befuddle me.

"Ocean’s 12," is just a rollicking good time of a movie, filled with delightful ,rambling handheld camera work and a whole lot of fun visual experimentation from my man Soderbergh. He plays with lighting as his own DP, and orchestrates elaborate camera setups and witty ways of revealing story elements. You get to see him and the cast just go at it with lots of energy in this movie.

But I would say there are maybe 5 things that keep critics, and seemingly the general public, from really embracing and enjoying this movie.

1. The plot is too labyrinthine and hard to to follow.

2. The movie is too in-jokey in general and therefore also hard to follow.

3. There is an entire sequence that depends on a joke about a celebrity pretending to be herself, which also falls under being too in-jokey.

4. It is too stylish for it’s own good.

5. There isn’t enough heist in this heist movie.

1. Why should I care that the plot is labyrinthine? I don’t care about the plot in ANY of these movies, nor should anyone else, because that is not why we like these movies. We enjoy them because it is fun to watch these movie stars interact as these characters in this way.

2. All of the in-jokes and meta-jokes are what make this movie incredibly fun to watch and listen to. There is a ton of overlapping dialogue with all of the characters reacting to, and joking with each other simultaneously in personal, silly, subtle ways that makes for a wonderful and engrossing experience.

3. The big meta-in-joke with Tess pretending to be the person who plays her because she is distractingly famous I find to be endlessly amusing given the kind of movies that these actors are making. If there is any kind of movie in which it is a good idea to wink at the audience, this is clearly that movie. “Bravo!” I say.

4. If there is any time to be stylish, this is that time! Go nuts! Go to town! It is a pleasure to watch Soderbergh do what he can do when there is no master he must serve, except fun.

5. I submit that this movie is actually the most fun of the three, specifically because there is so little actual heist in it. We get to hang out with our cast of buddies in this movie the whole time and we are not made to sit and watch them do things silently during a heist for plodding lengths of time.

For those who like the other two better, I unapologetically ask, “WHY?!” This movie is actually more fun and playful than the other two. Soderbergh and the cast seem to be eating it up in this movie and it's contagious. The feel is fast and loose from the start. There is a ton of great music and camera work inspired by 1960’s heist and spy movies. Soderbergh is inventive and seems almost like a drunk genius here. There are flailing zooms, and endless tracking shots for the eye’s delight. He is giddy with the camera in an intoxicating and untethered way. And yet despite all that room to dance, Soderbergh still knows exactly what to show us when he’s telling us to look somewhere else, and vice versa.

In the spirit of fair play, there is one thing that I personally find inexcusable in, "Ocean’s 12," mostly because it’s just boring and it lasts too long. It is none other than Vincent Cassel break-dancing through a bunch of sweeping security laser beams at a key point during a cat-burglary. To be rather unsophisticated, this scene is just lame. It boring, it’s not funny enough to be a scene unto itself, and it just lasts way too long.

Minus that, watching "Ocean's 12," is like going on an exciting, albeit safe, vacation with a bunch of witty thieves, all hosted by a genius showman and DJ named Steven Soderbergh. He is like a kid in a candy store here, and so should be, we, the audience.

Honestly, this is the Soderbergh that I love. The same Soderbergh currently so invigorated by, "The Knick."

Bravo sir! Never stop rediscovering play.

Will Tordella.