Super sleuth writer/director, Rian Johnson has created another fun whodunnit with Natasha Lyonne as a quirky memorable truth telling character. And that’s no lie.
Charlie Cale (Natasha Lyonne – Russian Doll) is a card shark who could always tell when someone was bluffing. She’s a divining rod of truth, with a Poker Face, who can tell when anyone is lying. She’s on the run after turning the tables on her boss. In each episode of this series, her travels always seem to take her to the scene of another murder and she can’t stop trying to get to the bottom of each case using her BS detector.
Lyonne has a persona all her own as Charlie. With her raspy voice, wide eyes peeking though her red shaggy mane with bright red lips, she’s always picking up on clues, like following a trail of breadcrumbs.
Johnson loved the old TV detective series and wanted to create something with the same tone as one of his favorites, Peter Falk’s Columbo. Here he is recreating the same kind of entertainment. Each episode presents another murder to solve with guest stars including Adrien Brody, Benjamin Bratt, Judith Light, Ron Perlman, Chloe Sevigny, Lil Rel Howery, Hong Chao, Simon Helberg, S. Epatha Merkerson and Tim Meadows.
As in Knives Out and Glass Onion, Rian Johnson shows it’s all out in front of you. Credit to Johnson’s mind for details and his stable of writers to churn out cool quips along with clues from various perspectives. Each episode follows the same procedural structure. It starts with the murder and the rest of the episode is revealed as a flashback showing how Charlie fits into the equation.
Charlie is just trying to stay safe while on her never-ending escape from those Las Vegas casino bosses. Her chariot is a stylishly ancient Plymouth Barracuda. But she keeps coming across situations she senses are not quite right. As soon as she detects a lie, she’s got to find out what’s behind it. You can’t lie to her, but she can’t often help herself from spilling the beans to the wrong people. And Natasha does it with a rye smile.
Tension and humor keep you involved as Poker Face Charlie deals with a new murder each week. She stumbles into a variety of settings and situations including a lottery winner, a rockin’ one hit wonder, a barbecue impresario, even to two little old bad ass ladies with a past. And that’s just a sampling of the first few episodes. Truth be told, Johnson and Lyonne create a Columbo kind of combo that provide binge worthy storytelling.
Peacock 10 one hour episodes MA
