Hand Of God

Series Review : Hand Of God

Aired on : Amazon Prime

My Rating : 6 out of 10

If you like watching TV Series, this is a great time to indulge. Everyone is trying to produce longer content hoping to jump on the viewers’ binge train. I have started trying out Amazon series only recently, even though I have been a Prime member for a long time now.

Amazon’s original “Hand Of God” is based on an interesting premise. The lead protagonist believes that God is directing him to deliver justice. Pernell Harris (Ron Perlman) is a morally corrupt judge in a fictional California town of San Vicente. He comes from a rich powerful family that has lot of influence on this town.  His son PJ (Johnny Ferro) has been in coma for many months, inflicted by a suicide attempt after being forced to watch his wife getting raped. Police have not been able to make any progress, and the case appears to becoming an unsolved mystery. PJ’s wife Jocelyn (Alona Tal) decides to end her husband’s agony by taking him off life support. In complete despair, Pernell suffers a breakdown and starts hearing God talking to him via PJ. This is the synopsis of just the pilot episode!

Pernell starts following the clues which he believes are being sent to him by God. These clues surprisingly help him in solving the mystery one step at a time. He enlists KD (Garret Dillahunt) a believer and a criminal, to do his dirty work. Helping Pernell along the way of faith, is a couple with dubious past, Preacher Paul Curtis (Julian Morris) and Alicia Hopkins (Elizabeth McLaughlin). Pernell’s wife Crystal (Dana Delany) is a pragmatist, but not less corrupt. She tries to keep things in control with the help of Bobo Boston (Andre Royo) - who is a family friend, and the sly mayor of the city.

As you can see, this is a rich palette that promises a complex canvass. That promise remains only half fulfilled. The main reason for this is the parallel storylines of the script, because the acting is generally good. On the plus side, the main storyline works really well as a mystery. The viewer gets enough information to figure out the mystery via the visions Pernell get. The resolution of the mystery is satisfying, because it’s not dumbed down in some explanation. The rest of the plotlines suffer from varying degrees of superfluousness. Yes, each of the plotlines has surprises, twists and tries hard to be engaging. That doesn’t help, because these bylines are so obviously irrelevant. On top of that, almost all the characters are un-relatable, and unlikeable. It’s hard to cheer for anyone except the mayor.

The script contains many other elements than mystery. For some reasons, not give enough space has been given to the tragedy element to impact us. The subplot related to the preacher couple, may be controversial and offend some viewers. I am not a religious person, and I found it interesting in the beginning but later it became a distraction. Nevertheless, the novelty of all this, is a big plus. These elements are uncommon.  The political machinations are mildly interesting, but that’s something we have seen before. The plot is indeed multi-dimensional, but the characters are close to being uni-dimensional. The tone of the entire season is a big plus. It’s serious, dark and humor is nearly absent. 

I can only give a mixed recommendation for this series. Sometimes it’s engaging, sometimes it drags. Although I was overall satisfied with the first season, I am unsure if I will watch the second and concluding season. Maybe they should have cut the superfluous material and made this a single season series. It’s correctly rated TV-MA and in my opinion, not for teenagers.

Rising Out Of Hatred

Book Review : Rising out of Hatred

Author : Eli Saslow

My Rating : 5 out of 5

The complete title of the book is “Rising out of Hatred : The Awakening of a Former White Nationalist”.

Just 3-4 years ago, a well known thought leader of White Nationalism, Derek Black, renounced his cause and turned into a liberal. He wasn’t just some leader, he was looked at as “The” future leader. As a son of a former Grand Wizard of the Klu Klux Klan, as an eloquent speaker, very polished in debates, with a radio show that was widely popular among the followers, as the main speaker at their conferences, he was the rising star and universally loved by White Nationalists. And all this even before he was in college. In changing his positions, he had to publicly admit that he was wrong, and proclaim that the views he once espoused were dangerous. He had no choice but to go against his father, his family and cause them great emotional stress. He had to accept the danger that he will be labeled as a “traitor to the cause”. But he did the right thing. Because he clearly understood how illogical his ideas were, and how much harm they can cause. And he had to fight against those ideas.

This is an incredible story of transformation, courage and honesty. If I had watched such a story in a Hollywood movie, I would have most likely shaken my head in disbelief. “Such things don’t happen in real life”, is what I would have said. But reality is indeed stranger than fiction. That may be a cliche, but it’s true here.

I learned about this book on “The Daily Show” where both the Pulitzer Prize winning author Eli Saslow and Derek Black appeared together. I got so intrigued by the interview that I had to read this book, and I am glad I did.

The story is incredible, and Eli Saslow’s writing is smooth and gripping. This is not a story that can be written with politically safe language. It’s just not possible. This book tells things as they are. This is a history of last few years. As Derek Black was transforming himself from a White Nationalist into a liberal, at the same time, the Republican Party was transforming itself from a conservative party to Trump’s party. Many of the ideas of the White Nationalists which were considered fringe a few years ago, were becoming mainstream and foundational to the new Trump party. What the White Nationalists were hoping to happen for many many years, was suddenly happening with Trump (and of course his team) taking the charge. They were speaking the same language, expressing the same victimhood and proposing the same talking points. While Derek was giving up these ideas that he once promoted on his radio show, those exact same ideas were actually being taken up by the Presidential candidate of the Republican Party. 

These two separate but opposite transformations have been very superbly captured by the author. I am sure, given the current state of affairs, many people on the right, and especially Trump supporters would not like reading these details. But the author has no qualms in stating the facts and writing with complete candor. As many of us know and argue, he documents how the transformation of the Republican party started with the election of President Barack Obama. It was then aided by Fox News and completed by our current President Trump and his team.

It’s not just ironic, it horrified Derek. His transformation took place over the years when he was in college, with help from his unlikely friends which included one deeply religious Jewish friend and one immigrant from South America. His girlfriend was instrumental in challenging his views with facts after facts very patiently presented over many many months. But it was personal. He did not want to make a public scene out of it. But Donald Trump’s rise was the reason he decided to write editorials in liberal newspapers including The New York Times. He felt a personal responsibility to oppose the direction taken by the new politics of our country.

It is impossible to not feel respect for Derek Black. Very few people like to admit, even to themselves that they were wrong. To do it publicly, and going against their family is extremely rare. To do so at this extent - from a White Nationalist to a Liberal - is unheard of. And remember, all this in his twenties. It’s not just that he did it, but why he did it. As the book demonstrates, Derek changed his views, because of his analytical and highly intelligent mind. When presented with facts, it became clear to him that he was horribly wrong.

I cannot recommend this book enough. Especially if you are leaning on the Republican side of the spectrum and even more so, if you are a Trump supporter. No, I am not naive to think that anyone would change their mind by reading a book. But at least to some people, it will be help understand why many of us think that the politics of Trump is so dangerous to the fabric of our society. Well that’s my hope. Not expecting any agreement, just a bit of understanding.