I will watch everything Rian Johnson makes - everything he does brings something new to the table, giving a twist on genre conventions. Poker Face subverts a mystery of the week show by displaying the murder at the start, and then the challenge is figuring out how to prove the truth. Each episode follows a fairly steady formula, but the setting of each episode is displayed strongly; as an audience, we really feel like we traveled across the country and inhabited quite distinct spaces within it. Tying all episodes together are themes of guilt and honesty. The whole premise of the show is a set up to catch lying criminals, that when they lie she will know and get to the truth. What I found impactful was how being confronted with an outsider pushing the truth over all else led the murderers to doubt themselves. All of them feel a sleight of hand cleverness as they outwit people initially, but then as they are forced to return to their crime they grapple with whether they can really stomach what they've done. I absolutely love the way Rian Johnson sets up a mystery, and one of the great joys of this series is getting to see his creative and thoughtful set ups 10 times. He is fantastic at providing visual information in an organic and efficient way, and his ability to let us understand a character immediately is hilarious. Poker Face isn't the most grounded or groundbreaking show, but it is thrilling and clever. Especially if you appreciate mystery conventions and want to see more Rian Johnson creativity, Poker Face is simply a joy.
Review by Andrew RoyBlockedParent2024-02-06T04:30:18Z
I will watch everything Rian Johnson makes - everything he does brings something new to the table, giving a twist on genre conventions. Poker Face subverts a mystery of the week show by displaying the murder at the start, and then the challenge is figuring out how to prove the truth. Each episode follows a fairly steady formula, but the setting of each episode is displayed strongly; as an audience, we really feel like we traveled across the country and inhabited quite distinct spaces within it. Tying all episodes together are themes of guilt and honesty. The whole premise of the show is a set up to catch lying criminals, that when they lie she will know and get to the truth. What I found impactful was how being confronted with an outsider pushing the truth over all else led the murderers to doubt themselves. All of them feel a sleight of hand cleverness as they outwit people initially, but then as they are forced to return to their crime they grapple with whether they can really stomach what they've done. I absolutely love the way Rian Johnson sets up a mystery, and one of the great joys of this series is getting to see his creative and thoughtful set ups 10 times. He is fantastic at providing visual information in an organic and efficient way, and his ability to let us understand a character immediately is hilarious. Poker Face isn't the most grounded or groundbreaking show, but it is thrilling and clever. Especially if you appreciate mystery conventions and want to see more Rian Johnson creativity, Poker Face is simply a joy.